Proj Overview

Project Overview

As the region’s only academic health center, University of California, Davis Health (UC Davis Health) is a lynchpin for the greater Sacramento area. In addition to providing patients with a nationally ranked medical center, UC Davis Health is a major force of economic prosperity for the Sacramento region, and for California more generally, with a total economic impact in 2019 of $4.60 billion across seven counties. The health center is home to approximately 20,000 employees, necessitating ample parking options for staff. To meet this need, architect Dreyfuss and Blackford partnered with PCI-certified precast concrete producer Clark Pacific on the five-story, 1200-vehicle parking structure project.

Precast-centric, Community Approved

Continued growth at UC Davis Health, combined with plans for future development on the campus, meant additional options were needed to alleviate the shortage of available staff parking. The project team identified an underused site on the northeast side of the campus for the new parking garage. However, with the site adjacent to a residential neighborhood, considerable planning was needed to ensure that the new structure would minimize noise, light spillage, and overall massing of the structure.

“Ensuring that the project was sensitive to the existing neighborhood during construction was important to the entire team, and was managed through multiple community information meetings,” said Ginger Thompson, AIA, DBIA, LEED AP BD+C, senior associate for Dreyfuss and Blackford during design and construction. “The project team maintained open communication with the area’s residences throughout the work.”

According to Steve Voss, project executive with Clark Pacific, officials with UC Davis Health had originally considered cast-in-place concrete for Parking Structure 4, but after touring Sacramento State University’s Parking Structure 5, they were sold on precast concrete’s high quality and integrated architectural finish. Another benefit was the expedited timeline. Compared with cast-in-place construction methods, the all-precast concrete solution successfully shaved 3700 worker-days off the timeline, allowing the entire project to be completed in just under a year. Precast concrete also brought several other advantages to the effort.

“Off-site prefabrication resulted in nearly a 40% reduction in overall construction traffic,” Voss said. “The prefabricated approach also contributed to enhanced sustainability via efficient manufacturing processes and a reduced number of required trips to the project site.”

Thompson agreed, stressing the ease with which precast concrete allowed her team to integrate essential elements into the parking garage’s design.

“The prefabrication, combined with the use of [Building Information Modeling] (BIM), allowed early coordination of all trades, specifically all electrical and mechanical infrastructure routing,” she said. “As an architect, it was wonderful to consolidate all conduit and fire suppression runs confidently within chases, where the early erection of the structure facilitated a clean and intentional installation.”

In addition to an eye-catching design that met the neighborhood’s aesthetic requirements, the structure—which features precast concrete double tees, columns, and beams—is a model for future parking garages. Parking Structure 4 is designed for efficient flow and a safe user experience – the entry and exits on the south side of the structure were relocated from the original plan to segregate vehicular and pedestrian traffic to maximize safety. Additionally, there are high-tech cameras for available space detection. In concert with LED lighting, these cameras create a technologically advanced ecosystem for Parking Structure 4 that is reflective of the medical campus in which it is located.

UC Davis Health’s Parking Structure 4 is a testament to the safety, sustainability, resilience, and beauty that can all be attained by leveraging precast concrete.

Mason Nichols is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based writer and editor who has covered the precast concrete industry since 2013.

 

Awards 
2025 PCI Design AwardsBuilding Award: All-Precast Concrete Parking Structure
Project Team

Owner:

University of California, Davis Health, Sacramento, Calif.

PCI-Certified Precast Concrete Producer and General Contractor:

Clark Pacific, West Sacramento, Calif.

Architect:

Dreyfuss and Blackford, Sacramento, Calif.

Engineer of Record:

Watry Design, San Jose, Calif.

Project Cost:

$42 million ($9 million for the precast concrete)

Project Size:

351,230 ft2

Key Project Attributes

  • Spanning five stories and providing more than 1200 parking spaces, Parking Structure 4 at University of California, Davis Health meets a significant need for employee parking.
  • The parking structure, which is located adjacent to a residential neighborhood, was designed with both utility and aesthetics in mind.
  • Thanks to its technologically advanced monitoring and lighting systems and the effective use of precast concrete, Parking Structure 4 is viewed as a model for future parking garages.

Project/Precast Scope

  • Parking Structure 4 is an all-precast concrete solution featuring double tees, columns, and beams.
  • By leveraging precast concrete, the project team eliminated 3700 worker days from the project timeline, allowing the project to be completed in just under one year.
  • Off-site manufacture of the precast concrete components resulted in approximately 40% reduction in overall construction traffic.