Celebrating 100 Years with National Park Service!

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TURNED 100 on August 25, 2016. The centennial will kick off a second century of stewardship of America’s national parks and engaging communities through recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs.

Siegel & Strain is proud to be collaborating with NPS and their partners, such as NatureBridge, Yosemite Institute and Save the Redwoods League, on important park initiatives throughout the West, including the new National Environmental Science Center in Yosemite National Park and the development of new master plans that will support the growth and diversity of visitation through Park Service's second century.

National Environmental Science Center: interim dining hall (future administrative building)

National Environmental Science Center – Yosemite National Park, California
Siegel & Strain designed a seventeen-building residential environmental science center including dining hall, cabins, bath houses, classrooms, a fire station, and support facilities, to serve the 13,000 students and chaperones who visit the center annually. Innovative green design and energy saving concepts together with the site’s inherent attributes create an interactive model of sustainability in which program participants can engage firsthand. Designed to achieve net zero energy, the project also aims to save 60% over standard water use and to minimize material waste through efficient design. [See more about the project…]

Save the Redwoods League Visitor Center, Redwood National/State Parks, Orick, California

Save the Redwoods League Visitor Center – Redwood National & State Parks, Orick, California
With more than 100,000 visitors per year overtaxing the Parks’ existing Kuchel Visitor Center, Save the Redwoods League proposed to design a new, expanded visitor center on a site two-miles inland from the existing facility, and to gift it to the National Park Service. The new visitor center,  located on a former mill site with views of old growth redwoods, will serve as the gateway to the Parks, housing interpretive exhibits and administrative offices. Site amenities include an amphitheater, outdoor exhibits, trailheads and picnic areas, offering a range of experiences for diverse user groups. The project will be closely coordinated with a major site restoration effort.

Historic Hangars, Building 643, The Presidio of San Francisco, California

Presidio Historic Hangars, Building 643 – San Francisco, California
Located on the south edge of the Presidio’s Crissy Field, Building 643 is a contributing structure to the Presidio National Historic Landmark District. Originally constructed in 1923 as two hangars, it was integrated into one long building in 1943. Working with the NPS GGNRA Facilities Management South District, Siegel & Strain completed the programming and conceptual design for the rehabilitation of Building 643. Once rehabilitated, the building and adjacent site will provide space to consolidate facility management operations currently located in numerous buildings throughout the Presidio and GGNRA, freeing those facilities up for public and other uses. [See more about this project…]

Concord Hills Regional Park Joint Use Visitor Center, Former Concord Naval Weapons Station, California

Concord Hills Regional Park Visitor Center – Former Concord Naval Weapons Station, California
Siegel & Strain Architects, in collaboration with Trachtenberg Architects and PlaceWorks, prepared a conceptual design for the adaptive reuse of a military warehouse at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station, as part of a long range plan for transforming the former military base into a regional park. The Visitor Center will be jointly operated by East Bay Regional Park District and National Park Service and will interpret subjects including the WWII Port Chicago munitions disaster, and the area’s natural history.

Wawona Wildland Fire Fighting Facility, Yosemite National Park

Wawona Wildland Fire Fighting Facility - Yosemite National Park, California
Designed to replace the 80-year-old structure that had previously served Yosemite fire crews, this state-of-the-art facility houses apparatus bays, work areas, offices, a training room and support spaces, and is designed to easily expand for future bunk rooms, fitness room and more offices. Designed on a very tight budget, the high performance building envelope minimizes the size of the HVAC systems and provides efficient operations. The facility was carefully sited to minimize impacts on trees and other park resources, while allowing fast response times for the apparatus.

Lodgepole & Grant Grove Visitor Centers & Giant Forest Museum – Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, California
Siegel & Strain designed critical improvements that will improve visitor experience and energy efficiency at these three visitor facilities. Upgrades include remodeled restrooms and entrances, new finishes, weatherization, and new plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems. The projects will extend the life of the buildings, each of which is listed on the historic register or eligible to be listed. Improvements were carefully designed to work with the existing building fabric and to phase construction in ways that minimize inconvenience to visitors and staff. [Read more about NPS condition assessments…]

Yosemite Valley Visitor Center – Yosemite National Park, California
The Yosemite Valley Village Store is to be re-purposed into the primary “port-of-entry” for visitors to Yosemite Valley. The space will be returned to the original glassy pavilion designed to focus on views of Glacier Point to the south. New decks and entry doors will provide access from all sides and provide ample space for outdoor kiosks and exhibits. New exhibits will be designed to orient visitors to major park sites and get them to their destinations quickly.

Fort Winfield Scott Bldg 1201 Historic Structure Report cover, The Presidio of San Francisco

Fort Winfield Scott Historic Structures Reports – The Presidio of San Francisco, California
S&S prepared Historic Structure Reports (HSRs) and site assessments for the Coast Artillery Headquarters Building and multiple Enlisted Men’s Barracks surrounding the Fort Winfield Scott Parade Ground. The architectural ensemble, constructed ca. 1910 in the Mission Revival style, is a contributing resource to the Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Landmark District. The HSRs include historic context statement, building chronology, list of character-defining features, evaluation of significance and integrity, and a room-by-room survey outlining current conditions and recommended repair and code upgrades. These reports serve as ongoing planning tools for the Presidio Trust. [Read more about the project…]

Presidio Stewardship & Sustainability Center – San Francisco, California
The Stewardship and Sustainability Center unites the Presidio Nursery with the staff and volunteers who work on natural resource issues throughout the Presidio. Designed not only to maintain the historic fabric of an existing warehouse to house offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms, S&S also designed a new education building for the Presidio’s educational programs, outdoor workspace for volunteers, and a living-machine. A translucent sloped canopy extends from the roof and collects rainwater and energy while two new shed-roofed monitors announce the building’s new entries which bring light into the center of the building, and provide natural ventilation. [See more about the project…]

Rob Hill Campground Activity Pavilion & Bathhouse, The Presidio of San Francisco

Presidio Rob Hill Campground: Activity Pavilion & Bathhouse – San Francisco, California
Rob Hill Campground , the only campground located in the City of San Francisco, offers underserved urban kids an outdoor experience in a natural setting. With four camping areas surrounding a central green, the S&S design included a new bathhouse (housing a scullery for cleaning camp dishes), a small office, and an activity pavilion to provide shelter in the often inhospitable ocean-side environment. A large stone fireplace anchors one end, providing warmth on foggy days. Large cedar doors slide open to convert the pavilion into an impromptu stage that faces an outdoor seating area. [See more about the project…]

Historic Queen Annes – The Presidio of San Francisco

Presidio Historic Queen Anne Houses – San Francisco, California
Four historic buildings, originally built in the 1890s as residences, were designed with a unique combination of Army standard interiors and intricate Queen Anne exterior details. S&S served as primary architect for the rehabilitation of the buildings, each approximately 4,500 sf. New energy efficient mechanical and electrical systems were installed. Interior finishes and materials were designed to promote healthy indoor air quality. [See more about the project…]

Presidio Hill Radio Building – San Francisco, California
The Presidio Hill Radio Building is a rectangular three-story reinforced concrete structure built ca. 1941 west of an existing Radio Receiving Station at the Presidio of San Francisco. S&S was interior architect for remodeling the building into a radio repair and emergency radio facility, as part of a multi-agency radio communications project. The interiors were integral to the successful seismic upgrade which included replacing brittle hollow clay tile veneer walls with insulated framed walls detailed to meet windows and trim in the same way as the historic fabric.

Pinnacles Visitor Center, Paicines, CA (Rendering by Al Forster)

Pinnacles Visitor Center & Fire / Search & Rescue Facility – Pinnacles National Park, California (Design Architects)
The Visitor Center, which meets LEED Gold standards, houses exhibits, staff offices, and a comfort station. Energy efficiency measures include daylighting, natural ventilation, a trombe wall to passively heat and cool the spaces, efficient lighting and lighting controls, and highly efficient heating and cooling systems. Across the road, a Fire / Search and Rescue Building includes a workshop and staff facilities, and houses the PV array and battery storage that produces all the energy on site. Designed to a tight budget, this support building is a simple pre-engineered structure with a long central clerestory to provide good daylighting, improved natural ventilation, and additional surface area for south facing photovoltaic panels that provide all of the building’s electricity. This project was designed to operate entirely off the grid. [See more about the project…]

Comprehensive Plan for the Restoration & Preservation of Warner Valley – Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
The Comprehensive Plan details program and design criteria for projects in Warner Valley. The design criteria provide a long-term plan for development of the project area considering site-specific resource constraints. The purpose of the plan was to improve visitor experience through educational, interpretive, and recreational opportunities and the protection of wilderness values, the cultural landscape at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, and the historic and cultural resources in the Warner Valley.

Furnace Creek Visitor Center – Death Valley National Park, California
Siegel & Strain developed a pre-programming report and conceptual sketches for the proposed rehabilitation of the 16,000 square foot Visitor Center and Administration Office complex. The project examined energy, programmatic and ADA upgrades. The conceptual design expanded the visitor center lobby for improved visitor orientation and circulation patterns, and reduced an underutilized auditorium, incorporating an adjacent retail operation into space gained. Reconfigured, expanded and ADA compliant parking facilities support high visitation and correct hazardous traffic situations.

Historic minerals baths, Zzyzx Mineral Springs, Mojave National Preserve, California

Zzyzx Mineral Springs Historic District – Mojave National Preserve, California
Siegel & Strain assessed two contributing structures – the Zzyzx Bath House and Sunrise House – and made recommendations for their stabilization. Constructed of concrete from raw materials mined at the site, the buildings were in a seriously deteriorated state. S&S provided a current conditions survey and recommendations for repair and accessibility improvements for the Bath House. [See more about the project…]

Proposed site plan for the Indian Cultural Center, Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite Indian Cultural Center – Yosemite National Park, California
Siegel & Strain completed design development for the new center located near Yosemite Lodge and within the historic Wahhoga Village site inhabited by the Southern Sierra Miwoks for 3,000 years, until the late 1960s. The plan included returning the last remaining historic cabin to the site and building a new Community Building—with a multi-purpose room, catering kitchen, support facilities—for the Native American Community, along with a ceremonial Roundhouse, sweat lodge, traditional shade structures and bark houses.