Landmark Co-Op Searches for Architect to Guide Renovations

Officials from UC Berkeley and the University Students’ Cooperative Association are currently looking for an architect who will oversee the future renovations of Cloyne Court and preserve its role as a Berkeley historical landmark.

Cloyne Court, which is the largest of the 20 co-ops in Berkeley and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, is expected to undergo mandatory retrofitting in spring of 2009, a process estimated to cost between $250,000 and $500,000 in design expenses and another $3 million to $5 million in construction expenses.

The co-op’s renovations must comply with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings, the university’s Green Building and Clean Energy Policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Crucial to the selection process will be the candidates’ experience and familiarity with working on historical structures, said Martin Reed, executive director of the USCA.

“Ideally, we want a pool of about 10 candidates,” Reed said. “Hopefully, we can cut it in half. A short-list of three to five firms will be interviewed.”

The campus will act as a consultant to the USCA, providing recommendations and input. The co-op will be renovated with USCA funding rather than state funding, as it is a residency and not an educational facility.

The USCA will form an initial selection committee, which is expected to have approximately seven people including Cloyne Court residents, student board members, the executive director and the project manager, Reed said.

Prior to the retrofitting process, the USCA will draft a preliminary list of residents’ requests and expectations for the renovations, Reed said.

“For Cloyne Court, this has been a very meaningful and democratic moment to talk about what works and what doesn’t work,” said Nathan Danielsen, a house viceroy at the co-op. “It really is kind of a triumph for student housing.”

During the renovations, residents of the co-op will most likely find temporary homes in the other 19 student co-ops. Kingman Hall, Andres Castro Arms, Davis House and Oscar Wilde are the most commonly discussed alternatives, Danielsen said.

“We will not be kicked out in the street,” Danielsen said. “There will be other communities opening their arms. There is not a shortage of places that people in Cloyne love to go.”

In December 2006, residents of the co-op Casa Zimbabwe relocated to other co-ops and other housing facilities so the house could undergo necessary seismic renovations.

The USCA will continue accepting applications from architectural firms until noon, Friday, June 22, after which point members from both the USCA and the campus will begin reviewing candidates, a process that is expected to take about a year.

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