Education and Visitor Center Fact Sheet

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Education and Visitor Center Fact Sheet

Project
The Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center is a new entrance complex at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif. The project consists of six and a half acres of gardens as well as 52,000 square feet of new facilities for lectures, conferences, classes, meetings, and visitor amenities, and 42,000 square feet of underground space for collections and institutional storage.

Location
Replaces a previous 9,000-square-foot entrance area (part of a larger complex designed by Whitney R. Smith in 1980) and extends northward, into space adjacent to the Munger Research Center.

Key Dates
Groundbreaking - April 2013
Opening of front section of center - January 14, 2015
Opening of the rest of the center - April 2015

Cost*
Planning and construction - $68 million
Operations endowment - $10 million

Project Team

The Huntington
Laurie Sowd, vice president for operations and project manager
David Zeidberg, director of the library
Jim Folsom, director of the botanical gardens
Scott Kleinrock, garden design and landscape construction coordinator
Maria Grant, chair of the design committee
Lary Mielke, chair of the construction advisory committee

Architect
Architectural Resources Group
Stephen J. Farneth, FAIA, principal in charge
James McLane, AIA, associate principal and project manager

Landscape Architect
Office of Cheryl Barton
Cheryl Barton, FASLA, design principal
Paul Sieron, managing principal

Construction
Matt Construction
Jim Muenzer, senior vice president
Drew Wesling, senior project manager
Ken George, superintendent

Consultants
Acoustical design consultant: Charles M. Salter Associates
Civil engineer: Breen Engineering
Construction and cost consultant: Bert England Design-Build
Environmental graphics: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill
Fire and life safety consultant: The Fire Consultants
Food service consultant: R.W. Smith and Company
Hardware specifications consultant: Finish Hardware Tech.
Interior design: Brayton Hughes Design Studios
Mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and lighting engineer: Stantec
Parking and traffic consultant: Linscott, Law and Greenspan
Retail store design: Miroglio Architecture and Design
Specifications consultant: Chew Specifications
Structural engineer: Englekirk and Sabol
Theater and audiovisual system design: Auerbach, Pollock, Friedlander
Waterproofing consultant: Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger

Sustainability

• The complex meets the performance objectives of Southern California Edison’s Savings By Design program, using 18% less energy than the current code allows.
• Loggias serve as circulation spaces, minimizing the amount of air-conditioned interior space.
• Windows are shaded by loggias, trellises, and deep wall recesses, reducing the heat load.
• Skylights and windows use energy-efficient glass.
• Air handlers and air distribution systems are energy efficient.
• Day lighting is available throughout the interiors.
• Lighting and light control systems are energy efficient.
• Chilled water is created on site, providing enhanced energy efficiency.
• Plumbing systems are water efficient.
• Water runoff is collected in a system of underground perforated pipes that enables runoff to percolate into the ground.
• Plants in the gardens are low water use.
• Light-colored paving reduces heat absorption in the hardscape areas.

Architectural history of site
The property that is now The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens was purchased in 1903 by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927). Huntington commissioned architect Myron Hunt (1868–1952) to design a 55,000-square-foot Beaux-Arts residence (now the Huntington Art Gallery, completed in 1911 and restored by Earl Corp. and Architectural Resources Group in 2008), an 8,000-foot garage (now the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, completed in 1911 and restored by Brenda Levin in 2000), and a 96,000-square-foot Library (built in 1919) on the property. John Russell Pope (1874–1937) designed the Mausoleum on the grounds (completed in 1929), which includes sculpture by John Gregory (1879–1958).

Since Henry Huntington’s death, the institution added an entrance arcade and multipurpose room (demolished to make room for the new center) and an extension to the Library building, designed by Whitney R. Smith (1980); the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art (Paul Gray, 1984), and its additional wing, the Lois and Robert F. Erburu Gallery (Frederick Fisher, 2005); as well as a Botanical Center (Offenhauser and Associates, 2000–2004). There have been five additions to the original Library building, including most recently the 90,000-square-foot Munger Research Center (Earl Corp, 2004).

*The Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center was funded entirely with private contributions, with a lead gift from Charles T. Munger.

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Updated 10/2014

Contacts
Thea M. Page, 626-405-2260, tpage@huntington.org
Lisa Blackburn, 626-405-2140, lblackburn@huntington.org