July 6, 2011
By Evan Aczon
When the original plans for California Memorial Stadium were proposed in 1921, controversy erupted over the location. Opponents to the new stadium objected mainly to its location in Strawberry Canyon. At the turn of the last century, the canyon was home to Strawberry Creek, some native grasses and landscaping that had been planted by UC Berkeley researchers.
As we all know, the stadium did get built in the canyon in a location that has been recognized as one of the top college venues in the country by Sports Illustrated and ESPN. Part of Strawberry Creek was moved into culverts and new oak trees were planted around the new football facility.
Fast-forward to 2008 and once again, there was controversy about a proposal for construction of campus athletics facilities.
"We were looking for somewhere to put a 150,000-square-foot building, and we couldn't build on top of Maxwell Field (home to field hockey) or Witter Rugby Field up in Strawberry Canyon," Bob Milano, assistant athletic director for capital planning and management, said of the Student-Athlete High Performance Center, now nearing completion. "Building it next to the stadium just made sense. It had to have everything we needed, in terms of facilities, but we didn't want it to disrupt the theme of the historical facade, so we sunk it underground."
Putting the SAHPC mostly underground meant excavating a grove of trees that, contrary to the protesters' argument, had been part of the local landscape only since the original stadium construction began in 1922.
"There were many ideas how to arrange a building outside the stadium," said Jim Horner, the landscape architect for UC Berkeley. "The solution that the team came up with, along with Olin Partnership, the landscape architect for the project, is a very low-profile building that didn't detract from the lines and the character of the original stadium."
As part of the process, which includes an effort to have the new and renovated facilities connect better with the central campus, the University set out to mitigate the tree removal by planting three new trees for every one extracted. That course of action is being undertaken now, and the effects are becoming visible around the stadium and all over campus. The new trees are a combination of native, climate-tolerant and aesthetically pleasing species that will be installed as part of the construction on Piedmont Avenue.
On the southbound side of Piedmont, right across from the SAHPC and in front of the Haas School of Business, a dozen Chinese pistache trees are being planted. These trees are characterized by their leaves, which undergo a brilliant change in color as the seasons shift.
A mix of five different species, mostly California Live Oak, will also be placed along Piedmont, around the SAHPC roof-top and grand entrance plazas, and up towards the student entrance to the stadium. The Live Oaks will be familiar to visitors, as they populate a good part of campus and Berkeley in general. There will also be California redwoods, Italian stone pines, Chinese elms and Eastern redbuds.
Horner is keen on preserving the historical feel of the new stadium while also providing functionality and beauty to the surrounding stadium landscape. This involves restoring native tree species as well as adding some species that will make an even more impressive visual impact without detracting from the traditional landscape.
"The trees are going in first, and will be the backbone for the project," Horner said. "We're not trying to recreate the grove that was there. What we will do is bring back some of that character that was there by putting in large trees. We selected trees from the nursery that were naturals, because they're not grown and pruned like lollipops. We wanted to have as much of the rustic character as we could get."
That character will be recaptured by planting trees that grow as they do in the wild. Many trees will already be mature, making an immediate impact on the area. Those chosen have unpruned branches that go all the way to the ground, giving the option, as the trees develop in their new environment, to remove branches as the landscapers see fit, instead of waiting for pruned trees to grow more rustic.
This design also makes for a more natural looking landscape, Horner said. Instead of appearing manicured and placed, these trees will appear like they belong there, which fits in with the overall historical theme of the project.
Later this summer, after the trees have been planted, the crews will start filling in the area with shrubbery and ground cover.
