Time and tide had eroded the venerable Sea Scout building, perched at the edge of the Baylands. Owned by the City of Palo Alto and designed by renowned Palo Alto architect Birge Clark in the mid-1930s in the “streamline natural” style, the Sea Scout building had been suffering from daily tidal actions for years because it had sunk three feet into the soft bay ground. Once a deep-water port, Palo Alto halted dredging in the 1970s and allowed the tidal area to return to its natural marsh state. Our client, the Environmental Volunteers, approached the city on behalf of the ailing building. Palo Alto agreed to give the non-profit a long-term lease in return for renovation of the badly dilapidated building.
CAW demonstrates that historic preservation and sustainable design are compatible and complimentary in this very unique and whimsical building. The newly renovated EcoCenter building opened in 2012.
