Otto Construction received the AGC of California Constructor of the Year Award for the fourth year in a row! Otto Construction was recognized on February 2nd by AGC for the CSU Maritime Academy Mayo Hall Renovation and Addition. Mayo Hall was the first permanent building built at Cal Maritime making it the most historic and beloved building on campus. It was constructed in 1945 as a Memorial Gymnasium to honor the graduates who lost their lives in World War II and served as Cal Maritime’s main athletics and recreation facility for over 50 years. In 2014, most of Cal Maritime’s indoor athletics and recreation activities transitioned to a new Physical Education and Aquatics Center. This created an opportunity to reposition, repurpose, and renovate Mayo Hall. The Mayo Hall Renovation & Addition Project combines new functions, programming, and architecture with the historic fabric of the existing building — breathing new life into Mayo Hall and creating a new campus center for student life and services.
The rehabilitation of Mayo Hall called for the demolition of non-historic additions to make way for a new modern single-story addition, and modernization of the historic building’s exterior while retaining the building’s traditional Colonial Revival architectural style with red brick cladding, painted wood windows, and pitched roofs. This design allows the historic character of the original building to maintain its presence and integrity while providing a transition into the modern era.
The former gymnasium houses two large multi-purpose conference rooms and student leadership and career services in an open loft-like second floor addition. The former natatorium remains relatively open and active, housing student life spaces. The Health Services Department occupies the Northside addition with its own separate and discrete entrance, providing a new health services building. Admissions, registrar, and financial aid departments inhabit the other half of the new addition. Mayo Hall emphasizes shared, cultural spaces such as the Wall of Honor, gallery to display Cal Maritime relics, and impromptu spill-out spaces that are critical for meeting and conference room functions. These spaces not only display the shared history of California Maritime and its alumni but will also act as a recruitment tool for attracting future cadets to campus.
The collaboration between the Otto Construction + WRNS Studio design-build team, Cal Maritime, CSU Chancellor’s Office, regulatory agencies, and our trade partners was key to the successful completion of the Mayo Hall Renovation and Addition Project. We worked in an integrated way, leveraging the expertise of our entire design-build team to bring Cal Maritime the highest value for their dollars spent.