The Hamlin School
Status
Size
Client
Scope
Master Planning, Programming, Concept Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documentation, Construction Administration
Project Team
Mark Cavagnero
Felicia Dunham
Anna de Anguera
Christopher Agosta
Laura Blake
Tanita Choudhury
Paul Davison
Tammy LePham
Olga Luebker
Ricardo Moreno
Ashley Morgan
Joan Young Park
Project Collaborators
General Contractor: Herrero Builders
Owner’s Representative: Pacific Union Development Company
Geotechnical: Treadwell & Rollo
Structural: Murphy Burr Curry
Mechanical & Plumbing: Costa Engineers
Electrical: O’Mahoney & Myer
Lighting: Auerbach Glasgow
Telecom/AV/Security: TEECOM
Acoustics: Salter
Theater/Performing Arts: Auerbach Pollock Friedlander
Kitchen: The Marshall Associates / Food and Laundry Service Consultants
Elevator: Syska Hennessy Group
Waterproofing: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates
Specifications: Emily Borland Specifications
Code: REAX Engineering
Preservation: Carey & Co. Inc.
Cost Estimating: TBD Consultants
Materials Testing: Applied Materials & Engineering
Landscape Architecture: Shades of Green
Architectural Photography: Mike Kelley
Description
Mark Cavagnero Associates provided master plan and full design services for The Hamlin School, a private K-8 girls' school in San Francisco. The campus is located on a steep Pacific Heights site in 3 buildings (McKinne Hall, the Middle Building, and Stanwood Hall) that step down the hill. The renovation and expansion project set out to prioritize the school's objectives of project-based learning and STEAM curriculum. This was achieved by enlarging classrooms, connecting the lower and upper school science rooms, expanding the gymnasium to meet athletic size regulations, creating a separate multipurpose room for performing arts, and simplifying the overall campus circulation to better unite the buildings and the community.
McKinne Hall, a 3-story 1960's concrete building, underwent a full renovation including seismic, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades. The building was extended to meet an existing retaining wall and excavated down a level below the first floor, creating space for a new larger and taller gymnasium to meet middle school regulation dimensions and a flexible multipurpose space prioritized for the performing arts program. The existing retaining wall was tied back to the hillside and underpinned as required for the new expansion. Retractable seating and theatrical equipment are provided in the multipurpose room to accommodate assembly and performance functions. All existing classrooms were reconfigured, enlarged, and fully renovated. A new terrace on the roof of the new gymnasium directly adjacent to the science rooms, provide a large central space primarily for use as an outdoor science lab with space for messy experiments but can also accommodate play and gathering uses.
The Middle Building is a part concrete and part steel-framed building from the 1970s and 80s. The existing exterior stair that sat centrally within the building was relocated to consolidate the two sides of the existing dining room. This move now allows for more students to dine in the space at the same time. For flexibility, a moveable partition was added to allow the space to be divided as needed for different events. A new, consolidated stair and elevator tower replaces the existing stand-alone ones from McKinne Hall and the Middle Building respectively. The circulation between the two buildings is now more clear and it also free up space for other programs in both buildings.
For the historic Stanwood Hall, Mark Cavagnero Associates assisted with the transformation of the existing library into a combination library and maker space, dubbed the Riveter Lab. Flexible furniture, improved lighting, and additional project storage contributed to the functional success of this space.
Location
Recognition
Awards
Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award, Schools and Universities Category, 2023
AIA San Francisco, Citation Award for Architecture, 2023
Chicago Athenaeum Green Good Design Award, Green Architecture, 2023
Architecture MasterPrize Awards, Restoration & Renovation, 2022
World Architecture News, WAN Awards, Education – Nursery, primary and secondary schools – Silver, 2022
BLT Awards, Educational, 2022
International Design Awards, Architecture Categories – Institutional – Silver, 2022