SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for Restoration or Preservation, Merit Award

Music Building at Mills College, Mills College, Oakland, CA and EHDD Architecture, San Francisco, CA

Photo by Paul Kuroda

Photo by Paul Kuroda

Click on the image above to view a larger image.

Designed by Walter Ratcliff and constructed in 1928, The Music Building at Mills College is an elegant Spanish Revival design with significant historical integrity. 

The challenge was to renovate an historic structure of architectural significance, and upgrade outmoded spaces within a limited budget to meet the needs of a world-renowned contemporary music program. Improvements to the concert hall included acoustics, lighting, and electronic controls. 

“The renovation breathes new life into the music curriculum by enhancing the concert hall, classrooms and studios which are at the heart of the contemporary music program,” says campus architect Karen Fiene.

The most difficult part of the design phase was setting the scope because needs were great and funds were limited. By matching a prioritized list of needs with agreed-upon budgets during the feasibility phase, the scope was set.

The condition of the existing HVAC system and the need to upgrade it became a major design issue that called for key value engineering decisions. The college invested in a system that would upgrade services and support future improvements in the entire building. Alternative solutions to code compliance preserved historical features. 

The preservation and restoration of historic architectural features guided the project: stone entrance portal, bronze entrance doors, cast plaster ceiling in the lobby, concert hall frescoes and murals, decorative architectural elements such as wood paneling and light fixtures. These demonstrated respect for the cultural value of art and architecture within the campus and community.

Performers say they are better able to hear each other, and that rear-to-front echoes are gone. The acoustical consultant agrees that improvements in the hall are true to the predicted results.

Comments by musicians and concertgoers on the visual impact of the new design are also positive. The new interior shell achieved visual harmony between the decorative art in the upper walls and ceilings, and the lower audience area, which was entirely reconstructed.

This design represents a decisive work in the history of the campus for establishing a site planning concept and architectural character that became the Mills’ style for over 20 years. The approach was to preserve and restore all significant historical elements even though it increased the cost significantly higher than renovating a non-historic building. Mills College and the design team were fully committed to stewardship of the historic resources. 

The jury said, “ . . . the theatre is fabulous . . . architecture and acoustics work well together . . .”

Project Team: Mills College, and EHDD Architecture, with Rutherford & Chekene; Rumsey Engineers; Architectural Resources Group; Lutsko Associates; Silverman & Light; Ewart A. Wetherill; Auerbach Pollock Friedlander; Barbara and Andre Bossak; Claire Antonetti; Thomas Plagemann; James R. Griffin Construction; and Hathaway Dinwiddie