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An unfamiliar white blob on the distant horizon caught my eye a few days back. Somewhere near Berkeley, something big was afoot.

Trawling around just west of the university, the object in question soon revealed itself to be an enormous white elephant of a building, wrapped no doubt to minimize the release of asbestos dust during demolition and/or refurbishment. The presence of asbestos in these older buildings has been a major health concern and potential financial impediment whenever they are considered for redevelopment. The plastic wrapped facades would have done Christo proud and gave the whole scene a rather bizarre look, particularly with the textured wood and stucco structures along the surrounding streets.

Ironically, it turns out the building is the old California Department of Health Services.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Architecture.