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.
 

ARCHITECTURAL TOURS: BEHIND THE SCENES

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.

ARCHITECTURAL TOURS: SPECIAL TOURS
 

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.

ARCHITECTURAL TOURS: WALKING TOURS
 

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).

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