The Kelsey Civic Center Affordable, inclusive, low-carbon housing in the heart of San Francisco
An urban entry facade precedent by WRNS Studio combining textured board-formed concrete, large storefront transparency, and modular panels for an inclusive civic housing project.
- What we like about this project
- Textured board-formed concrete pier juxtaposed directly against delicate perforated metal canopy soffits and crisp blue channel-letter signage.
Materials
- board-formed-concrete
- aluminum
- glass
- composite-panel
Visual identifiers
- board-formed-concrete
- metal-canopy
- storefront-glazing
- rain-screen-panels
Style tags
- contemporary
- civic
- urban
- textured-concrete
Visual tags
- civic
- affordable-housing
- ground-floor
- urban-facade
- accessible-entrance
- Geometry
- Asymmetrical ground floor entry composition featuring board-formed concrete shear elements paired with metal storefront glazing, topped by multi-colored composite panel rainscreens.
- Facade system
- Combination rainscreen composite panels, board-formed concrete walls, and aluminum-framed storefront curtain wall.
- Structural guess
- Concrete shear wall base with steel or concrete superstructure above.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scaled street entrance with a double-height commercial base rhythm.
- Lighting
- Direct, harsh midday sunlight casting dappled shadows from street trees across the upper facade and pavement.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, active daylight urban condition blending tactile masonry and crisp contemporary panels.
- Environmental context
- Urban sidewalk condition with street trees, pedestrian traffic, and adjacent multi-story residential/civic architecture.
- Spatial experience
- A welcoming, highly transparent pedestrian entrance set back slightly from the generous sidewalk, anchored by textured vertical concrete.
- Composition rhythm
- Asymmetric vertical composition balancing solid board-formed concrete piers against broad horizontal signage bands and multi-panel rainscreen grids.
- Style reading
- Contemporary urban civic architecture
- Program
- Affordable and inclusive civic housing lobby and ground floor
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- board-formed-concrete, aluminum, glass, composite-panel
- Visual identifiers
- board-formed-concrete, metal-canopy, storefront-glazing, rain-screen-panels
- Style tags
- contemporary, civic, urban, textured-concrete
- Visual tags
- civic, affordable-housing, ground-floor, urban-facade, accessible-entrance
- Geometry
- Asymmetrical ground floor entry composition featuring board-formed concrete shear elements paired with metal storefront glazing, topped by multi-colored composite panel rainscreens.
- Facade system
- Combination rainscreen composite panels, board-formed concrete walls, and aluminum-framed storefront curtain wall.
- Structural guess
- Concrete shear wall base with steel or concrete superstructure above.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scaled street entrance with a double-height commercial base rhythm.
- Lighting
- Direct, harsh midday sunlight casting dappled shadows from street trees across the upper facade and pavement.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, active daylight urban condition blending tactile masonry and crisp contemporary panels.
- Environmental context
- Urban sidewalk condition with street trees, pedestrian traffic, and adjacent multi-story residential/civic architecture.
- Spatial experience
- A welcoming, highly transparent pedestrian entrance set back slightly from the generous sidewalk, anchored by textured vertical concrete.
- Composition rhythm
- Asymmetric vertical composition balancing solid board-formed concrete piers against broad horizontal signage bands and multi-panel rainscreen grids.
- Style reading
- Contemporary urban civic architecture
- Program
- Affordable and inclusive civic housing lobby and ground floor
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture