Downtown Placerville office project joins history, green design

Historic preservation and the latest in environmentally friendly technology inspired the design for a professional office complex rising in downtown Placerville.

Anova Architects – formerly Murray & Downs Architects – purchased the Fausel House, a 147-year-old, two-story brick landmark at the western end of the city's historic Main Street business district. Late last year, the house was moved about 40 feet to become the centerpiece of a two-story office building and courtyard that will house offices and studios for Anova's 60 Placerville employees.

The construction project, with a cost of just under $5 million, is scheduled for completion by December.

Anova employees, who have the rare opportunity of designing their own quarters, say the complex is intended to function as a workplace and as an educational center where people can view the workings of "green" building technology.

"There are not many opportunities to put an 18,000-square-foot building in a historic town," said architect Jeffrey Lubenko, Anova's director of design. The site, bounded by the Old City Cemetery and Rector, Main and Pacific streets, is at an important juncture near the new connector road linking the Main Street area with the Placerville Drive business district.

"This is where the old part of town ends and the new part begins," Lubenko said.

Anova seeks to represent both in the office project.

Architect Patty Karapinar said the new U-shaped building features three segments so the mass of the structure matches the character of the historic downtown.

The building incorporates many of the characteristics of a brewery that once stood next to the Fausel House.

The new building will feature concrete pillars and aluminum curtain walls, as well as large windows – 4 feet wide and 7 feet tall – like those found in old warehouse or loft-type space, he said.

But function is key to the design. Anova's goal is to create the first building in western El Dorado County registered and certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – green building rating system. The LEED program encourages use of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly practices, materials and standards.

To that end, the new Fausel Professional Building has been designed to take advantage of natural light. Every office will have a window, and all work spaces will have a view of the outdoors.

Lubenko said the architectural team tested a model of the building using Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s Heliodome in San Francisco.

The Heliodome simulates the sun coming over the building, and sensors inside the model show where sunlight and shadows would fall between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at various times of the year.

Except for very cloudy days, Lubenko said, no indoor lighting should be required in work areas during daylight hours.

The building's mechanical systems are designed to draw in air from outdoors to keep air fresh inside. Karapinar said materials also have been chosen for furnishings and flooring that don't contain formaldehyde or other chemicals that foul indoor air.

They've also selected waterless urinals and dual-flush toilets, and the elevator will be powered by an electric motor rather than a hydraulic system, eliminating the use of hydraulic fluid.

"It will be super-quiet, super-efficient and we're able to save square footage," Shannon Bolick, an architectural intern heavily involved in the project's design, said of the elevator.

The courtyard will include a water feature tied in with the project's drainage system. Runoff will be channeled through swales where water will be filtered as it tumbles over rocks and grass before flowing into the city's storm drain system, Lubenko said.

The courtyard, landscaped with native and drought-tolerant plants, will serve as an outdoor "room" for staff meetings and social functions, he said.

Many structural features hidden from view in most buildings, such as "X" braces in walls, will be exposed in the interior decor of the new building, serving as instructional tools.

"We want the building to reveal itself, to be almost akin to an exploratorium," Lubenko said. He said Anova plans to offer tours for schoolchildren and public groups interested in "green" design.

The historic 1,600-square-foot Fausel House also is being restored as a separate part of the project and may house some of the firm's offices as well as community meeting space.

Lubenko said the previous owner had painted the brick building red. When his wife wasn't satisfied with the result, the man painted white lines between the bricks to look like mortar.

Bolick said the old paint contained lead and had to be removed. Instead of sandblasting, a spray of sunflower seed husks was used to remove the paint without damaging the old bricks and mortar, she said.

The building also has been retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, and a new porch has been installed.

Lubenko said archive photos of the Fausel House were obtained from the El Dorado County Historical Museum.

The handrail and porch had been changed three or four times since the house was constructed, Lubenko said, so the restoration reflects a period with "a more romantic look."

The house's original footprint will be outlined in the reception area of Anova's new building, he said, and the site of the original cornerstone will be commemorated with a plaque.

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