Architect Bernard Maybeck’s First Church of Christ Scientist

Location: Berkeley, CA

Overview: On the National Register of Historic Places and a National Treasure, winner of the 2008 save Americas Treasures grant, the First Church of Christ Scientist in Berkeley was designed by architect Bernard Maybeck, constructed in 1910 and considered as America’s most historically, architecturally significant building. It is considered the birthplace of the arts and crafts design.
 

The project consisted of a seismic retrofit, roof replacement and ADA compliance
modifications.

Treeline’s role: Our self-performed role as the prime contractor in this project included the seismic retrofit of the (4) main concrete piers inside the auditorium. While preserving the mechanical airflow needs that were part of the original function of these piers, we added vertical steel full height soldier beams through the roof and through the columns and improved the timber/steel/concrete connections throughout the building. Additionally, we constructed two shotcrete shear walls to resist East West forces from the Hayward fault line and brought the entire project into compliance with current ADA standards.
 

The architect Paul Nachtscheim of Architectural Resources Group (ARG) was the chief architect for this wonderful and sensitive project, while Andrew Scott of Degenkolb Engineering offered very creative solutions to overcome very challenging upgrades for this historic treasure.