Design Architect:

SVA Architects, Inc. / Executive Architect : Fernau + Hartman Architects / Design Architect

Associate Architect or Firm:

Landscape Architect:

Pamela Burton & Company

Owner / Developer:

University of California, Riverside

Project Data:

Completion Date:     12/1/2019

Square Footage:      16365

Building Use:           Entertainment, Dining

Project Description:

At the heart of The Barn Expansion project is the Barn Dining building, a farm structure from University of California, Riverside's (UCR) beginning as the 1907 Citrus Experiment Station. The Barn itself was constructed in 1916, originating as a horse barn, storage facility, and caretaker cottage on the Citrus Experiment Station (CES). UCR opened in 1954 and incorporated the CES, which would change its name to the Citrus Research Center in 1961, into its campus. The horse barn was ultimately converted into a student union/dining room and became the center of student social life in the 1950's.

The Barn, as it came to be known, hosted many up-and-coming musical artists through the years, including No Doubt and Sublime. Unfortunately, those events became increasingly rowdy due, in part, to a lack of site control, and large concerts were discontinued as of 1999. The Barn continued to serve meals and host small performances and other events up until its closure in 2018.

The current project undertakes an extensive renovation and modernization of the building, posing several challenges for the project team. The Barn building is over a century old and, as such, preserving the desired character requires attentive planning and execution. The goal is to maintain the historic character of The Barn into a fully modernized facility; the original 1917 roof structure will be preserved and remain a defining feature in the restored dining room.

A new Faculty / Staff Dining building (barn-like in form, but contemporary in material detailing) will reinforce the site’s identity as a dining hub. A new commercial kitchen is added as an expansion to The Barn Dining building; it will support the Barn Dining room and the dining room in the adjacent Faculty/Staff Dining Building. The existing Barn Theater building will be reconstructed to provide a multi-use performing and rehearsal space along with much needed storage and restrooms. A Ticketing Tower with a glowing lantern-like feature will define the East entrance, serving as a marker for the site along a proposed future “Barn Walk”.

Site fencing, landscape, and hardscape are composed in a way to define multiple outdoor nodes and dining areas. The outdoor performance venue is a courtyard formed by the surrounding buildings. A black walnut tree harvested from the site is being milled for wood to be used in the Faculty Bar and cedar siding from the original Barn Stable is being reclaimed to use as casework in select interior locations.

The size, scale, and detail of the original Barn and agricultural buildings in general are reflected in the architecture of this complex; in addition to the pure aesthetic challenges, the team has been tasked with fitting modern amenities into buildings of this modest size. The materials, forms, and landscape of this project are meant to reinforce the agrarian heritage of the site while also introducing a contemporary design language.