AIA San Francisco and Center for Architecture + Design Headquarters

2024 Design Awards Citation Recipient

AIA San Francisco and Center for Architecture + Design Headquarters

In moving to the historic Hallidie Building storefront, the AIASF and the Center for Architecture + Design gained new visibility to the public, extending their reach and profoundly extroverting their programs. To capitalize on this visibility, the client-architect team deliberately expanded the Center’s program to provide a café, gallery, lecture hall, public meeting rooms and office space to create a cross-pollinated design center.

Accretive finishes were removed to expose the raw concrete ceiling and columns of the long, tall cathedral-like space. Newly inserted program elements reinforce the primacy of the concrete shell, with the lecture hall volume set within between columns and felt acoustic baffles mirroring the rhythm of the concrete ceiling ribs. The selective addition of a raised concrete floor mitigates the level change that originally bifurcated the space, encouraging fluid movement and gathering. Light from a newly inserted skylight rakes over a living wall at the back of the space, introducing biophilia into the urban environment and further encouraging visitors to experience the Center.

As part of a large barn raising effort, the design team recruited elite artisans and makers to donate their work to the Center, showcasing a range of design disciplines while achieving an unusually rigorous level of craft for a non-profit institution. By highlighting many design disciplines, the Center is raising the region’s cultural awareness of all aspects of design for all demographics. With its downtown San Francisco location, the Center also serves as a catalyst to reoccupy the urban center of the city.

//comments

This is an amazing contribution to the architectural community, and an effort that should be applauded for introducing general public to it. The architects very deftly inserted this sort of jewel box within the existing structure and contrasted the exposed structure with new, refined materials. Quite wonderful.

//framework for design excellence measures

Measure 1: Design for Integration

Designed to achieve maximum comfort for the occupants, the Center and Headquarters in on track to achieve LEED Gold. By adding skylights at the back of the space and within the office mezzanine, the design provide daylight deep within the space. The double height green wall correspondingly brings biophilia and nature to the daily occupants and visitors. Energy performance provides 28% better performance than minimum requirements while enhanced indoor air quality is provided through increased ventilation. Acoustically, the Center has been carefully designed to work for the variety of uses and meet the LEED acoustic criteria, with felt baffles providing attenuation throughout the open spaces and absorptive wood panels and felt wall panels controlling sound attenuation within the lecture hall and meeting rooms. The use of local artisans and reclaimed materials are additional ways that this project is mindful of its environmental footprint.

Measure 2: Design for Equitable Communities

Community engagement included a survey and townhall held in the programming phase with a follow-up meeting in schematic design. A meeting was later held onsite to allow participants to walk the site and review the design using visualization goggles. From these engagements, the team learned that cross-pollinated programming and ongoing access to the building for a variety of uses was important to the architectural community. The resulting design provides access the general and architectural community to events, lectures, and classes as well as use of the cafe, exposing the public to design.

Measure 3: Design for Ecosystems

As an interior remodel, this question is not applicable.

Measure 4: Design for Water

The project achieved 32% less than code requirements in indoor water use reduction. This was achieved primarily through low flow fixtures. The project provides a unisex restroom which, reduced the overall number of fixtures needed for the use.

Measure 5: Design for Economy

Cost effective design was critical to the realization of this project. While the construction cost was $4.7M, there was an additional $3.2M of goods and services provided by in-kind donors. Managing the inclusion of the donated pieces and balancing those donations with the associated costs borne by the client created a very tightly controlled project where every move and material counted. Spaces were designed to be flexible for use in many different configurations; the existing concrete structure was exposed and highlighted with enclosed spaces provided where needed. Donated artisan pieces are located strategically to enhance the space.

Measure 6: Design for Energy

The proposed building design achieves the greatest energy savings via interior ventilation fans, interior lighting and space cooling. Following Title-24 indoor lighting requirements, the design utilizes highly efficient lighting design and achieves additional savings through daylighting design. The mechanical (HVAC) designs boasts efficient DX cooling and low fan power that attribute to energy savings compared to the LEED ASHRAE 90.1-2010 baseline.

Measure 7: Design for Well-Being

Newly inserted skylights and a living wall at the back of the space provide daylight and a connection to nature, drawing users back through the long space. Increased ventilation serves both daily occupants and visitors. All materials used are low emitting.

Measure 8: Design for Resources

The design of the center was one of extraction. All accretive finishes within the historic building were removed to expose the raw concrete ceiling ribs and columns of the long and tall cathedral-like space. This shell was then highlighted, with felt acoustic baffles mirroring the rhythm of the concrete ribs of the ceiling and in-ground lights lighting the concrete columns. Newly inserted program elements serve to reinforce the primacy of the concrete shell.

Measure 9: Design for Change

The design focused on creating flexible spaces that can be utilized in many ways. The central gallery space opens to the lecture hall so that the entire ground floor can be used for events. The door to the mezzanine can be pocketed open, allowing for fluid movement to the upper level. Should the spaces need to be used separately, large acoustic doors close and allow the lecture hall to be acoustically separated from the gallery. The bleacher seating in the lecture hall allows for formal lecture seating and informal gathering. This flexibility is key for future adaptation.

Measure 10: Design for Discovery

As strong advocates for the Center, the design team recruited elite artisans and makers to donate their work to the Center, which showcases a wide range of design disciplines while achieving an unusually rigorous level of craft for a non-profit institution. By highlighting many design disciplines, the Center is raising the region’s cultural awareness of all aspects of design for all demographics. With its location in Downtown San Francisco, which has been severely depleted by the pandemic, the Center also serves as a catalyst to reoccupy the urban center of the city.