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Project Update

Sunnylands is scheduled to open in November 2011. During the next two years, the new Annenberg Center at Sunnylands will be completed to offer visitors an introduction to the Sunnylands story. Surrounded by a nine-acre desert garden, the new Center will offer exhibitions and audio-visual materials explaining the architectural history of the site, its art collections, its important visitors, the philanthropic legacy of the Annenbergs, and the ways in which all new work embraces an ethic of environmental sensitivity. In addition to new construction is the restoration and renovation of the historic estate. Completed in 1966, the house, originally designed by A. Quincy Jones, requires upgrades to make it accessible to the public and seismically stable. The infrastructure of the grounds is being carefully evaluated to include 21st-century technology while maintaining the property's cultural landscape.

  Photo Credits
Left: Rendering by Jackson Kahn Golf Course Design
Center: Photograph by Graydon Wood, December 2006
Right: Rendering by Craig Shimahara Illustration for Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects
 
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2010
Lake rehabilitation is one of the site restoration projects
currently underway at Sunnylands.


Sunnylands Lakes

In addition to the irrigation and golf course elements, the lake rehabilitation is the third major component of the site restoration project. The objective is to restore a stable, balanced lake system to the eleven lakes at Sunnylands. The project includes re-lining and re-shaping of all lakes. Streams and waterfalls are being reconstructed and a re-circulation system installed to control water levels. An aeration system will be restored, introducing oxygen into the water column, preventing the formation of weeds and algae. Lake water is currently supplied by on-site ground wells; the water is then used for irrigation of the estate grounds. Included in the restoration project is the installation of infrastructure to connect to the future Coachella Valley Water District reclaimed water pipeline. 

 Tom L. Majich
 Ganahl Construction Corporation

MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2010
Ambassador and Mrs. Annenberg with Linda Brooks, Facilities Manager at Sunnylands.


Remembering Sunnylands Visitors

Living history allows the viewers to become part of an event. At the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands interactive kiosks will encourage visitors to meet the people who lived, visited, and worked at the estate. "The Presidents, the First Ladies, the celebrities who came here to relax, to get away and have privacy with good friends," says Linda Brooks during her interview. "We, the staff, were respectful of their private moments, but it gave me such a sense of history to see these strong men and women at rest. They played cards, golfed, walked, or just spent time with friends. Never far from the reality of their world, they were able to take a moment and just be themselves."
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2010
Restoration work has begun on the golf course at Sunnylands.


Site Restoration

There are three major components to the site restoration project: lakes, irrigation, and golf course and practice facility. Our goal is to restore the original design intent while modernizing supporting systems to state-of-the-art efficiency. The golf course and grounds work began with the layout of the golf features: tees, greens, bunkers, and practice area. These will be reshaped to their original 1965 detail. Much of the original topography, size, and interrelationship of these features was lost over 45 years even with the great care provided by the estate management team. The nine-hole course with three sets of tees can be played in a range of 18 hole yardages from a 5,869 yards to 6,880 yards. Restoration will provide the original championship challenge. This work is expected to last six to seven months with re-grassing to occur in about one year.

Patrick Ganahl
Project Manager, Ganahl Construction