Originally designed for Luther Burbank Savings as its flagship branch, Washington Federal Bank’s (WaFd) Santa Rosa Branch was designed to provide a strong presence at a key downtown entry.
DOWNTOWN IDENTITY
Luther Burbank Savings chose a site on a prominent corner, which stands at the threshold of downtown Santa Rosa. The design goal was for a “clean, urban building” that would reflect it’s conservative business philosophy while welcoming progressive banking trends.
REMODEL STRETCH
From the owner’s perspective, remodeling the site’s existing building was preferable to constructing a new building. So TLCD took on the challenges of converting a 1960’s delicatessen into a two-story financial headquarters.
EXPANSION WITH LIGHT AND AIR
Lifting the roof and pulling the facades away from the body of the building added volume and appropriate scale to a site that nestles up against a monolithic concrete telecommunications hub. The roof openings and metal trellis create a day-lit zone along the active sidewalk, and acts as a buffer between the retail branch and busy street traffic.
Custom art glass clerestory panels facing the street are imbedded with leaves from Luther Burbank’s garden and pay homage to the horticulturist’s work.
JEWEL BOX
This small building with big impact has been an essential component to the City’s revitalization plan for downtown Santa Rosa. A strong visual “first impression” now greets visitors entering from the 3rd street freeway access. And, on dark winter evenings the building’s glow lends a comforting presence to the neighborhood.
RECOGNITION
AIA Redwood Empire, Merit Award 2014
BUILDING STATS
Client: Luther Burbank Savings
Size: 9,250 SF
Budget: $4.9 M
Completion: 2013