In Episode 2 of Design Minutes, hear how MASS Beverly designed the kitchen of the Grand Penthouse to be a celebration: of space, of materials, of lighting, of flexibility and the integration of automation.
Lars Hypko, co-founder of MASS Beverly, talks kitchens and more in this installment of Design Minutes.
Art breathes life to the walls of 181 Fremont and we invite you to explore this world of beauty with us. With a permanent art collection of over two dozen pieces and a combined value over $1 million, we present "Art Minute" – a video series curated by Holly Baxter of Holly Baxter & Associates, that gives a preview of the pieces in the collection and more information about the artists that created them.
In partnership with ARUP and Heller Manus Architects, 181 Fremont’s San Francisco-based team leveraged their international experience to create one of the world’s most innovative, durable, and sustainable structures. The building’s distinguishing façade acts as a shock-absorbing steel exoskeleton and is one of the many architectural and engineering elements that won 181 Fremont more awards in engineering innovation than any other US building.
When it comes to sustainable buildings, developer Jay Paul Company and architects Heller Manus are at the top of their game. Leaders in terms of sustainability in their respective fields, their partnership in the conception of 181 Fremont was a natural collaboration. It was no surprise, then, that they were given global awards for Best Structural Engineering and Best Geotechnical Engineering by the international Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) earlier this year. The program rewards those who have contributed to tall building and urban environment innovation whilst achieving the highest levels of sustainability.
181 Fremont is one of San Francisco’s most recent skyline landmarks. At over 800 feet tall it is already a distinctive focal point in the city’s South of Market District. Comprising a mixture of office space and exclusive residences, the tower is the tallest mixed-use structure west of the Mississippi. Located right next to the Transbay Transit Center, it is perfectly placed for easy access to the transportation hub.
All around the globe, more and more people are beginning to focus on how to make buildings more sustainable. Many consider 181 Fremont to be one of the best examples of innovation and remarkability. Designed with sustainability in mind, Jay Paul Company teamed up with Urban Fabrick to ensure this goal was realized. Urban Fabrick, sustainability consultants who assisted in the development of the San Francisco Green Building Code, helped to take 181 Fremont beyond the already ambitious standards required for LEED Platinum status. The first of its kind, 181 Fremont is pre-certified as San Francisco’s first LEED Platinum luxury tower.
181 Fremont has a bike barn with more than 200 stalls and also features a private bridge leading directly to the 5.4 acre City Park, an elevated recreational area that is as popular and often more highly praised than the High Line in New York. The park contains an open-air amphitheater, public gardens, eateries, and children’s areas and is totally green and sustainable. Many of the materials used for 181 Fremont were regionally sourced, drastically reducing the carbon footprint for the initial construction. Materials from further afield, such as the Paldao wood from New Guinea which encases the residence entryway doors, also have sustainable roots.
The structure was designed to incorporate a unique curtain wall system which increases the amount of daylight admitted and decreases artificial light needs. Its saw-tooth arrangement works to angle the glass in such a way that it is aimed at the afternoon sunlight. This reduces cooling demands by more than 6%. The building’s lighting is designed to also reduce urban sky glow.
One of the most impressive features of this sustainable construction, however, is its water system. The system saves 1.3 million gallons of potable water per year by capturing, treating, and reusing both graywater and rainwater for toilet flushing and irrigation. The basement contains an Aquacell G20 Treatment System. Using membrane bioreactor technology, this self-contained system treats graywater captured from showers, bathroom sinks, and laundry. A PHOENIX Rainwater Treatment System is in place to treat rainwater captured on the roof. The rainwater is then combined with treated graywater for the final disinfection phase. This provides up to 5,000 gallons of recycled non-potable water per day.
All in all, 181 Fremont stands as an impressive beacon to sustainability on the San Francisco skyline. By going above and beyond the standards required for LEED Platinum status, this stunning yet sustainable building has set the bar very high indeed for future developers.
We are honored to announce that 181 Fremont has received the 2019 American Institute of Steel Construction Award in the category that recognizes innovative use of structural steel in projects greater than $75 million.
The Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program is the highest honor awarded to building projects by the U.S. structural steel industry, according to AISC. It recognizes excellence and innovation in the use of structural steel on building projects across the country.
Architectural Digest took notice of the recent honor as well as our column-free interior floor plans stating, “The plan maximizes living space and minimizes view obstructions. Architect Jeffrey Heller was responsible for the 55 luxury condominiums, taking inspiration from his love of sailing and the water views. The exterior incorporates flowing lines in an effect that resembles dozens of connected ship masts. The building’s 25-foot-tall, glass-enclosed lobby was designed by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, and features a textured gold-leaf dome and banquette seating. Residents can take advantage of an entire floor devoted to amenities, including a wrap-around observation terrace, fitness center, and yoga room, two lounges, a library, catering kitchen, and conference room.”
181 Fremont was engineered to be the most resilient building on the West Coast and the structural engineers at Arup had to think outside of the box in order to exceed all current standards for seismic resiliency.
They devised an ingenious aluminum exoskeleton structural support system that behaves like a giant shock absorber whenever there is seismic activity underfoot. A series of sub-foundation viscous dampers allows for a completely elastic superstructure, with plumbing and electrical lines designed with enough flexibility to move without disruption.
“We created a structure designed to endure,” said Ibrahim Almufti, Arup Structural Engineer.
The building, offering 55 condos for sale in SoMa, San Francisco, also features the deepest caissons of any residential tower in San Francisco, burrowing 260 feet into the bedrock. The building’s foundation is designed to uplift slightly to create additional space for movement with a set of safety elevators designed to remain operational during seismic activity.
Learn more at https://www.181fremont.com/building.
Those who live at 181 Fremont have the best of San Francisco’s evolving art scene at arm’s reach. Just ten minutes from your doorstep lies one of the most celebrated art museums in the nation, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
This spring, dive into the many modern and contemporary art exhibitions as part of the museum’s spring lineup that features Andy Warhol, Suzanne Lacy Retrospectives, plus single-gallery presentations on view dedicated to Rodney McMillian, Alexander Calder, Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, and more.
Here are a few of our favorites that you won’t want to miss:
New Work: Rodney McMillian
Now – June 9, 2019
Much of Rodney McMillian’s work speaks to how American politics and social histories shape matters relating to class, race and gender. The exhibit features a painted abstract panorama spanning the entire gallery, paired with a soundscape incorporating iconic 1980s songs performed by McMillian, along with the voice of a social advocate proposing radically new language and policies around the condition of homelessness. This exhibition is his first solo museum presentation on the West Coast.
snap+share: transmitting photographs from mail art to social networks
March 30 – August 4, 2019
Photo taking and sharing has become ever-present in our daily lives. At the snap+share exhibition, trace the evolution of sharing photographs in a visual and unique way with examples of 1960s and ’70s mail art, physical piles of pictures uploaded to the Internet over a 24-hour period, and a working refrigerator that allows participatory meme-making. Spanning the history of mail art to social networks, explore how networks are created through sending photos and how those networks have changed in the age of the Internet. The show presents a variety of artists working in various media, including On Kawara, Ray Johnson, Moyra Davey, Erik Kessels, Corinne Vionnet, and David Horvitz.
Suzanne Lacy: We Are Here
April 20 – August 4, 2019
Explore Suzanne Lacy’s entire career, from her earliest works on feminism to her latest video installations, at the co-organized exhibition by SFMOMA and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Honoring the voices and contributions of women to public life, the YBCA presentation will revisit key collaborative projects from a modern-day perspective including an in-depth focus on The Oakland Projects, a series on youth leadership, public policy and community.
Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again
May 19 – September 2, 2019
Organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, From A to B and Back Again is the first Andy Warhol retrospective organized in the U.S. since 1989. Reevaluating the complexities of Warhol’s instantly recognizable works and 40-year career, this exhibition will feature more than 300 works of art stretching across three floors of SFMOMA.
JR: The Chronicles of San Francisco
May 23, 2019–April 27, 2020
Over the course of two months, internationally recognized artist, JR, set up a mobile studio at more than 20 locations around San Francisco, where he filmed and interviewed nearly 1,200 people across the city’s diverse communities. Celebrating their voices, this exhibition will feature a digital mural bringing the untold stories and faces of San Francisco to life.
For the full list of 2019 exhibitions, visit https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/.