San Francisco City Hall Renovated under Mayor Willie Brown Driving down Hyde Street in the late afternoon, I glimpse San Francisco City Hall. Most tourists take pictures of the City Hall from the plaza directly in front of the building capturing the dome and full details of the building. This photo taken a block east at the edge of United Nations Plaza, catches a view of the James Lick/Pioneer Memorial Statue in the foreground. In this light, the gray granite fades to a gray shroud. The statue adds perspective, scale and distance, directing attention to the silhouette of both. Built after the earthquake of 1906, Former Mayor Willie Brown renovated it in 1998. He did a great job and the City should be thankful for the sensitive attention to preservation. Accessible Drinking Fountain The renovation triggered code upgrades throughout the building including accessibility requirements. Mock/Wallace partner Ron Wallace was at City Hall to appear before the City Planning Commission. He sent this photo of an accessible drinking fountain. The projecting drinking fountain is an obstruction. With these metal scrolls extending to the floor, a person with poor vision using a cane could detect the obstruction and walk around it. If new, the water fountain would probably be recessed into a niche. In this case, it was probably not possible and the designers came up with this solution. You probably won't see this solution used in many places, but it works here.
0 Comments
Polk Street Condominium This new condominium on Polk Street was built above and behind the facade of an existing brick retail building. It looks as though preservationists demanded the retention of the historical facade. The actual exterior historical facade and appearance is retained so its not false historicism, but neither is it true to the spirit of preservation either. I toured this building about two years ago when I was looking at condominiums for a family member. I don't quibble about the design of the condominium, but the arranged marriage of the two buildings don't benefit either. There's something odd about a new multi-story structure sitting on top of an old brick building. The new building really wants to have a modern base compatible with the design of the upper floors -- but there they sit awkward in their accommodation of each other. The massive new structure completely dominates the "preserved" structure. Former home of Freed, Teller & Freed The storefront on the corner was the former home of Freed, Teller, and Freed. Freed, Teller, & Freed occupied this Polk Street site for almost 1oo years. In an age of boutique coffee bean vendors everywhere, they were the first. Now they only exist on-line with a base in South San Francisco. Folsom Dore Building This is not an isolated incidence where a building has been essentially demolished preserving the front 12" in the name of preservation. This example of "preservation" is at Folsom and Dore. Again, I don't quibble with the design of the new structure, but the existing brick facade projects a fragility of an severely wounded survivor. When I first noticed this trend, I called it the rape of a building. I fear a future where the first 12" of entire blocks are preserved as a pretend movie set facade while massive buildings looms behind and above. I question this approach. Is it worth it to keep a fragment of the old building? What are your thoughts? Daikon - Watercolor Magic6/9/2011 Chris paints with a fine eye and hand. There are pieces of her work all around in stacks and piles and its easy to take them for granted. Some of her finest are ones done a few years back when she did a series of water colors of Asian vegetables. To a bit of my dismay, some have gone away to grace someone else's home.
This one is of radishes that are eaten in China, Korea, and Japan and most commonly known by the Japanese name, "daikon". Daikon in Japanese means large root and that is exactly what it is. The muddy brown wash on the white body of the daikon shows its origin in the earth and the nutrient seeking tendrils at the end are fine details painted with finesse. I'm still looking for a new handrail and handrail bracket for Pine Street. In an attempt to find a wood handrail with a metal bracket that might be available in today's market, I looked at this handrail bracket at the UCSF Bakar Fitness Center in San Francisco's Mission Bay by the Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta. Simple and straight forward, the bracket has no curves and is consistent with the cubist forms of the building. The warm wood tones and brass colored metal contrasts with the intense blue wall. Intense contrasting colors cover all the walls of the center. It's a legacy of Legorreta's time in the office of the master architectural colorist Luis Barragan.
I've never seen a handrail bracket like this on the market and I'm thinking this is custom made. I'll let you know when I find something for Pine Street. Presidio Library - San Francisco6/7/2011 Presidio Branch Library - San Francisco The Presidio Branch Library on Sacramento Street is my neighborhood library and I've loved it since I moved into the neighborhood. The building was built in 1921 with Carnegie funds by the beaux arts trained architect Albert Lansburgh. This year the library re-opened after a $4M renovation. The renovation left both the interior and exterior largely intact with no obvious trace of the work completed - probably a good thing. When I first moved to San Francisco, I read the novella "Trout Fishing in America" by Richard Brautigan, a San Francisco author who died tragically young. I didn't realize it at the time, but he was a frequent visitor to this library and used it as a setting for his 1970 novel "The Abortion". A few years ago they had an exhibit of his work, letters, and relationship with the library. Drawing by Andrea Palladio Presidio Library Architect Albert Lansburgh followed the trend at the time of incorporating "classical" architectural elements into public buildings. In this case, he was clearly looking at works by the great Renaissance Italian architect Andrea Palladio. Palladio is perhaps one of the most influential architects of all time as his work has inspired buildings around the world for over 500 years. The often copied palladian arch featured a central arched opening with two small side openings separated by columns. The renaissance palladian arch is actually derived from earlier triumphal arches as seen in the Roman Forum two thousand years ago. The drawing at the left is the palladian arch drawn by Palladio for the Basillica in Vicenza that was completed in 1617. Like all "good" architects, I traveled to Vicenza to see the master's work. San Francisco didn't have the funds to cover the entire front with a granite faced palladian facade like the Basillica, but as is common in many public buildings, they put it where they thought it counts the most. Set against a brick background, this singular element contrasts nicely. For a neighborhood library, it's pretty grand. Galleria - San Francisco and Milan6/6/2011 Stonestown Galleria - San Francisco Problems with my iphone took me to the Apple Store in the Stonestown Galleria on 19th Avenue near Lake Merced. Coming out of the escalator I snapped this picture of the main galleria atrium. Built in 1952, Stonestown was the first shopping mall in San Francisco and one of the first in California. Typical of the mall design of 1950's, you could drive and park next to the stores and here was no interior pedestrian street that is common in malls today. The pedestrian atrium above was formerly a "street" with parking. Fading in popularity, Stonestown Shopping Mall was completely redesigned in 1987 enclosing the street with a sky-lit pedestrian area and re-christened the Stonestown Galleria. Its a popular alternative to downtown shopping for people traveling on the west side of town. Located next to San Francisco State University, Lowell High School and across the street from Mercy High School, it's a popular hang out for teens. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Milan You might think the sky-lit atrium shopping mall was a 20th century invention, but it has been done before and done quite well. Perhaps the most compelling is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan where the main axis fronts on the main square in Milan -- the Piazza del Duomo with the Teatra alla Scala on the other side of the piazza. Built in 1861, the industrial revolution in Europe made light airy cast iron steel structures like this possible. Inspired by this magnificent space, architects designed new "Gallerias" everywhere. This is the original. It's spring and I love Paris in the springtime, but I'm here in San Francisco. I can walk down Pine Street to my neighborhood La Boulangerie and pretend I'm walking down rue Montorgueil or rue Bucci in Paris. The designer who designed the pale blue and gold exterior and the timeless interior really did a great job. Usually recreations of another time and place fall flat and you feel you are in a theme park like Disneyland. La Boulangerie, however, seems to effortlessly evoke France. Here I find my beloved chausson aux pommes, the best in the City. The Pine Street bakery is the "mother ship" of all the La Boulangerie branches. I'm told that pastries from other branches come from a central bakery outside of San Francisco. The pastries at the "mother ship" on the other hand are baked on-site. Walk inside the store when they are baking and you can see the workers in the back shaping and preparing the dough for the ovens. I've tried several branches and I think the best pastries are here at the Pine Street "mother ship". One item they have that I've never seen anywhere else is croissant bread pudding where they use left-over croissants. As I'm not a big fan of bread pudding, I would never have ordered it, but I tried a small sample piece once and was hooked. Rich from the buttery croissant, this is special. Order an end piece if they have it. The end pieces have a slight crust with a bit more flavorful caramelization. Worth the calories and carbs. Acanthus Leaf The acanthus plant in our lush garden on Pine Street has bright green leaves. A symbol of re-birth, it has inspired architects and artists since ancient Greece. It adorns the top of the Corinthian column. The Corinthian Column History and theory play an important part of becoming an architect. Without it the 1980's Post Modernism would not have happened. Post Modernism was a recall of historical styles and response to the spare minimalist International Style in vogue the previous 50 years. In the International Style, beauty was found in form and function - stripped of ornamentation. Beneath the unadorned building planes, however, Greek ideals of columns and proportions still resonate. I remember working in the office of David H. Horn FAIA in Fresno as a summer intern. I overheard him discussing the Greek ideas of expressing a column when he was designing the Fresno Federal Building (now the Fresno Superior Court) in the "modern style".
Today, we have "rediscovered" mid-20th century design. All things continually evolve. Of course some never lost their love of ornamentation. The Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns are known as the classic order and the Corinthian column is the most decorative of the three orders with acanthus leaves adorning the top. The Greek column went on to influence Roman, European, and world architecture. Walk down any main street in American and you will see its continuing influence. I took this photo (above right) while walking on Sacramento Street where a charming, simplified and stylized depiction of the acanthus leaf adorned the top of a pilaster. Regalito Rosticeria San Francisco I love Mexican food. I love the taco trucks and the quick take out joints. Sometimes, though, you want something a little nicer - a place where the food is freshly prepared with care rather than assembled from a steam table - place that addresses all the senses. I lived in the Mission for 10 years and spent plenty of time scouting out different places.
I'm glad to report that the Mission now has several places for a more refined experience. Regalito Roticeria is tops in my book for both great design and good food. From the carefully chosen artwork to the aluminum Emeco Navy chairs, dramatic color scheme, and good lighting design, everything comes together and shows the designer's sophisticated taste. It is stylish yet doesn't shout for attention. It's only open for dinner and can get crowded during prime dining hours. Wait staff are dressed in all black outfits and describe the specials of the day. It's possible to linger a bit with a glass of wine and enjoy a leisurely meal. Parking can be an issue as it is just off the hot Valencia strip. Reservations are recommended. Villa d'Este handrail outside of Rome On May 5, 2011, I wrote about how much I wanted to change the handrail in our Pine Street house. One example I saw last year is giving me ideas about what I want to do. This example here is at the 17th century Villa d'Este outside of Rome at the famous Tivoli Gardens. It looks as if the bracket and the handrail are one seamless element without any interruption of flow. In this case the one seamless element is metal so it is still cold to the touch.
The attachment at the wall is hidden behind the plaster - simple and elegant. As much as I like this design, I still want to avoid the cold touch of metal. Wood seems to be the logical response to this concern, but wood brackets would lack the strength and elegance of this metal solution. My solution would need a hard close-grained wood that is smooth and warm to the touch. The bracket would be metal with a shape and elegance like this one. Stay tuned as I explore the world of handrails. AuthorCatagories
All
Archives
October 2020
Blogs I follow
|