San Mateo County staff moves into new building

“It was really about good location, and gravitas and respect for the employees and the public that’s going to visit,” Ely said. “It’s nice to have a place that represents San Mateo County.” 

The building was planned early on to properly engage with the public, promote transparent governance and reflect the unique forward-thinking of the Bay Area, Project Manager Laird Bennion said.

Constructed out of mass timber, or compressed layers of wood, the new civic building is the first in the country to take advantage of the more sustainable material, despite it being seen as a risk. Wood dramatically lowers the building’s carbon footprint compared to if steel or concrete was used, Bennion said, and is misconstrued to be more prone to fires. 

“When we looked at the brief, in order for us to hit net-zero, in order for us to hit budget, for us to deal with the dirt and all that, we said we have to try something different, and this is it,” Bennion said. 

Alternative modes of construction were a part of the project from the beginning, which started shortly before the start of the pandemic in March 2020. 

With the design process completed virtually and minimal interfacing between staff, alternative methods to maintain progress had to be used. Sample materials were laid out on fold-up tables for masked staffers to take turns looking at in scheduled visits, Ely said. 

“It took a good bit of leadership from County Executive Mike Callagy to say these are generational projects and we’re not going to interrupt them for the pandemic, we’re going to proceed now,” Ely said. “Which actually kept people in work and kept our projects moving forward.”

The intention in design was rooted in accessibility, Supervisor David Canepa said, who served on the steering committee alongside Supervisor Warren Slocum for the building’s construction.

Being “accessible to the public is critical,” Canepa said. “There’s always barriers for people to government in traditional buildings. We wanted to do that, really making it, what I like to call it, the greenest house for people to congregate.”

The intention in design was rooted in accessibility, Bennion said. A new multi-purpose room will mainly serve as overflow for the supervisors’ chambers where board meetings will be held. The triangular room is a ground-level access space that opens out to Marshall Street right behind Courthouse Square, and is intended for community use. 

“This room in particular was designed so that it did not feel like it was a bureaucrat’s office,” Bennion said. “It’s public, this is the people’s house, it serves the people, they’re the boss, we work for them. We’re trying to make it transparent.” 

In addition to making the space inviting for residents, the building was constructed to incentivize workers to come in and collaborate, and, ultimately, to attract talent to civic work, Project Development Unit Director Sam Lin said. The new office will house more than 600 county employees throughout its five floors. 

“We had department staff saying they love working flex time,” Lin said. “After they moved in, they come in every day now.” 

Windows make all the difference in making the space inviting, Ely said. Despite large windows throughout the entire building providing panoramic views of the hills of San Mateo County, the building is able to remain relatively cool. 

Optimizing daylight and sustainable passive systems, blinds throughout the building shift automatically throughout the day to keep workers from bearing sun rays and maintain cooler temperatures. Energy efficient radiant flooring also utilizes embedded plumbing to keep rooms cool without requiring constant use of air conditioning. 

“If we’re going to build a building that’s going to last a long time, you need to take climate change into account because it is going to get hotter,” Bennion said. 

Not only does the building generate all the energy needed for its operation and maintenance, but the energy production is targeting around 6% above what’s being used. Reaching the highest certification level by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system was “a given,” Bennion said. 

“The best thing that could happen is that it gets copied,” Bennion said.