The Chet Holifield Federal Building, colloquially known as "the Ziggurat Building", is a United States government building in

Laguna Niguel, California Laguna Niguel () is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The name Laguna Niguel is derived from the words "Laguna" (Spanish for "lagoon") and "Niguili" (the name of a Native American village once located near Aliso Creek). As of ...

. It was built between 1968 and 1971 for

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...

, and designed by William Pereira. Since 1974 it has been owned and managed by the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

had holdings for the Pacific region stored here, but has since moved to another location. Primary tenants are now regional offices of the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...

and the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

History

The building was designed by William Pereira, who developed a stepped pyramid silhouette that is rare in American architecture. The unusual form refers to

ziggurat A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude') is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It has ...

s, ancient

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

temples. The building was originally constructed in 1968 for

, a defense and aerospace industries manufacturer, to house the company's corporate offices on the top floors and an electronics manufacturing plant on the bottom two floors. The building is located in the heart of a shallow valley surrounded by the San Joaquin Hills. The site was chosen in part because, in the mid-1960s, it was a very quiet area of southern Orange County. North American Aviation wanted an area that would be private and secure. Construction took nearly three years, and in 1971 the building was completed. Huber, Hunt & Nichols, Inc. was the general contractor. The building's construction was undertaken at a transformative time in the defense industry: while it was still under construction, North American Aviation merged with

, a manufacturing conglomerate that worked in the defense and space industries. But, Rockwell never occupied the building. There are a couple of accounts as to why this happened: The more common story is that as the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

wound down, Rockwell's defense contract with the federal government fell through. The company had a large building without enough work to support staff there. William “Art” Morris, a corporate architect for North American, who contributed to the building's design, told the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' in 1993 that the building was deemed too fanciful for the defense contractor. “The chairman of the board came to take a tour,” Morris said of a 1969 visit to the building. “He got to the fourth floor and he said one thing, a short sentence: ‘This is far too nice for an electronics firm.’ And everything came to a screeching halt.” Designed to accommodate 7,000 aerospace employees, after the acquisition by Rockwell the building sat empty for several years. Rockwell eventually offered to trade the building to the United States government in exchange for three surplus government facilities of equal value located near Los Angeles International Airport. In 1974, GSA assumed control of the building. In 1978, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed a bill to rename the building in honor of Democratic Congressman Chester E. "Chet" Holifield, who had represented California's 19th congressional district from 1943 to 1974. Much of the building continued to be vacant for the next decade. After GSA attempted to sell the building in the 1980s, it decided to keep it and assign agencies to it. This area of California had undergone rapid development while the building was held and federal agencies had increased staff in the area to serve the population. Today, the building's primary tenants are the

and the

. Holdings of the

for the Pacific region were once located in the building but have since been relocated to a new center in Perris, California. In 2019 the Chet Holifield Federal Building was one of five California properties on the list of Federal properties recommended for disposal by the Public Buildings Reform Board.

Architecture

Perhaps innovative for its time, the building has more recently been described as "appearing to be one part government building and two parts apocalyptic stronghold", and as a "white elephant." The sculptural Chet Holifield Federal Building is a stepped pyramidal form that has a similar appearance to ancient ziggurats. Architect

William L. Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably pro ...

designed it. A large portion of the more than one million square foot building is below grade. It is located on a parcel of land in

, between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and approximately from the Pacific coastline. The building has seven tiers and is constructed of angled, painted, pre-cast concrete panels with reticulation, a textured finish that displays curvilinear forms. The building displays some characteristics of the

Brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

of Modern architecture, which is distinguished by weighty, massive forms; rough, exposed concrete surfaces; broad, expansive wall planes; and recessed windows. The building has a concrete frame; the lateral force-resisting system consists of concrete shearwalls and single-level concrete moment frames. It was constructed on spread footings and caissons. Anodized aluminum windows, which are separated by slanting concrete walls with triangular forms, are recessed between the horizontal levels. Evenly spaced windows provide a consistent rhythm to the symmetrical building, which has a sprawling horizontal emphasis. The top tier of the building has a large flat roof with attached protruding vertical elements, providing additional texture to the structure. The building also contains large amounts of asbestos that has been detected numerous times over the years, particularly during a water main break in March 2013. The east entrance is trapezoidal in form, referencing the overall shape of the building. A moat of smooth rocks surrounds the building on three sides, alluding to the idea that the massive structure is a modern-day fortress. A formal, classically inspired, symmetrical plaza is located outside of the main entrance. Grass panels, trees, landscaped beds, and planters greet visitors and provide contrast to the massive concrete structure. When the site was developed, more than 2,500 trees and 6,500 shrubs were included in the initial landscape plan. Concrete benches echo the materials and form of the building. In the lobby, both escalators and elevators provide high-speed vertical movement. Pereira's efficient interior circulation system enabled a maximum travel time of approximately five minutes between any two points in the building. Select walls are covered in wood paneling and some areas contain wooden slat ceilings, several of which are coffered. Vinyl tile and carpet cover the floors. Portions of the interior were redesigned by GSA to accommodate increased office space. Other buildings on the site include a maintenance warehouse; 500,000-gallon water tank that services the fire protection system; energy plant, cooling tower; a 1,000,000-gallon thermal energy storage tank; and security buildings. A heliport is located on the site and additional landscaped areas are found throughout the large parcel. When constructed, the complex had 6,200 parking spaces, which radiate diagonally along the building axes, in anticipation of the thousands of employees expected to occupy the facility. In 2003, state-of-the-art upgrades and modifications to the roofing were completed as part of an energy-saving plan that saves $650,000 per year in utility costs. Elevators, critical to efficient circulation in the building, were upgraded in 2005. No extensive asbestos remediation has been undertaken by GSA to date although large amounts of asbestos are known to be contained above the drop ceiling tiles. Many of these tiles have been damaged and/or missing over the years. Many employees observed effects of this during March 2013, after a water pipe burst. Employees continued to work in affected areas although they often found white dust on their desks upon returning to work in the morning. Employees were not informed about possible asbestos contamination until April 2013. Since wider broadcast of asbestos contamination post-March 2013, yearly air sample tests are conducted. As of February 2018, Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) Inspection surveys have been distributed in attempts to contact former and current employees in what appears to be the first effort to compile data on possible asbestos-related illnesses/ deaths related to current/ former building staff members. Chet Holifield Federal Building 2013

Timeline

*1968: Construction commences *1971: Construction completed *1974: GSA assumes ownership of building *1975: Used in filming of ''

Death Race 2000 ''Death Race 2000'' is a 1975 American science fiction action film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transco ...

'' *1978: Building renamed to honor Chet Holifield *1995: Exterior used in filming of movie '' Outbreak'', starring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

and

Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as ''Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...

. Building signage stated USAMRIID. *2003: Energy-efficient roofing upgrade completed *2019: Recommended for disposal by the Public Buildings Reform Board

In popular culture

The building's unique form has been featured in several films, including ''

'' (1975), ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'' (1978), ''

Deal of the Century ''Deal of the Century'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by William Friedkin and starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver. The film follows the adventures of several arms dealers that compete to sell weapons to a South A ...

'' (1983), and '' Outbreak'' (1995).

References

Notes Sources *

External links