Berkeley Repertory Theatre
After closing its doors during COVID, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre has reopened as a performance venue with a residential complex. The main performance venue remains, but a new mixed-use building was constructed with 45 units of housing for visiting artists to stay on-site throughout the preparation and duration of their performances. The new mixed-use building also includes classrooms, offices, a gallery, studio spaces, storage, and outdoor courtyards.
Date Completed: September 2022
Construction Cost: $26 million
Client: Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Architect: De Quesada Architects
Structural Engineer: OLMM Consulting Engineers
Civil Engineer: Humann Company Inc.
General Contractor: Cahill Construction
Rockridge Geotechnical, Inc. (RG) provided geotechnical engineering services for this redevelopment of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. RG performed a geotechnical investigation for the project and consulted with the development and design teams from the early stages of the project through entitlement, schematic design, and design development.
The site was previously occupied by a one-story commercial building and a loading dock for the theatre. The building is seven stories, and the ground floor consists of retail space, theatre storage, a truck loading dock, and workshop and lobby areas. The second floor consists of classrooms, office space, and a lobby area. The upper five floors consist of 45 residential units.
Some areas of the site are underlain by clay that has moderate strength and is moderately compressible. To provide adequate support and limit settlement to acceptable limits, the building is supported on a stiffened shallow foundation system consisting of interconnected, continuous spread footings. Excavation for the building pad and foundations extends below adjacent building foundations, so temporary shoring was installed to provide support to the adjacent foundations. RG provided geotechnical observation and testing services during the construction of the project.