Ice Block I

Sacramento, CA

Winner of the ASCE California Project of the Year award, ICE Block I seemlessly integrated three structural materials and was one of the first projects in Northern California to utilize an exposed mass timber solution. The project is a reincarnation of the historic ice manufacturing facility and incorporated construction techniques common to Sacramento in the early 20th century, including an exposed heavy timber structure for the upper floors. The new building hosts retail and restaurant tenants on the first floor with office tenants on the second through fourth floors. The second floor includes post-tensioned concrete transfer girders, which allows the column spacing below to be shifted to accommodate the basement parking layout. The exposed buckling-restrained braced frames were originally designed by the architect as purely an architectural element, meaning that the real structural braces needed to be incorporated elsewhere; our team was able to eliminate the need for a duplicate system by leveraging the capabilities of the curtainwall system in combination with creative waterproofing solutions.