Military Bases

Knapp Architects takes a special interest in districts and similar historic properties which are larger, more complex, and more challenging than single buildings or small sites. We also relish the challenge of adaptive use and projects which strive to overcome technical, programmatic, and economic hurdles in extending the life and cultural presence of historic properties. Military base conversions provide a rewarding combination of these opportunities and constraints. Our firm’s experience offers effective research and evaluation of historical topics, a clear sense of the important issues in reuse projects, and a practical approach to buildings and sites -- skills which can make an important contribution to military base conversions.

We are serving as preservation consultant to Upstream Point Molate LLC and the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians, the developer and owner which are collaborating with the City of Richmond to redevelop the Point Molate Fuel Depot in Contra Costa County. This project combines mulitlayered history and constraints with rare opportunities. Our work includes adding depth to limited historical doc umentation of a complex and significantly altered site, and working with a project team which is responding to a wide range of stakeholders.

Knapp Architects was hired to assist the City of Sunnyvale and its consultant team in assessing the historical significance of Onizuka Air Force Base, a post-World War II resource slated for base closure. In charting economic opportunities for reuse, the city also wants to understand the historical and cultural potential of this Modernist complex. The Golden Gate National Parks Association and National Park Service tapped our firm for architectural services in rehabilitating Building 507 at Fort Baker for use as a park office. This structure near the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge was built early in the 20th Century as a barracks, but was converted to office use during the Nike Missile era. We designed rehabilitation for modern office use by Park Service staff.