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2008 FESTIVAL GUIDES
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL PROGRAM HERE.

August 29, 6:00 - 9:30 pm
Room & Board
685 Seventh Street, San Francisco
Free; Registration Required
Must be 21 or older to attend!

The opening night party salutes the participating organizations, sponsors and diverse audience of architects, designers and design enthusiasts who make Architecture and the City—the Bay Area’s first and only architecture and design festival—possible. Catch a glimpse of the homes showcased on the 2008 San Francisco Living: Home Tours weekend and learn more about the visionary works of San Francisco-based nonprofits Architecture for Humanity and Public Architecture, two organizations who are redefining what it means to design for community.

Register to win a $1000 Room & Board gift card at the Opening Night Party. You must be in attendance to win.

This popular weekend showcases modernism at its finest and features a wide variety of architectural styles, neighborhoods and residences, including state-of-the-art single-family homes in Glen Park, Noe Valley, and Pacific Heights; condominiums in Mission Bay; and an affordable housing development in the Tenderloin District.

Participating firms include Aidlin Darling Design, David Baker + Partners, Shift Design Studio, Terry + Terry Architecture, Kwan Henmi Architects, Thom Faulders Architecture, Zack | de Vito Architecture, Rothschild / Schwartz architects, inc, Walker | Warner Architects, Feldman Architecture, Ogrydziak/Prillinger Architects, and Herman & Coliver Architecture.
 
 

At the Home Tours Headquarters participants can purchase day-of tickets or pick up will call tickets, tour the new Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, Inc., and receive free entry to the Dwell weekend programming and cocktail party.

Click here to learn more about the events held in conjunction with the San Francisco Living Home Tours Weekend.
 

Step One is a six mile run exploring traces of San Francisco's history still visible in the contemporary city. Follow the former 19th century shoreline before landfill was added, past sandy cliffs which once fronted the water of the bay. Zoom past the site of the former Yerba Buena Cemetery, just one of the many city cemeteries which have been relocated. Skirt limits of the Great Fire after the 1906 Earthquake, past historic neighborhoods left untouched. Climb up the back of the Filbert steps and glide down the historic block of Lombard Street to return to the start at the historic Halladie Building. Pace will be 12 minute miles. Total time 75 minutes.

Curious about the buildings AIA San Francisco finds most architecturally significant? This is your chance to visit them with David Baker, FAIA,of David Baker + Partners, Architects as your guide. You'll learn more about the historic Hallidie Building by Willis Polk, the new San Francisco Federal Building by Morphosis/SmithGroup, and will step inside the Tenderloin's Curran House, among other stops. Tour concludes with a reception at David Baker + Partners, Architects, located in the Clock Tower building in SOMA.

Learn how local entrepreneur, Jeremy Tooker, of the new Four Barrel Cafe in the Mission District, collaborated with Boor Bridges Architecture to create a truly unique retail design—one that incorporates found objects edited by the keen eye of the hunter-gatherer with casework and furniture sculpted by hand. After a short presentation and tour of the space, experience Coffee Cupping, a phenomenon similar to wine tasting, which will feature six rare and unusual coffees from around the world.

Let the District Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, Denis Mulligan, guide you through the architectural history of San Francisco's iconic bridge and the 12-year seismic retrofit project. This tour offers expansive views of the city and an insider's perspective of the engineering feats that have sustained the bridge for over 70 years.

Under the Bay Bridge Boat Tour:
Redesigning the Eastern Span of Bay Bridge (2 HSWs)- SOLD OUT!
September 4, 4:00-6:00 PM
Please arrive between 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm for boarding.
$50 members; $60 nonmembers
Tour Start Point: Pier 3, San Francisco

Partake in a presentation and discussion about the redesign of the East Span of the Bay Bridge and the dialogue that took place with all of the stakeholders. A guided tour by boat to view the new span under construction will follow. Participants will learn about the process of designing a signature bridge in a highly sensitive environment focusing on the design competition, design process, and the relationship with designers and the Design Advisory Panel and Public Commissions throughout the design process.

Tour led by Donald MacDonald, FAIA, of Donald MacDonald Architects, Jeffrey Heller, FAIA, of Heller Manus and Bart Ney, of The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Projects.

DOWNLOAD BAY BRIDGE TOUR INVITATION

Haas - Lilienthal House Tours (1 LU)
September 7, 14, 21, 28, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
General Admission $8; Seniors & Children 12 & under: $5.
Tour Start Point: Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin Street, (between Washington & Jackson), San Francisco

Built in 1886 and home to San Francisco Architectural Heritage, the Haas - Lilienthal House models Victorian architecture complete with elaborate wooden gables, a circular corner tower and authentic furniture and artifacts of luxuriant ornamentation. One of the few house museums open to the public and maintained in its original condition, it serves as an excellent tool in understanding the Victorian thinking and social beliefs behind its design.

 

From the street, some of San Francisco's downtown skyscrapers can appear defensive and uninviting, yet they may be more amenable to public uses than you think. In fact, more than a dozen of the city's downtown office buildings include privately owned, publicly used open spaces--or POPOS--tucked into their lobbies or perched on their rooftops. Some of these spaces are merely provisional, while others are hidden gems offering a respite from the daily grind of downtown office life. In the spirit of Rebar's motto to "re: mix your landscape," participants will also get to check out any PARK(ing) Day installations along the way.

Tour led by Eva Liebermann, former senior planner, San Francisco Planning Department, and George Williams, former assistant director, San Francisco Planning Department.

Since 1994, the Presidio has been transitioning itself from a military base into a National Park. This transformation has included an architectural reshaping of its physical form, including rehabilitation of its historic buildings and renovation of its landscapes. The tour will look at completed and proposed projects, including the Thoreau Center for Sustainability and the Bay School of San Francisco by LMS Architects, among other projects. The tour will also explore the future of the Main Post, looking at the landscape design for the Main Parade, designed by the Olin Partnership of Philadelphia, the proposed Main Post Lodge, being designed by Hornberger + Worstell of San Francisco, and the contemporary art museum designed by Gluckman Mayner Architects of New York City.

Tour led by Marsha Maytum, principal of LMS Architects of San Francisco, Chandler McCoy of the Presidio Trust and Bruce Demartini of the Thoreau Center.

San Francisco’s century-old Japantown is one of the three remaining Japantowns in the United States, and the focus of the city's newest Better Neighborhoods plan. What recent changes has the neighborhood undergone, and what further changes are in store? How has a knowledge and respect for the neighborhood's history factored into these efforts? The tour will include a stop at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema, recently renovated by the Berkeley-based firm, ELS Architecture and Urban Design, and a short presentation on the theater's design.
 

Tour led by Ros Tonai of the National Japanese American Historical Society, Bob Hamaguchi, executive director of the Japantown Task Force, William Gordon of ELS Architecture and Design, and Nancy Gribler of Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.

Over the last decade, the abandoned rail yards of Mission Bay have become a hub of activity within the evolving North of Channel area and rapidly transforming South of Channel area, now home to the new UCSF campus. Tour selected buildings within the new 303-acre neighborhood with the architects and urban designers responsible for the transformation. Tour features the Mission Bay Visitors Center, designed by SMWM, as well as office and residential developments, parks and open space, and the new UCSF Mission Bay campus, where architectural works by Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects and Legorreta Architects and sculptural works by Richard Serra and others, will be discussed.

Tour led by Linda Sobuta, FAIA, and Geeti Silwal, AICP, LEED AP of SMWM.

Fort Baker has been transformed into Cavallo Point Lodge and the Institute of the Golden Gate. The interdisciplinary project team rehabilitated 17 historic landmark buildings and added 13 new buildings incorporating sustainable design strategies throughout. Come discover and experience the breath-taking views and architecture of this rejuvinated parkland.

Tour led by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, in conjunction with Architectural Resources Group and the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy.

Sponsored by:
DOCOMOMO

This walking tour of downtown San Francisco will ask its attendees to look at San Francisco through the lens of modern design history. Starting at Crown Zellerbach Plaza, the tour visits important works of architecture by SOM, Anshen and Allen , and Wurster, Bernardi, Emmons, and the landscape work of Lawrence Halprin and Sasaki Walker. The tour includes the city's first modern skyscrapers from the late 1950s to the district-wide planning efforts sponsored by the Redevelopment Agency.
 

Tour led by Andrew Wolfram and Chandler McCoy of DOCOMOMO's Northern California Chapter (DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern Movement).

Celebrate the relationship between architecture and celluloid by viewing classic, contemporary and documentary films that spotlight the built environment, the architectural and design professions and the ever-mythical architect's ego.

The first night of the Architecture and the City film series features the traveling debut of Brilliant Simplicity: 15 Designers Research Collaborate Innovate, a short film created by Metropolis magazine that traces the many ways innovation can happen and features past Next Generation competition winners.

Following the film will be a conversation on the pressing need for research in design with Metropolis editor in chief, Susan S. Szenasy, and past Next Generation competition winners, including Virginia San Fratello, and Anton Willis, Kate Lydon, and Christina Seely of Civil Twilight.

Currently in production, Learning from Bob and Denise is a feature-length documentary by James Venturi that explores the complex and contradictory world of the architects, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. The film takes viewers on a journey from the couple’s early years to the present. Through interviews with Venturi and Scott Brown, their clients, colleagues, friends and critics, Learning from Bob and Denise aims to provide an understanding of Venturi and Scott Brown’s multilayered approach, relevant to both architects and non-architects alike. The evening also includes shorts by Bay Area filmmaker Benjamin Wood, among others.

This classic film by Jacques Tati follows Monsieur Hulot on his way to contact an American official in Paris. However, he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture which is filled with the latest technical gadgets. Caught in the tourist invasion, Hulot roams around Paris with a group of American tourists, causing chaos in his usual manner.

World-class architect Renzo Piano draws on nature to create a structure that defines a natural history museum for the 21st century. Combining Piano's signature transparency design with a green roof evoking its surroundings, San Francisco's new California Academy of Sciences provides a model for sustainability, and sets a benchmark for how people use, operate and interact with public buildings. The e" series debuted in 2006 with its first season of design, introducing viewers to the burgeoning sustainability movement among architects and designers worldwide.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring members of the California Academy of Sciences design team in conversation about the building, which officially opens to the public on September 27th. The panel includes Jean Rogers, Principal, Ph.D, PE, LEED AP, Peter Lassetter, Principal, LEED AP of ARUP, and Mark Palmer, LEED AP, of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. The panel will be moderated by John King, architecture critic of the San Francisco Chronicle.

AIGA presents Vivian Rosenthal (2 LUs)
September 4, 7:00 pm
Adobe, 601 Townsend Street, San Francisco
Price: $20 Members, $30 Nonmembers, $15 Students

Vivian Rosenthal and Jesse Seppi, 2001 Columbia Architecture graduates, are the founders of Tronic. Their work moves between film, animation, architecture and experiential design. Come hear how these visual futurists are boldly combining architecture, graphic design, film and animation through new uses of technology to create striking and conceptually based work.

 

The Architect's Forum (1.5 LUs)
September 11, 6:30 pm
Autodesk Design Center, 1 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco
Price: Free to participants, $20 Others

 

During this educational panel and cocktail reception, tour participants will learn more about the design, construction and overall costs related to the homes showcased in the 2008 San Francisco Living: Home Tours weekend. The new, cutting edge Autodesk Design Center is designed by Anderson Anderson Architecture in collaboration with McCall Design Group, and coordinated with DPR Construction and HOK, architects of the adjacent Autodesk One Market offices, in an Integrated Project Delivery system.

See Home Tours for related information.
 

Works of the Bouroullec Brothers for the Vitra Home (1.5 LUs)
September 10, 6:00 pm Reception, 7:00 pm Presentation
September 12, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Reception Only
Zinc Details, 2410 California Street, San Francisco
Price: Free; Registration Required

Zinc Details is introducing the complete line of the Vitra Home Collection at its 2410 California Street location this fall. On Wednesday, September 10th, Sam Grawe, the Editor-in-Chief of Dwell Magazine, will offer a presentation on the history of Vitra with focus on the contributions of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The Vitra Home Collection offers many unique home products representing over 70 years of design history which complement and enhance the collage interior.

 

Double-Down: Two Visions of Vegas (2 LUs)
September 18, 6:30 pm
SFMOMA, Phyllis Wattis Theater, 151 Third Street, San Francisco
Price: $10 General; $7 SFMOMA Members, Students, and Seniors

Olivo Barbieri and Stephen Dean explore the bittersweet nature of Las Vegas through their recent video works, site specific_Las Vegas 05 and No More Bets. Double-Down: Two Visions of Vegas, curated by Henry Urbach, Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design, pairs these works as a means of exploring the complexities about one of America’s most dynamic urban playgrounds. This program joins the artists with Urbach to discuss their work and the marked ambivalence embedded in this city’s image and cultural fabric.

 

If everything is becoming virtual, why invest in "place"? Technology enables us to work from anywhere, but we still congregate at the office: we need a places to interact with others. Join DEGW's Despina Katsikakis, as she explores the importance of creating common ground; addressing cultural and generational needs; and designing workplaces where people want to be.

 

Leo Marmol, FAIA, is Managing Principal of the design/build architectural firm, Marmol Radziner and Associates in Los Angeles, California. With a passion for mid-century Modern residences, his extensive research and creative construction methods have resulted in numerous awards for the firm’s renovation and restoration work, including Richard Neutra’s 1946 Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. Leo’s home near Palm Springs is the prototype for Marmol Radziner Prefab, the firm’s new line of green modular homes that are built in its factory and delivered complete. The firm’s unique business practice and commitment to design excellence was rewarded with the honor of being named the AIA California Council’s 2004 Firm of the Year.

 

Nestled within the hills and valleys of Marin County is a rich and diverse stock of mid-century modern architecture that have mostly remained hidden and undiscovered by the general public. Come discover these extraordinary, but often unheralded projects, with noted author and lecturer Alan Hess. Alan Hess is an architect, architecture critic for the San Jose Mercury News, and author of more than a dozen books that explore new facets of twentieth century architecture.

 

San Francisco recently enacted the most comprehensive green building ordinance applying to the private sector of any city in the nation. Learn how the requirements will affect your project, why San Francisco is taking this action, and what incentives will be available to help projects succeed--and exceed--the requirements. Special attention will be paid to historic buildings, energy and water efficiency, waste minimization, and new storm water management guidelines.
 

Urban Re:Interventions explores perspectives on the urban environment through the lens of architects, designers, landscape architects and urban guerillas. From small scale moments at the street level to large scale imagineering of the city of San Francisco as a whole, the exhibition will re-envision how awkward spaces can be made beautiful. Participating artists were asked to answer questions such as “What annoys you about San Francisco’s streetscape?” “If you could remake your neighborhood where would you start?” “How could you connect the city to disengaged communities and/or individuals?” and “What are you already doing to improve your local environment?“

The exhibition features work by Shift Design Studio, 450 Architects, CMG Landscape Architecture, Gelfand Partners Architects, Activist Architecture and the Vapor Advanced Interdisciplinary Studio at CCA, grey.studio, among others.

Urban Re:Interventions has been made possible in part by the Graham Foundation.

Oakland's Margarido House is the first custom home in Northern California to be slated for LEED-H platinum status, and the first home in the country to be both LEED-H certified and GreenPoint Rated. This home is a showcase for great ideas and cutting edge design. During the festival Opening Night Party, when the exhibition opens, you can mingle with developer and Margarido house owner Mike McDonald to talk about the design and construction of this extraordinary home. McDonald will be joined by representatives from area partners who contributed to the project, including Heath Ceramics, Concrete Works, Traywick Contemporary and Chris French Metal. For more information please visit www.margaridohouse.com.

 

This exhibition presents a complex portrait of America's most spectacular urban environment — and fastest growing city — through the juxtaposition of two recent films: Olivo Barbieri's site specific_Las Vegas 05 and Stephen Dean's No More Bets. Barbieri films Las Vegas from a helicopter, using a tilt-focus lens that renders objects out of scale, transforming the city's iconic landmarks into toy-like simulacra. Beginning in the desert, emphasizing the city's isolation as well as its antipathy for empty spaces and blank surfaces; Barbieri's camera travels along the outskirts of the city before arriving at its pulsating nerve center, the Las Vegas Strip. In No More Bets, Dean homes in on the luminous and colorful signs, screens, and surfaces that make up Las Vegas, abstracting the visual excess and revealing beautiful, unexpected patterns within the city’s semiotic jumble. The two works will be shown on opposing walls, sequentially.

 

With construction of the museum's new 14,400-square-foot Rooftop Garden currently under way, this exhibition offers visitors an experiential glimpse of SFMOMA's expansion. A horizontal projection on the second-floor landing mimics the span of windows that will overlook the completed garden from the fifth-floor galleries, transforming an opaque wall into a virtual portal. The projection, conceived by Rooftop Garden architect Mark Jensen, paints an atmospheric portrait of the nascent outdoor space, conjuring specific visual elements related to the design as well as abstract suggestions of the changing seasons, weather, and hourly light that will influence the mood in the garden.

The Center for Architecture + Design presents programs specifically designed for families! Budding designers and curious kids, ages four and older, are invited to explore the built environment with their families. Please check individual listings for appropriate age range before registering and please note that parents must accompany children at all events.

Family programming has been made possible in part by the LEF Foundation.

Offering a variety of interdisciplinary arts programs, Friday Nights at the de Young including live music, poetry, films, dance, tours, and lectures. In celebration of Architecture and the City, Lisa Bostwick will conduct sketching tours of the de Young's special architectural features located in the free zones of the museum beginning in the lobby of Wilsey Court. All supplies are provided free of charge. Lisa Bostwick is a long time educator and painter. Her work is in private collections throughout the states and she currently teaches at Drew School, in San Francisco. This project is offered free of charge and interested participants can meet Lisa at the Architecture and the City Art making table located in Wilsey Court's lobby at 6:30 p.m. In addition, there are art-making activities available for everyone and the cafe is open with a special Friday Nights dinner menus.

Kids and parents know what it takes to create a great classroom! Come share your ideas and design the classroom of the future! Architecture for Humanity will be hosting family day at their office to give kids and their parents a chance to engage in design work. Be part of the process to create facility changes in our schools, and learn more about the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Portable Classrooms Design Competition.

Heath Ceramics Tour + Kid's Clay Workshop - SOLD OUT!
September 21, 12:00-2:00 pm
Tour 12:00 – 1:00 pm Limited to 15 people.
Clay Workshop 1:00-2:00 pm Maximum: 8 kids; 8 adults.
Tour recommended for children ages 12 and up. Clay Workshop recommended for children ages 6-12.
Heath Ceramics, 400 Gate Five Road, Sausalito
 

Heath Ceramics has been producing original handcrafted tableware and architectural tile since 1948. On this special family day, families will join Robin Petravic, owner and managing director of Heath Ceramics, for a behind-the-scenes peek of the historic Sausalito factory, where craftsmen have been producing award-winning tableware and tile for over half a century. The tour will then be followed by a Clay Workshop (recommended for ages 6-12), where children, who must be accompanied by an adult, are invited to learn how a plate is made at the Historic Heath factory. The kids will also have the opportunity to create their own work of art on a Heath tile with original glazes. The tiles will be fired following the workshop and will be available for pick up the following weekend.

EHDD Architecture, a leading firm in sustainability, introduces the basics of sustainable design to children and their parents through workshop activities. These will include learning the ‘green’ vocabulary, looking at how to reduce energy and water consumption, and learning about sustainable design features, among other activities. The purpose is to make children in our community aware of the importance of sustainability and have them be the new generation of young advocates of a healthier environment and a better future.

The day also includes a healthy lunch and a tour of the school.

Dining by Design offers unparalleled opportunities to blend exclusive private dining experiences with tours of notable venues. Each evening benefits the Center for Architecture + Design, an organization dedicated to enhancing public appreciation for architecture and design both locally and internationally through programs that aim to reveal the richness of the design arts.
 

Farina Focaccia & Cucina Italiana
3560 18th St
(between Valencia St & Guerrero St)
September 18, 6:30 pm
$100 Limited to 25 people

 

This sleek new Mission District restaurant, designed by architects Monica Viarengo and Brett Terpeluk, is located in the former Anna's Danish Cookies. Specializing in Ligurian fare, the restaurant which is owned by Luca Minna and Laura Garrone of Genoa, Italy, features the region’s signature pesto and focaccia, among other favorites, as served by chef Paolo Laboa. Diners will enjoy an exclusive evening in the private dining hall on the second level including conversation with the architects and chef.

Celebrate a unique evening at DZINE, one of San Francisco’s top design showrooms and exclusive representative for the leading Italian kitchen line Boffi. DZINE represents a philosophy of design that is truly contemporary—one that encompasses not what is merely new, but what is essential and timeless. On this evening, you’ll dine in the showroom courtesy of Gaggenau, specialists in high-performance built-in kitchen appliances. A personal chef will create a special menu and treat you to an evening of delicacies prepared within the Boffi/Gaggenau kitchen.

Guest Speaker: Larissa Sand, Sand Studios

Dedicated to creating a framework for deeper environmental connection to our food and aims to inspire and empower Americans to build a food system that is sustainable, healthy and delicious, Slow Food Nation is the first-ever American collaborative gathering to unite the growing sustainable food movement and introduce thousands of people to food that is good, clean and fair. Under the aegis of BCV Architects, delegates from local design and food communities came together to form a Design Advisory Committee with the intent to build relationships between food and design activists and professionals, to combine pleasure with responsibility, and to inspire a new era of activism that unites agriculture with a revised sense of potential for city life.
 

REBAR, Public Architecture, and The Trust for Public Land invite you to rethink the way streets are used, consider the need for urban parks, reclaim the streets for bikes and people, and expand the public realm by creating new opportunities for social exchanges.

Click on Tours if you are interested in taking the Privately Owned, Publicly Used: An Exploration of Downtown POPOS Tour on Park(ing) Day.

 

Join the California Academy of Sciences for a weekend-long celebration of historic proportions in Golden Gate Park - with family-friendly activities and entertainment from morning to night. Enjoy live music and dance performances. Sample sustainably-sourced food from all over the world. Marvel at Chinese acrobats. Browse the latest in green technologies. Scale the rock-climbing wall. And so much more!

Need more information? Contact us here.