The noise, the big saws and bulldozers inside the building, the piles of broken-up walls and floors — that’s what’s going on at the Sentinel Building.

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As demolition continues at the Sentinel Building, we can now see right through it.

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The task of designing the Sentinel Building renovation went to Matthew Thompson, one of Santa Cruz’s most talented and influential architects.

His approach — preserving the brawny beauty of the mid-century modern building while upgrading its function — won the job for his firm.

Here is Matthew dashing through demolished concrete:

And here he is close up:

The demolition is happening fast at the New Sentinel building. That means lots of smashing and crashing. We’re opening up windows and doors to let light into the once-dour printing plant. Today Shane called us over to watch some walls fall down — doorways will replace them.

These are 50-year-old 6″ thick concrete walls full of rebar that have been cut straight through, carefully prepped, and today got pushed over with a tremendous bang!
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We start with a manufacturing building in downtown Santa Cruz. Our plan: to recycle and re-use the building for a couple of local organizations (Cruzio and Ecology Action). That means making the building people-friendly. Step one: it’s dark and gloomy inside. We need more windows and doors!

The original parking lot face of the building (notice, no downstairs windows at all):

Here’s what’s happening to that wall (that’s Shane standing in the foreground):
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