CAMPOAMOR ARCHITECTS

San Francisco: Notre Dame des Victoires

Notre Dame des Victoires is the French Catholic Church in San Francisco. The Church and Rectory are registered historic landmarks. The Church was built from 1907 to 1915 to replace an earlier church destroyed in the San Francisco 1906 earthquare and fire. It had to be structurally reinforced to resist seismic forces in compliance with a city ordinance adopted after the 1989 earthquake. This provided the opportunity for a thorough restoration.Plans for retrofitting had to take into account maintaining as much of the integrity of the existing building as possible, particularly on the exterior and at the nave level. The project was presented to the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, which unanimously approved a Certificate of Appropriateness. It won a Preservation Design Award in 1998 from the California Preservation Foundation.
   
The brick facade and terracotta facade of the church was selectively repointed and thoroughly cleaned, in accordance with the recommendations of Page and Turnbull, Historic Preservation Consultants. Both church and rectory were repainted throughout with a new color scheme reminiscent of limestone and bronze colors, closer to the original palette.
   
The original and valuable pipe organ had to be carefully protected during construction. The console and echo organs, close to the line of th e shear walls, had to be removed and re-installed. Parts of the instrument were upgraded, and the entire system was re-tuned.At the level of the nave, the entry was reworked to accommodate the new shear walls, behind which the elevator and elevator lobby on one side, and a reconciliation room on the other, are located.
     
  
In order to meet accessibiltiy requirements, a new elevator and shaft was inserted behind the south shear wall and below the east tower, where it both creates a short path of access and the least impact on the historic fabric. The toweres were reinforced with steel columns and concrete diaphragms, not noticeable from the exterior.
   
Restoration of the terracotta and brick facing.
   
Close up of tower pilaster
     
  
The principal elements of the seismic solution are the addition of two transversal concrete shear walls, one in line with the back wall of the towers and extending into the rectory, the other in line with the wall separating aisle and sacristy (shown in this drawing); the adaptatilon of the steel frame over the aisles to function as a horizontal steel truss tying the two shear walls together; and the addition of a plywood diaphragm at both nave and aisle roofs.The shear wall extension into the rectory incorporates pylons to resist overturning on the opposite side, where an alley ruled out a complementary buttress. The brick walls of the rectory were anchored to newly-re-structured floor diaphragms.
   
A steel brace inserted within a buttress in line with the north shear wall.
   
A horizontal steel truss inserted above the aisles bridges between south and north shear walls. The original self-supporting plaster vaults , framed in wood, can be seen below the truss.
     
  
The original Church and Rectory shared a common brick wall, so the two structures had to be tied together so they would behave as one building during earthquakes.
   
The exit stair in the ground floor Meeting Hall was treated as a design accent within the space.
   
Section drawing at nave. Massive concrete footings indicate the position of the north and south shear walls (mostly behind or in front, since the sedtion cut is taken at the central openings).
     
  
Exit stair, arch at north shear wall.
   
The meeting hall, home to some of t he heaviest structural interventions, was thoroughly remodeled. A drop ceiling was removed, revealing the Ionic capitals of the slender cast iron columns. Claiming the original ceiling height also freed the full height of the window openings, and new "French" casement windows, with knuckle joint, cremone bolts, etched glass and limestone sills, were installed. A ceiling plenum in the center allows for heating and ventilation supply, with light scoops at the aisles reaching up to the window head. New accessible restrooms located near the entry, with French limestone flooring and stair at the entry to the hall.
   
Interior of the nave during construction. The stained glass windows were inspected and catalogued by an objects conservator, then cleaned and repaired by a stained glass specialist. The interior was repainted, including repainting of stencils on the nave ceiling. New flooring and sub-flooring were installed, with restoration and refinishing of the marble floors at the entry and altar.
     
  
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, owner. Rev. Etienne Siffert, Pastor; Steven Bowers, Archdiocese Building Comnmittee.CAMPOAMOR architects - Roberto & Halcyon Campoamor, principals, with David Finn, AIA, project and construction management, consulting architect.URS Greiner, Inc., structural engineers. Joe Baldelli, engineer and project team leader, with Larry Seaman, architect.H&M Mechanical Group, mechanical engineer.Pete O. Lapid & Assoc., electrical engineer.Treadwell & Rollo, Inc., geotechnical engineer.Page & Turnbull, historic preservation consultant.Luminous Environments, lighting consultant.Schoenstein & Co., organ consultant.Lesley Bone, M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, object conservator.Paoletti Associates, acoustical engineer.Mayta & Jensen, general contractors. Oliver Dibble, project manager; Wayne Sanders, jobsite superintendent. www.maytajensen.com