United States Federal Building
San Francisco, California · 2007
A striking precedent for a high-rise office building utilizing a perforated metal double-skin facade for passive solar control, set in direct dialogue with historic urban fabric.
- What we like about this project
- The roof canopy extends outward like a delicate, skeletal wing, contrasting with the solid concrete end wall.
Materials
- concrete
- glass
- perforated-metal
- steel
Visual identifiers
- perforated-metal-screen
- concrete-shear-wall
- sculptural-roof-canopy
- slender-slab-tower
Style tags
- high-tech
- deconstructivism
- morphosis
- sustainable-design
Visual tags
- high-rise
- double-skin-facade
- sun-shading
- urban-contrast
- civic-architecture
- Geometry
- A tall, slender slab volume defined by a sheer concrete end wall and a long, gently curved facade wrapped in a metal sun-shading screen. The building is topped by a dramatic, open-frame steel canopy that extends beyond the roofline.
- Facade system
- Perforated metal screen system layered over a glazed curtain wall.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete core and end walls with steel framing for the floor plates and roof canopy.
- Spatial scale
- High-rise scale, rising approximately 18 stories, creating a dramatic vertical presence relative to the narrow street level.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct sunlight striking the perforated metal screen, creating a shimmering, semi-translucent surface effect, while casting deep shadows in the adjacent alleyway.
- Atmosphere
- A dynamic interplay of light and shadow where futuristic, industrial materials meet historic stone masonry.
- Environmental context
- Dense urban street grid in San Francisco, positioned directly adjacent to a classical, rusticated stone civic building.
- Spatial experience
- The building looms over a narrow urban street canyon, contrasting its high-tech, light-filtering metal skin against the heavy, rusticated stone masonry of the historic building in the foreground.
- Composition rhythm
- The verticality of the concrete end wall anchors a repeating, fine-grained horizontal rhythm of the metal sunshades.
- Style reading
- Deconstructivist-leaning high-tech architecture
- Program
- Government or administrative offices
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- concrete, glass, perforated-metal, steel
- Visual identifiers
- perforated-metal-screen, concrete-shear-wall, sculptural-roof-canopy, slender-slab-tower
- Style tags
- high-tech, deconstructivism, morphosis, sustainable-design
- Visual tags
- high-rise, double-skin-facade, sun-shading, urban-contrast, civic-architecture
- Geometry
- A tall, slender slab volume defined by a sheer concrete end wall and a long, gently curved facade wrapped in a metal sun-shading screen. The building is topped by a dramatic, open-frame steel canopy that extends beyond the roofline.
- Facade system
- Perforated metal screen system layered over a glazed curtain wall.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete core and end walls with steel framing for the floor plates and roof canopy.
- Spatial scale
- High-rise scale, rising approximately 18 stories, creating a dramatic vertical presence relative to the narrow street level.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct sunlight striking the perforated metal screen, creating a shimmering, semi-translucent surface effect, while casting deep shadows in the adjacent alleyway.
- Atmosphere
- A dynamic interplay of light and shadow where futuristic, industrial materials meet historic stone masonry.
- Environmental context
- Dense urban street grid in San Francisco, positioned directly adjacent to a classical, rusticated stone civic building.
- Spatial experience
- The building looms over a narrow urban street canyon, contrasting its high-tech, light-filtering metal skin against the heavy, rusticated stone masonry of the historic building in the foreground.
- Composition rhythm
- The verticality of the concrete end wall anchors a repeating, fine-grained horizontal rhythm of the metal sunshades.
- Style reading
- Deconstructivist-leaning high-tech architecture
- Program
- Government or administrative offices
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture