Public/Civic/Institutional

San Bernardino County commissioned a new medical office building at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Campus in Colton, California. The 3-story, 66,000 sf structure is a steel brace-framed with a slab-on-grade foundation. Exterior walls and core construction are tilt-up, reinforced concrete. The interior is built-out to meet commercial medical office building standards. The building exterior design is intended to be compatible with existing Hospital and Mental Health buildings, while introducing volumetric and tonal complexity. This project received LEED Silver Certification.

The Consolidated Rental Car Facility (ConRAC) will allow 20+ car rental brands, which are currently located in an scattered array of LAX proximate locations, to be housed in a single 6.3 million square foot mega-building complex that is connected to every LAX passenger terminal via the new Automated People Mover (APM). The passengers will arrive at an open air landscaped plaza where they will have a direct sightline to the car rental companies retail areas located in two buildings a short distance from the APM station. 80% of the passengers who have reserved a car may proceed directly to the parking stall that is identified by the car rental smart phone app via the three escalator and elevator cores for direct access to each company’s rental car fleets. ConRAC is a highly efficient machine to take a car that is returned by a customer and make it ready for a new customer in 8 minutes. There are 186 fuel pumps and 40 car washes in the Ready Return Building to make this happen.

The new headquarters for the California Natural Resources Agency is a 22-story, 880,000 SF high-rise office tower serving as the workplace for several departments within the Agency, including the Department of Water Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. The project includes 10,000 SF of ground level retail/flexible space, a multi-vendor food court, and a verdant pedestrian plaza.

The sustainable features and strategies utilized for this LEED Platinum certified building include reclaimed water systems, mechanical chilled sails, and building materials such as rammed earth, reclaimed wood from the Paradise fire, and local/renewable materials. Designed to meet Net Zero Energy standards, the building’s Energy Use Intensity (EUI) is no more than 28.2 kBtu/sf/year.

The 148,000 square foot Health and Human Services Center, the first Zero Net Energy building in Placer County, was designed to create a transformational experiential environment, enhancing the existing campus, and providing a positive impact on all that visit and work at the facility. AC Martin responded to the client’s desire to present a building to the community that is welcoming and responsive to the budget, but not overdone or extravagant. We took this desire to heart and developed an appropriately scaled building with a clearly marked entry, that reinforces the vision of the client. 

In addition to designing a project that is both functional and affordable, we looked for meaning to reinforce the client’s vision. The entry to the building is important functionally and symbolically. A bridge is an appropriate metaphor for the project, particularly at the front door as it represents the idea that the clientele will be crossing the bridge to better things. In addition, a landscape bioswale along the public entry showcases sustainable practices while intersecting the bridge at the front door. A gentle rise of the pathway reinforces the idea of crossing at threshold, causing one to pause briefly to observe the natural elements on either side.

The overall organization of the building is informed by sensitivity to public interface, clarity of circulation, maximizing daylight, promoting cross divisional collaboration and future flexibility. The open Lobby space provides a clear view of the reception desk with visible signage directing one to the assortment of waiting areas. Designed to be intuitive and non-institutional in its expression, it is welcoming, warm, safe, and reinforces inclusivity.

The new Fifth Appellate District Courthouse in Fresno, designed by AC Martin, is a dignified and meaningful place of justice. The three-story, 61,000-SF building is located in the City’s ‘Old Armenian Town’ district on a 1.25-acre parcel, and includes a single courtroom and chambers for ten justices, offices for attorneys and staff, clerk/administrative offices, a library, conference spaces that support appellate courthouse operations, and secured parking. 

The building creates an edge to a pedestrian plaza complete with stone bands simulating rows of vines, pergola with wisteria, and a promenade lined with an orchard of flowering fruit trees, reminiscent of Fresno’s agrarian tradition. As visitors approach the limestone and glass building, they are welcomed by a reflecting pool and the warm wood-paneled walls of the public lobby. 

The courtroom itself is designed to be a destination, a place of openness, contemplation, and dignity. The tall windows flanking the courtroom look out onto courtyards, complete with a trickling fountain and landscaping indigenous to the San Joaquin Valley.

In keeping with the State’s Appellate Court Facilities Guidelines, the design facilitates safe and efficient court functioning while taking into account use and visibility of space. Avoiding the pitfall of the traditional maze-like interior spaces, AC Martin created a design that promotes excellent way-finding, and provides natural daylight and optimal views for all office spaces.

The site and parking areas, the courthouse perimeter, building entrance and interior spaces consist of active and passive security measures. The courthouse design includes up-to-date data/telecom and audio-visual systems to support its infrastructure requirements.