Finished Photos : CSU Chico Normal Ave. Parking and University Police Department

It is always exhilarating to see the project vision become reality.

 

Some things inherently go together—Batman and Robin, for example, or peanut butter and jelly. But a parking structure and a university police station? There are many reasons why one would think they shouldn’t. With a demanding schedule, design-build delivery, and such inherent programmatic issues, this parking structure and police station project necessitated thoughtful design. An intriguing dynamic emerged—the occupied space gives scale and life to an otherwise vanilla structure, and the structure provides a strong backbone under which the occupied space coexists, resulting in a project that sets a new standard for parking technology and public safety functionality while enhancing the modern design vocabulary of the campus.

 

Through creativity in exterior skin and structural design, acoustic and security challenges were addressed without compromising quality and aesthetics. The concrete structure and lower level panels gave mass and sound deadening quality to the garage. Metal scrim panels were used as skin to give relief to the structure while preventing security threats to the police department from above. Trespa panels—an exterior grade plastic laminate material—provided a strong, maintenance free skin to the station; and full brick veneer was used for the vertical circulation towers for durability as well as to tie back to the vocabulary of the existing University campus.

The project achieved LEED® Gold Certification primarily through the use of high efficiency lighting, HVAC, and rooftop mounted PV panels and shade devices. A large portion of the upper deck is reserved for electric vehicles and includes recharge stations exclusively for this use. The structure is technologically sophisticated, utilizing complex camera systems and kiosks for vehicle counting and permitting.

Williams + Paddon is honored to have been involved in this critical project for the Chico State University campus. It was through exceptional collaboration with the University, Otto Construction, International Parking Design (IPD), and the entire design and construction team that this parking garage and police station came to life.