1965 photograph of IGPP Munk Lab looking northeast with Walter Munk (standing) in the foreground. Courtesy UC San Diego Library Digital Collections
1965 aerial view looking north. Courtesy UC San Diego Library Digital Collections.
The southwest corner of the building showing the restored exterior walkway and overhead trellis. Photo by Darren Bradley
The southwest corner of the building showing the restored exterior walkway and overhead trellis. Photo by Darren Bradley
The southwest corner of the building showing the restored exterior walkway and overhead trellis. Photo by Darren Bradley
The restored north facade looking south at the main building entrance. Photo by Darren Bradley
The restored north facade looking east at the main building entrance. Photo by Darren Bradley
A view of the overhead trellis prior to restoration. Several pieces of wood are missing and the building corners are sagging requiring temporary wood supports. Courtesy Heritage Architecture & Planning
The restored overhead trellis. Missing and severely damaged redwood trellis boards have been replaced in-kind and the wood has been stained/finished to match the original colors. Photo by Darren Bradley
The north patio prior to restoration. Structural wood posts and beams are deteriorated and sagging. Courtesy Heritage Architecture & Planning
A close-up view of wood on the trellis prior to restoration. There is significant dry-rot and wood damage. Courtesy Heritage Architecture & Planning
Restored north patio. Damaged structural posts, beams, and trellis boards were selectively replaced to reconstruct the original overhead trellis. Photo by Darren Bradley
The restored north patio looking east. Photo by Darren Bradley
The south facade prior to restoration looking west at the damaged walkway, sliding glass doors, and steel guardrails. Courtesy Heritage Architecture & Planning
The restored south walkway looking west at the repaired and refinished walkway, sliding glass doors, and steel guardrails. Courtesy Darin Fong Photography
Walter Munk (center) seated with students on the north patio in 1966. Courtesy UC San Diego Library Digital Collections
The restored north patio from the same vantage point. Photo by Darren Bradley
1966 photograph of the south facade looking west. Courtesy UC San Diego Library Digital Collections
Restored south facade from the same vantage point. Courtesy Darin Fong Photography
RISING FROM THE BLUFFS overlooking the Pacific in La Jolla, you will find the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Munk Laboratory, a historic and history-making hub of activity.
Designed by San Diego Master Architect Lloyd Ruocco and constructed in 1963, IGPP Munk Lab is one of Ruocco's greatest buildings and an icon of 20th-century San Diego architecture in terms of its organic design and its functional attributes that encourage scientific collaboration. The building is named for the late Walter Munk, known as the father of oceanography. He and his wife Judith Munk engaged Ruocco to design a building that would provide laboratory and office space for scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography site. They collaborated closely with Ruocco in the development, design, and function of the building. Inspired by the natural plateaus and contours of La Jolla, Ruocco developed a plan for the complex that embraced its surrounding environment and views. The result is a master work, with the wood-framed structure, redwood siding, horizontal massing, cantilevered walkways, and large floor-to-ceiling glass doors.
In 2016, a campus-wide historical survey was conducted by the University of California, San Diego that determined the Munk Lab was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. UCSD hired Heritage Architecture & Planning to provide historical consulting services and prepare construction documents for an exterior restoration. Coffman Engineering was engaged to provide structural engineering for the project, and work was completed by First Mark Contracting, Inc.
The comprehensive restoration included structural repair and stabilization of deteriorated and sagging wood structural framing elements. Exterior wood features including siding, structural beams, cantilevered walkways, decks, sliding glass doors, and wood-framed windows were cleaned, repaired, and refinished. All-heart redwood replaced severely deteriorated portions of the wood walkways and overhead trellises.
One of the greatest challenges was restoring the unpainted wood cladding, a signature characteristic of the building's natural and warm design. Over time, the original wood had become weathered, stained, and faded. Using the original 1962 drawings, photographs, and field investigation, Heritage Architecture & Planning confirmed that the 1963 wood finishes included dark-stained Douglas fir structural beams with natural finished redwood siding, walkways, and trellises. After thoroughly cleaning all surfaces to remove stains and organic matter, these finishes were replicated using a dark brown semi-transparent stain for the Douglas fir beams and a clear wood sealer for the redwood.
For a restoration project befitting one of San Diego's exemplary modernist landmarks, SOHO presents Sam Farmer, UC San Diego Facilities Management Project Manager, and UC San Diego with the Modern Legacy Award.
(Left to right) Carmen Pauli, Sam Farmer, Camilla Ingram, Ken Hall, Adrian Borsa, Marie Clark. Photo by Sandé Lollis
