The latest constructing in central Oakland is the awkwardly named AC Lodge by Marriott Oakland Downtown, at Jefferson and 14th Streets. The AC chain purports to supply “inns that mirror the soul of every metropolis they’re positioned in . . . a singular mixture of high quality, timeless European design, consolation and true authenticity.”
To me the “soul” of downtown Oakland is its assortment of classic buildings that vary in age from the 1870s to immediately. Even our latest towers, residential and business, are classic merchandise of our fascinating time. The AC Lodge gives a head and shoulders of sound Twenty first-century kind, soft-finished steel and glass with restrained offsets and reasonable top. And down at avenue stage, it nods to its century-old friends.
I respect the dignified grey tone of this wall, its solidity and its number of texture and type. However being a geologist, I all the time take a more in-depth look.
This isn’t “true authenticity” and even plain previous authenticity. It’s concrete that mimics fine-grained granite. To me it seems simply as pretend because the little plastic landscaping stones that cowl spigots and conceal spare keys. My aesthetics are only a private style, and I don’t blame the architects or something. However there are different issues to think about about concrete.
First let me say that I really like concrete. It’s a miracle materials that has reworked structure. It’s a foundational expertise and the only largest human-made substance. It has fantastic potential for creative expression, like this instance a couple of blocks away.
However the manufacture of cement, the binder that holds concrete collectively, is very carbon-intensive. Each ton of cement provides a couple of ton of CO2 to the ambiance, a ratio as unhealthy as coal. That makes concrete a significant greenhouse gasoline contributor and a cussed downside to unravel earlier than we are able to obtain a carbon-free future.
So the query I’ve for architects is, why use concrete when actual stone can do the identical job? An enlightening article by a British structural engineer argues that stone is able to way more than we expect; as an example, prestressed stone beams can outperform concrete in power, lightness and sturdiness. At the moment concrete is cheaper than stone, however its carbon footprint is over ten occasions higher. A simple carbon tax might do a lot to proper the steadiness, particularly if builders and designers embrace novel makes use of of stone.
Take a leisurely tour of downtown Oakland, and also you’ll see stone in all places, previous and new, ornamental and structural. There may be an fascinating exception: the First Presbyterian Church, at Broadway and twenty sixth/twenty seventh Road, an English Gothic construction constructed with concrete going through within the early 1910s.
The Rev. Frank L. Goodspeed promised in 1912 that “it’s anticipated to be one of the full and delightful church buildings on the Pacific Coast.” The church elders thought of stone on the time, however concrete “forged stone” was one-third cheaper. The J. C. Henderson firm of Alameda manufactured 22,000 superficial ft of ashlar panels for the outside, plus all the customized curved items, window frames and so forth, “no pure stone getting into into the work.” Additionally they took pains to provide it a extra naturalistic look:
A noticeable attribute of the church partitions is the numerous tone. Not each stone is of exactly the identical shade. This end result was achieved in using two completely different manufacturers of cement. Santa Cruz cement is of a really gentle shade and was used for all the trim and the window tracery and for a 3rd of the ashlar. Golden Gate cement, of a darkish shade, was used for the rest of the work. Further shade variation was obtained by utilizing lime rock as an alternative of blue rock within the trim, along with white Monterey sand and a few shade to provide a buff shade. (Concrete, Dec. 1916, p. 181)
The AC Lodge might have used a few of that actually genuine old style care.
There’s a bigger dialog happening concerning the climate-related deserves of various constructing supplies, not simply concrete and stone. Good previous timber has advocates, and Oakland could have a Twenty first-century tower with wooden framing at 1510 Webster, going up now.
Mass timber claims to be climate-friendly, sustainable and all that good things. That half is debatable. However its gentle weight and pace of development are indeniable benefits. And perhaps the constructing’s foyer could have some actually cool stone options.
