Finally, finally, San Francisco is getting some architecture worthy of a grown-up skyline, and it's coming in the shape of several, major new projects including two from starchitects Rem Koolhaas and Norman Foster going up near the Transbay Tower. The latest announced is a two-tower residential complex at First and Mission to be designed by Foster + Partners, along with local architect Heller Manus. Though full renderings haven't come out yet, it's going to be huge, with one of the towers reaching 850 feet just 220 feet shorter than the big Transbay Tower, which will clock in at 1,070 feet (though 150 of that is a translucent crown). This will make Foster's the tallest residential building in the west.
As the Business Times reports, the new Foster-designed complex will include "1.35 million square feet of office and commercial space — including a hotel and residential space — and the shorter [60-story] tower will have 650,000 square feet of residential space." To get some idea of what it may look like, see these previous residential towers by Foster in New York and Sydney.
This marks the third major project by Foster + Partners in the Bay Area, along with the cool new Apple Store at Union Square with the 44-foot sliding glass doors, and the new Apple spaceship campus in Cupertino.
Other notable towers in the vicinity include the recently announced Rem Koolhaas-designed, 550-foot tower at Folsom and First Street; this awesome 42-story condo tower by Skidmore Owings & Merrill on the next block of Folsom between First and Essex; and the earlier announced, 52-story, mixed-use 181 Fremont Street designed by Heller Manus, which will be primarily office space with 74 condo units up top.
All this crazy construction hinges, of course, on the economy continuing to boom, which it might, or, it might not. But fingers crossed because it's about damn time we had some tall buildings that actually look like something.
[SF Business Times]
[Curbed SF]
[SocketSite]
Previously: Architect Rem Koolhaas Tapped For Transbay Center Residential Tower
