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Infrastructure Archives - Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture

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B4006 SMUD Headquarters Renovation, 2014

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SMUD Headquarters Renovation, 2014

The SMUD Headquarters Rehabilitation is a transformative project that honors the legacy of a mid-century modern icon while reshaping it for the needs of today’s workforce. Through thoughtful restoration, preservation, and targeted interventions—including an addition and comprehensive tenant improvements—the building now supports a dynamic workplace rooted in sustainability, resilience, and design excellence. This is more than a rehabilitation—it’s a reinvestment in Sacramento’s architectural heritage and SMUD’s forward-thinking mission.

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After more than 60 years of continuous use, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Headquarters has undergone a comprehensive rehabilitation. This revitalization of the 146,000-square-foot landmark carefully preserves the spirit of its mid-century modern design while upgrading the building for 21st-century performance. The transformation balances innovation with preservation, addressing the concerns of the historic community while supporting SMUD’s mission as a sustainability leader.

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Originally designed by our firm in 1958 for a growing utility, the SMUD Headquarters has come full circle with a complete interior and exterior renovation. Commissioned again in 2014, we approached the rehabilitation with deep respect for the building’s legacy and spatial logic. A discreet new addition introduces abundant daylight and expanded views, while a formerly enclosed central stair and mechanical shaft was replaced with an open stair to enhance vertical circulation and visual connection between wings. Updated open office areas now support a multi-generational workforce with flexible meeting, collaboration, and break spaces—carefully modernized while honoring the original five-foot planning grid.

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The rehabilitation extended beyond the building envelope to include thoughtful site and landscape improvements that maintain the integrity of the original 13-acre campus. Significant historic features were preserved and enhanced, reinforcing the building’s relationship to its surroundings. As part of this effort, artist Wayne Thiebaud’s iconic mosaic tile mural, Water City, was carefully cleaned and restored. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the SMUD Headquarters stands as both a cultural landmark and a continued symbol of civic pride.

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Architecture +Preservation—Popular Choice Winner

Modernism in America Awards, Special Citation

Preservation Design Awards—Trustee's Award for Excellence

Preservation Design Awards—Rehabilitation

Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards —Award of Excellence, Retrofit/Alteration

Best of Design Awards Honorable Mention—Restoration & Preservation

Best Real Estate Projects—Rehabilitation/Renovation

January Feature, "A 1959 Modernist Office in Sacramento Shines Again"

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Dreyfuss + Blackford has a specialty practice for Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) and our newest project of this type is for the County of Contra Costa. The County’s new EOC replaces an existing outdated facility.
This new essential service facility houses the office of the County Sheriff and Command Staff. A state-of-the-art Emergency Situation Room within the EOC is equipped with the highest level of communication technology. Additionally, the new building has a public training and lecture hall with amenities to support media briefings in times of emergency operations and community events.
Contra Costa County’s EOC is designed to operate independently for up to a week in the event of a natural disaster or crisis where city utilities are unable to function.
The project was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.

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PG&amp;E Gas Safety Academy, 2017

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Californis ISO Headquarters, 2011

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California ISO Headquarters

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California ISO Headquarters Interiors

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California ISO Headquarters, 2011

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A7814 California ISO Headquarters, 2011

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A new ferry terminal on the western shore of Treasure Island will provide easy access to San Francisco’s Financial District. An important link between the rapidly developing community of historic Treasure Island and San Francisco’s bustling downtown, the terminal was completed just in time for regular ferry service to begin in January 2022. The trip from the island to San Francisco’s Ferry Building takes only five minutes.
As an important part of the island, the pier is part of an assemblage that will ultimately include a 7,000 SF Ferry Shelter to accommodate residents waiting for the next ferry or other modes of transit that will be served by this intramodal hub, three Bus Shelters for SF MUNI and AC Transit riders, bus lanes and parking, as well as restroom facilities set within this waterfront plaza designed by AECOM.
The design of the Ferry Terminal pier tilts down subtly on the northern side of the pier to protect ferry users from the winds coming in through the Golden Gate, the roof becomes a lean, yet taut signature form that celebrates the island’s unique identity and introduces visitors to its blend of urbanity and powerful natural context.

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Treasure Island Ferry Terminal, 2019

Old Sacramento is the last remaining area in the city with direct access to the Sacramento river. Although the historic buildings in the district have been preserved, the vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian pathways throughout are confusing and disjointed. With previous installations of the Transcontinental Railroad’s western terminus, river levees to prevent flooding, and a major freeway bypassing the district, access has been blocked long-term to this jewel of the city.
Working in close coordination with a multidisciplinary team led by Atlas Lab, our solution proposes to restore waterfront access between Front Street and the river through creation of a signature park honoring Sacramento’s history, complete with narratives and native riparian vegetation. Creation of a separated pedestrian walkway and dedicated bike path along the embarcadero will also greatly improve access for all. The new dedicated bike path also provides a missing link in the regional trail system along the river. Additions of a performance space for outdoor concerts near the Tower Bridge, water splash pad with beach area for volleyball, and sheltered depot structure will encourage family and community engagement.
Team: 
ATLAS Lab, Inc. 
Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture 
Agency L+P 
Fehr+Peers 
Rana Creek Ecological Design 
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. 
Buehler Engineering

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Sacramento Waterfront Idea Makers Competition, 2019

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B8003 OE3 Training Center, 2018

Operating Engineers Local 3 (OE3) is the largest construction trades union in the country, comprised of men and women who operate heavy equipment on job sites and roadways. The development of a comprehensive master plan lead to the design of a new 15-acre educational campus on a 1,500 acre site. Working in close collaboration with an environmental consultant, landscape architect, and civil engineer we ensured the new campus would be a good neighbor to the various wetlands, native species and plants surrounding the property. OE3 will utilize just 5% of the total site area for training at any one time and the campus core accounts for only 1% of the total land area.
The campus core is composed of seven structures arranged and inspired by the barns and outbuildings of rural farms. The main campus is surrounded by a loop road separating external heavy equipment and maintenance functions from internal pedestrian circulation of the campus core. The heart of the campus is comprised of administration, classrooms and training buildings arranged to create a centralized hyper-social outdoor space where large groups can gather, and decentralized quiet spaces where students and staff can unplug between classes. The arrangement also creates areas for natural habitat, stormwater retention with bio swales and ponds. Other areas dedicated to heavy equipment use and training include a maintenance shop, storage and two-acre covered dig area for training during inclement weather. Covered and open training areas are separated by a series of landscape features and vegetated mounds to help deflect equipment sounds from the instruction core of the campus
The buildings are simple structures appropriate in scale, proportion and form to the typology of the area. Similar to old barn structures which utilized a heavy timber kit-of-parts to construct frames, these buildings utilize pre-engineered frames offering an economy, simplicity and column free interior space for greater training flexibility.

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Oyster Point Park is a large but undeveloped public space in the City of South San Francisco with a 408-berth marina, 300-foot fishing pier, hiking and jogging trails, picnic amenities and a 2.5-acre sandy beach. In collaboration with James Corner Field Operations, Dreyfuss + Blackford’s approach to this new waterfront park centered on creating a series of sculptural and abstract objects in a developing landscape, which frames the unlikely pairing of a bayside marina and burgeoning biotech community.
Three restroom buildings are located along the edge of the Bay Trail and support public passive and active recreational uses within the park for marina-bound boaters, beach visitors, cyclists and walkers. The elemental building forms are round with battered and textured concrete walls, recalling the oyster barnacles that constitute the foundational geology of the site, its history, and its namesake. The buildings were conceived as artifacts of this often windblown landscape, with rooflines that blend into the surrounding park, whether being viewed from pedestrian level or from the high rise development nearby. Minimizing their impact on the land, yet withstanding the relentlessness of the environment in their material language of concrete, steel and weathered cedar, these structures are naturally ventilated and incorporate daylighting with limited LED lighting for nocturnal use by harbor tenants.

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Turlock Irrigation District Control Center

Turlock Irrigation District (TID) is responsible for the management, maintenance, and reliability of a complex electrical and irrigation water distribution network that includes reservoirs, canals, power plants, and transmission lines. For over 40 years, this network has been monitored and operated from a control center located at the District’s corporation yard near downtown Turlock.
Two existing buildings previously occupied by the City of Turlock are now TID’s Power Operations Building and Water Distribution Building.
The Power Control Center in the Power Operation Building is the mission critical component of the project requiring significant renovations, including replacing and raising the roof structure to provide clear span spaces and additional height on the inside for a video display wall. It is surrounded by spaces that support the power control operators who work 12 hour shifts.
The Water Distribution building was given a new open office environment with several small focus rooms for the Water Distribution staff. It houses 18 previously-scattered water distribution operators and managers under one roof for a more collaborative culture, efficient distribution of water, and higher-level of customer service. The building also includes a new Irrigation Control room, updated fitness, break and locker rooms, and new conference rooms.
Both buildings were designed to optimize energy efficiency, conserve resources, and reduce long-term maintenance costs for the District.

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B5002 Turlock Irrigation District, Palm Street Operations Complex, 2015

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Central Terminal B is the centerpiece of Sacramento International Airport (SMF), reflecting the tree canopy identity of the Sacramento Region. The new terminal includes 23 gates, an automated people mover, local restaurants, expanded retail and security areas, plus multiple art exhibits including &#8220;Leap&#8221; the giant red rabbit by artist Lawrence Argent. Working with Corgan Associates and Fentress Architects, we served as the local architect on the project, dubbed &#8220;The Big Build.&#8221; Central Terminal B was completed early and under budget, and is certified LEED Silver.
This newest terminal positions the greater Sacramento region for long-term growth, with future expansion to include additional gates and conversion the existing Terminal A to an airside concourse with a second automated people mover.

Infrastructure

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SMUD Headquarters Rehabilitation

Contra Costa County, Emergency Operations Center

PG&E Gas Safety Academy

California ISO Headquarters & Operations Center

Treasure Island Ferry Terminal

Sacramento Waterfront Idea Makers Competition

OE3 Training Center

Oyster Point Park

Turlock Irrigation District Operations Complex

Sacramento International Airport Central Terminal B

San Joaquin RTD Regional Transportation Center

State of California, Office of Emergency Services