Courtesy of SOM Architects + PWP Landscape Architecture

 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and PWP Landscape Architecture shared with us their proposal for the 8 Washington development in downtown San Francisco. The plans will continue the revitalization and support enjoyment of the historically under-utilized northeast waterfront by reconnecting the City with the Bay and providing housing and community amenities which include: dynamic pedestrian corridors linking Pacific Avenue and Jackson Street with The Embarcadero; a children’s play area featuring interactive sculptural gardens; an expanded health and aquatics center; cafés, restaurants and retail; and centralized underground public parking for the Ferry Building Waterfront Area. More images and project description after the break. read more »

SFMOMA Expansion Aerial View Southeast © Snøhetta

SFMOMA reveals the design for the museums new expansion, designed by the Norway-based architecture firm Snøhetta. The expansion transforms the current Mario Botta-designed building into a scale that “meets the museum’s mission.” Increased public circulation, flexible gallery space and intuitive navigation are a few of the projects main goals.

Continue after the break for more information, images and video.

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Courtesy of Airbnb

Architect: Garcia Tamjidi (Michael Garcia and Farid Tamjidi)
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Client: Airbnb Inc.
Photographs: Courtesy of Airbnb

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rendering by zum

The Exploratorium is an interactive science museum that is moving from its current home of 40 years near the park-like Presidio to a prominent waterfront site in downtown San Francisco. The project involves the renovation of two decrepit piers, and the removal of a large parking lot/loading dock on pilings to provide net zero energy buildings (LEED Gold) and 2 acres of newly accessible public open space to accommodate large scale outdoor exhibits.
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Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

The Executive Committee of top international design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to announce that the firm is expanding its presence on the West Coast by opening an office in downtown San Francisco, which is rapidly becoming a thriving city for architecture making it an ideal location for an additional office. Located at 23 Geary Street in the One Kearny building, the 8,100 sf office will accommodate a growing staff of 45. Managing Principal Leslie Moldow FAIA is joined by Principals Dan Akol AIA and Rick Drake AIA and Associate Principal John Amanat AIA in leading the office. The office is expected to be complete and ready to occupy on November 1, 2011. More information on the firm’s expansion after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Stanley Saitowitz

Award-winning San Francisco-based Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects are known for a practice that combines the principles of early modern architecture with the materials, techniques and sensibilities of the 21st century. Raised in a traditional Jewish family in South Africa, Saitowitz has designed private residences, institutions, public and commercial spaces, and religious architecture across the globe. Among the many commissions he has completed during his 30-year career are a number of significant Jewish spaces, including the Holocaust Memorial in Boston and the critically acclaimed Temple Beth Shalom in San Francisco’s Richmond District.

Now, Saitowitz brings ancient tradition and contemporary design together in Stanley Saitowitz: Judaica, an extraordinary display of modern Jewish ritual objects on view at the Contemporary Jewish Museum November 3, 2011 through October 16, 2012. More information on the exhibition after the break. read more »

© Peter Prato

TRILUX, designed by Future Cities Lab, is an experimental pavilion constructed out of three vertical wooden lattice structures that will be on display in downtown San Francisco until November 20th . It creates an illuminated beacon anchoring the corner of the site and inviting the neighborhood to participate in the museum activities that take place inside it. More images and project description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of AIA San Francisco

Women – what’s up now? Architecture is Barbie’s profession for 2011. AIA San Francisco and Mattel partnered on an architect Barbie Doll as well as a Barbie Doll dream house competition.

Representing different paths in the design profession, architects Cathy Simon, FAIA (Perkins + Will), Ila Berman (California College of the Arts), EB Min (Min|Day) and Anne M. Torney (Daniel Solomon Design Partners) will discuss their careers and share their perspectives on women in the profession. More information on the event after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Highlight Gallery

Highlight Gallery recently announced that they will be featuring two artists whose bodies of work are influenced by architecture, Filip Dujardin and Renato Nicolodi. Their work, which will be up from November 3rd to December 12th, reflects the passion and interest which Highlight Gallery founder and curator Amir Mortazavi cultivates for architecture. With these two artists, the answer to the eternal question, ‘Is architecture art?’ is easy to find. More information on the event and their work after the break. read more »

Gensler, architects of SanFrancisco International Airport’s Terminal2(SFO T2) and Virgin America, the terminal’s anchor tenant, announce the release of A Day in the Life of SFO T2, a video by filmmakers Spirit of Space. A Day in the Life of SFO T2 is a key element in Virgin America’s fall promotion “VX Deals on the Fly,” launching today via Loopt, the geo-social network. The promotion will offer travelers mobile check-in rewards at various locations throughout SFO T2. More information after the break. read more »

© Ken Gutmaker

Architect: WRNS Studio
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Project Team: Bryan Shiles, Brian Milman, Geoff Brown, Jenny Huang, Li Kuo, Rus Sherman, Melinda Turner
Landscape architect: TPL
Client: The Trust for Public Land
MEP Engineer: Mechanical Design Studio
Structural Engineer: Daedalus Structural Engineering
Civil Engineer: Luk and Associates
Contractor: CLW Construction
Project Area: 2,500 sqf
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Ken Gutmaker

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Photo by John Martinez Pavliga - http://www.flickr.com/people/virtualsugar/

In 2009, the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District was created in an attempt to preserve the rich history of the buildings, neighborhoods and communities that lay north of San Francisco’s Market Street. It has not only kept developers from modifying or even eradicating key buildings that have shaped the city of San Francisco, but has also helped to prevent the process of gentrification, enabling middle and lower-class inhabitants to continue living in the city at reasonable rates. Although building projects north of Market Street are now heavily restricted, not all of San Francisco is off limits.

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Courtesy of AIA San Francisco

The 2011 Architecture and the City Festival, being held from September 1st to September 30th, is a month long celebration featuring over 40 behind the scenes tours, workshops, exhibitions, lectures, dining adventures, films and more that explore the best of San Francisco architecture and design.

Hosted by AIA San Francisco, the 2011 festival theme is ‘Architecture of Consequence.’ By selecting this theme, the festival hopes to demonstrate how progressive design and creative problem solving can address society’s current challenges and lead to a more sustainable future. More information on the event after the break. read more »

© Bruce Damonte

This office space by Min | Day had a conservative budget, but creative client. The project, titled Pocket Gems, is an equally creative solution for the mobile gaming company’s interior wants, needs, and restraints. More after the break.

Architect: Min | Day
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Project Team: E. B. Min, AIA, Jeffrey L. Day, AIA, Karina Gilbert, Ashley Byars, Nicholas Pajerski, Win Mixter
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Bruce Damonte

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© Ethan Kaplan Photography and Mark Horton / Architecture

Architect: Mark Horton / Architecture
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Project Team: Mark Horton, Principal; David Gill, Project Architect; Matt Shanks, Designer
Project Year: 2010
Project Year: 21,440 sqf
Photographer: Ethan Kaplan Photography, Jeremy Wong, Mark Horton / Architecture

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Architecture and the City Festival | September 1-30 | San Francisco

The American Institute of Architects, San Francisco chapter (AIA San Francisco) and Center for Architecture + Design present the eighth annual Architecture and the City festival, the nation’s largest architectural festival showcasing tours, films, exhibitions, lectures, family programs and more. Taking place every September 1-30, the month-long celebration offers individuals an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the local architectural community, explore the crossroads of planning and contemporary culture, and experience design in a myraid of ways throughout the city. More information about select events after the jump.
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Obscura Digital HQ © IwamotoScott Architecture

San Francisco-based IwamotoScott Architecture has just shared their latest project with us – a renavoted 1940s warehouse that holds media company Obscura Digital as well as the architects’ new office space.  Upgrading from an unorganized and dimly lit timber warehouse, Obscura looked to Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott to outfit the 36,000 sqf building in Dogpatch to suite their needs, while extending the invitation for the firm to set up its practice in the building, as well.   “It wasn’t a formalized agreement but a pretty casual thing,” Iwamoto told Lydia Lee for Metropolis. “Obscura by nature is collaborative. The hope is that by sharing space, we’ll have the advantage of seeing their process and what can be done with digital media, and they’ll get an idea of the architectural possibilities.”

In addition to this great refurbishment, we are fascinated by the architects’ dividing wall entitled BookCaseScreenWall, an amazing hybrid of surface projection technologies with a “traditional” bookcase which sits between their office space and Obscura Digital’s.

Be sure to view our comprehensive photo set of construction photos, finished work, and of course, the BookCaseScreenWall after the break. read more »

Courtesy Team CLS

Designed by Team CLS, headed by award winning UK Architect Darren Chan, other members including Emily Lau (Architecture Graduate) and Jonas Sin (Netherlands Architect), the “Helios Rehab Sanctuary” innovates in application of sustainable technologies to create a new and exciting typology. Additional images and a brief description can be found after the break.
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© Brian Rose

Architects: David Baker & Partners
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Client: BRIDGE Housing
Contractor: Nibbi Brothers General Contractors
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 131,800 sqm
Photographs: Brian Rose

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© Tim Griffith

Architects: Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Principals: Luke Ogrydziak, Zoë Prillinger
Project Team: Haemi Chang, Leo Henke, Yasmin Vobis, Gisela Schmoll
Daylighting Consultant: Loisos + Ubbelohde
Building Structural Engineering: Santos + Urritia
Façade Structural Engineering: DeSimone Consulting Engineers
General Contractor: Forsythe General Contractors
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Tim Griffith

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