HomeMy WebLinkAbout3-06-2017 ARC Correspondence - Item 1 (Garcia)From: George Garcia[
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 11:09 AM
To: Scott, Shawna <sscott_@0s1ocitV.org>
Cc: 'Chris Allen' <
Meeting: AV-�/ ; , U - 11—
From:
1
Item: I
Subject: RE: ARCH -4242-2016 (1865/1845 Monterey): ARC Recommendation
Shawna:
Please note the following supplemental information:
RECEIVED
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
FEB 2 8 2017
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
1. Incorporating non-combustible materials: The primary criteria driving the redesign of the porte cochere
was the Building Departments' requirement that the porte cochere be constructed of non-combustible
materials, and also be structurally "free-standing" with no physical connections back into the main hotel
building. Therefore, metal and steel, which are inherently 100% non-combustible, are being used
throughout to meet these requirements.
Materials / Treatments: In addition to the building code requirements described above, the Fire
Department also required that a minimum 11'-0" clearance be maintained under the canopy. The
previous "flat -roof' porte cochere canopy design had vertical slatted composite wood elements that hung
down below this 11' required clear area, which had to be removed to maintain this clearance. In addition,
these previous vertical slat elements served to provide a required balcony railing for an outdoor terrace
that was previously located on the roof of the porte cochere. Again, due to building code occupancy and
exiting requirements, this terrace had to be eliminated from the roof of the porte cochere, obviating the
need for any railing or other vertical elements along the perimeter of the porte cochere fascia. Once
these vertical elements were removed, the previous design intent was completely lost, so a new design
solution had to be developed.
3. Colors: We have carefully chosen the colors of the new porte cochere to complement and resonate with
the approved exterior colors of the main hotel building. Please refer to color renderings provided with
our ARC submittal for clarification, which show the new porte cochere in context with the approved
hotel. Furthermore, these same colors are being utilized in the ground floor hotel lobby and interior
reception areas, in order to provide a cohesive aesthetic transition and sense of arrival from porte
cochere to the interior spaces of the hotel facility.
In summary, we did explore options and solutions that attempted to retain some of the original design intent,
including "tweaking" the original porte cochere vertical design elements & materials by changing them to smaller,
non-combustible vertical metal elements. Unfortunately, due to building and fire code constraints that were
placed on the original design during plan check, the original porte cochere proposal required substantial redesign
in order to comply with these new code restrictions which were not previously disclosed during the original ARC
design review process. All attempts to salvage original design elements while addressing these code constraints
resulted in an inferior design compromise which did not reflect the high quality nature of the hotel.
However, we feel that the new design approach for the porte cochere structure not only complements the modern
aesthetic of the approved hotel design, but provides a more inviting and welcoming sense of entry for guests of
the new hotel.
If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you,
George Garcia, AIA, RIBA