COMMERCIAL
4TH + HARRISON, SAN FRANCISCO, CA
This mixed-use development in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood links the Financial District with the burgeoning Mission Bay area.
Rising 15 stories above grade, the building is designed to enhance the neighborhood’s character while acknowledging its context and history. In lieu of the monolithic tower shape characteristic of many downtown office buildings, it takes inspiration from the intrinsic geometries of the built and natural environments. The articulation of the building on large and small scales creates a cascading effect reminiscent of falling leaves.
The overarching goals for the development include:
- Shaping the area’s urban form, enhancing the unique character of SoMa, while acknowledging context and history
- Creating a complete community through inviting and accessible urban streets, rooms and open space
- Fostering a lively and economically-diverse workplace hub bridging the financial district and Mission Bay neighborhoods
- Imparting a high-performing, innovative workplace that exceeds the city’s environmental goals and is a model for sustainable growth
FACADES
The design team used parametric design tools to create a pulsating rhythm of expansion and contraction with different panel sizes and colors. The metal panel facade blends seven copper and eight zinc tones highlighted by a gradient color shift from the ground up. Unique stacking arrangements and facade treatments visually break up the building’s mass. The glazing, metal panels and reliefs arrayed across the individual facades are environmentally responsive to solar orientations.
POPOS
Two large, privately owned, publicly accessible open spaces (POPOS) at street level are unique to San Francisco’s planning code as part of the city’s 1% Art Program, which requires developers to integrate public art in all new buildings equal to at least one percent of the total construction cost. This art will enhance the building’s inviting urban streetscape, outdoor rooms and open spaces.