One of the West Coast's only galleries devoted solely to the exploration of architecture and design, the AIA San Francisco Gallery specializes in exhibitions showcasing the best of Bay Area design talent, while also exploring issues of national and international concern. Each month, panel discussions explore the issues and themes presented within the current exhibition.

HOURS
The gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 am-5:00 pm. Opening receptions are held the first Thursday of the month when there is a new exhibition, from 5:30-7:30 pm. All are welcome.

UPCOMING EXHIBITION

Water for a Sustainable City Exhibition
NEW DATE! September 2 - October 29, 2010
Opening Reception September 2, 6:00 pm
CLICK HERE TO RSVP.

Although surrounded by water on three sides, San Francisco’s natural ecosystem offers limited drinking water. Over the last century, visionary engineers and politicians alongside San Francisco voters and conservationists have joined forces to support the creation of one of the most complex water systems in the world, the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power System. Delivering some of the highest quality water on the planet to our seven by seven-mile city and the surrounding Bay Area counties, the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power System also reveals an extraordinary facet of San Francisco’s history. The Gold Rush followed by earthquakes, devastating fires, political maneuvering, and the quest for sufficient water, culminated in the passage of the Raker Act in 1913, which granted right-of-way to the City to build one of the most efficient water and power systems in the world.

Owned and operated today by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), the system utilizes the Tuolumne River watershed, which originates at Mount Lyell glacier and is located 13,120 feet above sea level in Yosemite National Park. It is comprised of tunnels, pipelines, dams, reservoirs and powerhouses transporting water by gravity 167 miles to the Bay Area. Construction of the system took more than 30 years and has served without fail to this day. The system provides 85% of the water consumed by 2.5 million people in five counties, including San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, and Tuolumne.

Water for a Sustainable City will tell the complicated story of San Francisco's relationship to the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power System and further examine everything from the typical San Franciscan’s water usage, to the city’s growing dependence on alternative energy and water. Represented through charts and photographs, the exhibition will showcase how far the typical San Franciscan's water travels—from glacier to watershed to faucet.

Rich with commentary from experts in the field, including architects, engineers and architectural historians familiar with the system, and sustainability experts focused on the future of recycling and conservation programs, Water for a Sustainable City will comprehensively investigate how the city's water system has been organized to adapt to the larger urban fabric. Information on innovative sustainable initiatives and programs that have been created by the SFPUC will also be presented.

Water for a Sustainable City is presented by AIA San Francisco, Center for Architecture + Design and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Click here for more information about the exhibition and related programming.

PAST EXHIBITIONS
Click here for a complete list of past exhibitions.