As a part of the campus-wide electrification project, Interactive Resources, Inc. was tasked with providing architecture, historic preservation, and structural engineering services for a new high voltage switch station. When locating a site became problematic, we suggested the potential adaptive reuse of the nearby 1904 powerhouse building, which was red tagged for seismic collapse risk, as a candidate for restoration and reuse as a switch station enclosure. After an extensive feasibility assessment, UC Berkeley decided to move forward with a project that would restore and rehabilitate the historic building (Old Art Gallery) returning to its original use as a power station.

Interactive Resources provided comprehensive architectural, structural engineering, and historic preservation services and worked with historic consultants, electrical, and soils engineers to design a complete restoration of the exterior brick masonry, clay tile roof, and a full seismic upgrade that included interior steel-reinforced shotcrete walls throughout and a new horizontal truss at the roof level. We designed a complete restoration of the historic skylights at the roof monitor.

As part of this project, the restored historic WPA era mosaic tile murals at the east façade were protected in place. We were honored to be entrusted with the restoration of a historically significant masonry building designed by the esteemed UC Berkeley Campus Architect John Galen Howard. The Old Art Gallery Mosaics are composed of four Byzantine-style mosaic murals that allude to different art forms such as music, sculpture, and dance. The mosaics were built with an assortment of different type of tiles, including regular smalti tiles, and pieces of glazed and un-glazed ceramic tiles. The rehabilitated building will serve as Switch Station #8, the future home of electrical equipment that will route energy throughout the campus, returning the building to its original purpose, and playing a critical role in the campus-wide electrification project.

Recognized for its architectural significance and cultural heritage, this restoration project underscores Interactive Resources’ commitment to preserving the rich history of the UC Berkeley’s campus while supporting efforts towards implementation of a more sustainable infrastructure.