REDWOOD TO THE RESCUE

AS DEPICTED in this concept rendering, the Berkeley Tuolumne Camp will be rebuilt using FSC-certified California redwood for nearly all of its 90+ structures, including its covered deck of its Recreation Hall. (Photos courtesy Liza McNulty, City of Berkeley, Ca.)

Historic camp rebuilds with redwood

STEADY SUPPLY of redwood timbers is being shipped to the camp by dealer Sonora Lumber, Sonora, Ca. I 1 , the 0-acre Berkeley Tuolumne Camp in the Stanislaus National Forest welcomed more than ,000 campers annually for fun-filled activities and traditions. Tragically, the camp was largely destroyed by the 01 Rim Fire.

After years of fundraising, negotiations with insurers, local and federal agencies, and lengthy planning and permitting processes, the reconstruction broke ground last une. The reconstruction project is slated to take about two years—and just shy of a half-million board feet of California redwood.

City of Berkeley project manager Liza McNulty said the city has worked for seven years with many partners, including the U.S. Forest Service, state O ce of Emergency Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, to bring the camp back to life for the next generation of campers.

Siegel Strain Architects is the lead design firm on the project, tasked with designing camp facilities including a new dining hall, recreation hall, camper and staff cabins, maintenance structure, pedestrian bridges, parking and loading areas, and other infrastructure. The camp buildings and landscape have been designed to evoke the rustic spirit of the old camp, while using contemporary construction methods to meet modern building codes.

Critical to the city and its many stakeholders was that the building materials come from sustainable sources. The old camp was largely built with old-growth wood timbers; the new design also calls for a heavy use of wood to maintain the original aesthetic. Berkeley committed to using Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood whenever possible on the project. With that requirement in mind, the project is incorporating redwood lumber and timbers from umboldt Sawmill in the design of its nearly 100 different structures.

“We have redwood in virtually every building—including structural mem-

bers, board batt siding, and decking,” McNulty said.

Sam Patti, umboldt’s P of sales for California, noted, “The decision to use redwood was that of the stakeholders to rebuild and preserve the appearance and history of the camp. Their goal was to put it back as closely as they could within reason to what was destroyed in the fi re.” umboldt Sawmill learned of the project about 1 months ago. “We were fi elding inquiries for large amounts of redwood from several of our (dealer) customers, that were very similar but yet very diff erent,” Patti said. “That’s when I decided to consolidate all the quotes and get everyone on the same page. I reached out to the architects via one of the contractors bidding the job. The issue was specifi cations and inquiries were vastly diff erent, which is never surprising as interpretations are always diff erent, although all talking about the same job. We clarifi ed what the goal was and determined which grades were best suited, and took it from there.”

The bidding process went on for several months, fi nally coming to fruition in late August 0 0. Once the bid was awarded, umboldt met with stakeholders and confi rmed the grades and what to expect within the grades. Its Sawmill team mocked up several samples of large timbers, as well as dimensional pieces, and sent them to the jobsite, where all parties involved were able to agree and approve.

Redwood of virtually all dimensions is being utilized, with a considerable number of large eartwood timbers. Sourced from 0,000 acres of FSC timberlands in Northern California, the redwood from umboldt Sawmill has the additional benefi t of local availability and a low carbon footprint.

The project is expected to be completed—and begin refi lling with campers—in late spring 0 .

WORK PROGRESSES on the Recreation Hall deck.

RIVER-FACING section of the redwood deck is under construction by contractor Robert E. Boyer Construction, Sonora, Ca.