Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture Designing Tree-Themed Parking Structure 5 at Sacramento State Main Entrance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Parking Structure will be campus’ new front door, extending existing arboretum and botanic gardens

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – California State University, Sacramento is expanding the ability for students, faculty and dorm residents to find much-needed parking on campus with the addition of a new six-story, 1,750 stall, 529,000 square foot Parking Structure 5. Construction will being in late May 2017 and is expected to be complete by the start of Spring Semester 2018. Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture (D+B) is the architect, and Clark Pacific is the design-build contractor hired to complete the construction.

Jason A. Silva, AIA, LEED AP design principal at Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture (D+B) and the project’s designer, said, “Confronted with a growing shortage of parking, Parking Structure 5 meets the need in an area most impactful – directly adjacent to the campus entry. But this provided a challenge to integrate the large structure into the Arboretum’s dense tree landscape while easing access and increasing student safety.”

Consistent with the “tree canopy” theme defined in the campus Master Plan, “this new structure will become the front door to the campus. Off Arboretum Way near the historic 3-acre, 1,200-tree University Arboretum, the design of the parking structure makes a strong architectural statement through the incorporation of forms and materials that relate to the tree theme,” he said. Additionally, the design of the new structure allows for future expansion of the University Arboretum.

Several amenities will be incorporated into the state-of-the-art parking structure. Parking Structure 5 is designed to accommodate future installation of a solar array of photovoltaic panels on the top level. Automated vehicle count system will share up-to-the-minute parking availability information to digital signs and a downloadable mobile app. Vehicle circulation is designed to move traffic off streets and into the structure as efficiently as possible with off-street queuing space to handle periods of high traffic volume. A plaza area directly outside the southeast corner will create a gathering place for students to meet and orient themselves to the campus. Pedestrian circulation cores are located at three of the four corners of the parking structure with the primary core located adjacent to the plaza and the main flow of circulation.

The technology, design, innovations, placemaking and conservation programs implemented in the parking structure will allow it to achieve a Parksmart Gold certification by the Green Parking Council, making it the highest-performing, most-sustainable parking structure on campus.

“Sacramento State is ecstatic to be moving forward on this new parking structure to meet campus user needs,” said Tony Lucas, Sacramento State’s Senior Director of University Transportation and Parking Services. “We are looking forward to working with Dreyfuss + Blackford and Clark Pacific to bring this project quickly and efficiently to the University and our community.”

The project is being delivered under the California State University’s innovative Collaborative Design-Build method, which engages stakeholders in design workshops, ensuring University staff and student expectations are captured. Construction will be phased to have the least impact on existing operations in this very active area of campus.

Sacramento State currently has a total of 3,000 trees and is designated as a Tree Campus USA.

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Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture

Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture, founded in ­1950 in Sacramento, Calif., with an office in San Francisco, is a mid-size firm headquartered in the California capital. The firm serves corporate, public, and institutional markets with solutions achieved through collaboration and innovation. Committed to a sustainable future, D+B brings expertise in architecture, master planning, interiors, graphic design, and construction services. Recently completed projects include CLARA Midtown – E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts at Fremont School, and Placer County Animal Services Center.

California State University, Sacramento

Founded in 1947, Sacramento State, also known as Sac State, is a comprehensive 4-year university just a few miles from California’s Capitol in the heart of the state’s political, economic, and cultural center. Sacramento State is comprised of seven academic colleges offering approximately 58 undergraduate majors. Classrooms, labs, offices, and other facilities are nestled in a beautiful 300-acre, tree-lined campus alongside the American River.