In the historic renovation of Caffé Opera & Bakery, Gotama Building Engineers was tasked to design building systems for a 4,400 sq. ft. modern restaurant, with a full-serve bakery to be housed in a single-story, century-old brick building located in Old Town Monrovia, California.  This renovation included two full kitchens – one dedicated to the restaurant and one solely to serve the bakery.

Caffé Opera is part of a historic preservation and redevelopment sector, and as such, required specific building systems upgrades that would not interfere with the envelope of the building.  Air handling units and vents were established on the roof of the structure and hidden by the roofline, while the installation of the new kitchens required very close coordination between all engineering disciplines.  Due to the historic nature of the building, interior walls were exempt from Title 24 building codes, and were accessible for wiring, plumbing and HVAC upgrades. 
 
Client: Caffé Opera & Bakery
Architect: Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) Architects
Location: Monrovia, CA
Completion: 2002