Hearst Memorial Mining Building, 20 Mar 2010
This building caught my attention from a distance & fond curiousity pulled me closer.
Hearst Memorial Mining Building. The name of the building got me even more interested. I was a geology student for a brief spell, until I heard that about 80% of geologists end up working for the oil companies.
Naturally, the Mining & Metallurgy department is housed here. At least, that is what the large sign above the door claims.
"Huh. There appears to be some sort of domed skylight inside... I wonder if I can get in." Just as I was pondering this & walking up to check the door, a whole family came out. The man looked at me a bit suspiciously, so I smiled & brightly said "Thank you!", as if he was holding the door open for me, which he then did & I walked in.
When the door closed behind me, I was a little overwhelmed by a number of things at once... the abundance of space around & above me, the quiet that immediately overcame that space once the door had closed, the amazing pretty much everything about the architecture, & the surprisingly comforting smell of dry rock. I took a deep breath, then explored every part of the building I could get to & feel like I wasn't invading anyone's project space. I mostly stayed in hallways & foyers.
Yeah. 3 domed skylights in the 3 story lobby. This combination of austere features made of heavy, basic materials is just about everything I love in architecture.
"This building stands as memorial to George Hearst, a plain honest man and good miner. The stature and mould of his life bespoke the pioneers who gave their strength to riskful search in the hard places of the earth. He had warm heart toward his fellow men and his hand was ready to kindly deed. Taking his wealth from the hills, he filched from no mans store and lessened no mans opportunity."
This is the hallway along the left side of the building, off the lobby. There's another almost exactly like it on the right side of the building.
"Hearst Memorial Mining Building, A Restored Treasure. To imagine this building as it was when it opened in 1907, simply look around you. Start in the grand entry hall to your left, where the ornate steel rafters, lattice girders, and vaulted ceiling of Guastavino tile together recall the characteristics of a mineshaft. Make your way to the two interior light courts, once again letting in sunlight after fifty years as filled-in floor space. Even the new red tile atop the building comes from the same company that supplied the original in 1907.
'The renovation of Hearst Memorial Mining Building, completed in September 2002, not only restores an architectural landmark considered the masterwork of founding campus architect John Galen Howard. It also provides engineering students and faculty with up-to-date laboratories and classrooms suited to work that will improve the quality of our lives, health, and environment. The new laboratories are designed to adapt to new technology or needs quickly and often. Much space is shared, incorporating specialized equipment used by campus researchers both within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the building's primary occupant, and in related fields in engineering, chemistry, and physics.
'And because this magnificent building is located just 800 feet west of the Hayward fault, the restoration project included a bold move to place the entire building on a bed of base isolators - 134 rubber and steel cylinders that allow the building to roll through a major earthquake. Base isolation was pioneered by Berkeley structural engineers in the 1970s and is now used in seismic retrofitting around the world.
'In 1902, philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst commissioned this building as a memorial to her husband, George, who made his fortune in the silver and copper mines of the West. A plaque in the entry hall remembers him as "a plain and honest man and good miner." Mrs. Hearst also sought to provide mining engineers and students with laboratory space conducive to the very best work. Today, her aims continue to be realized in a building that is now a vital engineering center for the 21st century.'
An archway on the second floor.
The third floor.
Not sure why this one picture wanted to be made into a cartoonish sort of thing... it just did.
Stairs.
A view from inside.