On Thursday, September 6th, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), San Francisco Section, honored the Monterey Conference Center with the 2018 Architectural Engineering Project of the Year award. The awards program highlights outstanding civil engineering projects in the region in a variety of categories. Award recipients were recognized at the ASCE San Francisco Section’s annual dinner meeting and awards gala.
SOM’s design reinvigorates the conference center as an important economic asset in the city of Monterey, a tourism destination located south of San Francisco. Reflecting the goal of connectedness—both of people and ideas, and of downtown businesses to waterfront amenities—the project transforms the 40-year-old facility into an inviting civic gateway for both visitors and residents.
A cantilevered envelope of perforated steel and transparent glass, designed to replace the former concrete and stucco facade, opens the conference center to its surroundings. An enlarged lobby with double-height glazing serves as a welcoming space for event attendees. The design reconfigures the adjacent Portola Plaza as an outdoor extension of the conference center, which strengthens pedestrian access from downtown to the waterfront.
The center offers a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, along with meeting rooms, event space, an art gallery, and administrative offices. The renovation reused more than 80 percent of the facility’s original steel and concrete superstructure.