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2009 ARCHITECTURE AND THE CITY FESTIVAL
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 Welcome to the 2009 Arch + City Online Program Guide.
Click here to download the PDF version of the 2009 Arch + City Program Guide. |
SOLD OUT! OPENING NIGHT PARTY |  | August 28, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
$10 AIA Members | $15 Nonmembers
Arkitektura In-Situ
560 Ninth Street, San Francisco, CA
Must be 21 or older to attend.
| Sponsored by: Arkitektura, California Home + Design | 
Arkitektura In-Situ © Bruce Damonte | (Thank for your interest in our opening party. Unfortunately, we have reached full capacity for our event! Please visit www.aiasf.org/archandcity/programs to sign up for other events during the festival.) This year’s 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 2009 San Francisco Living: Home Tours weekend and learn more about the festival theme, Everyday, Design. |
ARCHITECTURAL TOURS
Scroll down to read more about the tours, or jump to the Tours Category that interests you most by clicking on one of the links below: |
HOME TOURS
| | San Francisco Living: Home Tours Weekend (2.5 LUs per day)
September 12–13, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
$60-$70 AIA Members | $75-$85 Nonmembers
Various San Francisco neighborhoods
www.aiasf.org/hometours | Sponsored by Dwell, 7x7, City CarShare, Hometta, Malcolm Davis Architecture, NanaWall, Room & Board, San Francisco Bike Coalition | 
© Bruce Damonte | This popular weekend showcases modernism at its finest and features a wide variety of architectural styles, neighborhoods and distinctive San Francisco residences, all in keeping with this year’s theme of Everyday, Design. Participating firms include Malcolm Davis Architecture, Apparatus Architecture, Axelrod Architects, Boor Bridges Architecture, Edmonds + Lee Architects, John Maniscalco Architecture, LSarc, Mork-Ulnes Design, Sasaki|Architect: Strachan Forgan, SB Architects|Architect: Bruce Wright, Studio Sarah Willmer Architecture and WRT Solomon ETC. Bike Home Tours
We recommend biking the Home Tours weekend. Bicyclists must purchase day-of tickets at the Home Tours Headquarters and must show up with their bicycle in order to receive the discount. Bicycle tickets are $60 AIA/SFBC Members; $70 Nonmembers. | |
RELATED WEEKEND EVENTS
| | The Architect’s Forum (2 LUs)
September 10, 6:30 pm
Free to Home Tours Participants | $20 Nonparticipants
Istanbul Rug, 424 9th Street, San Francisco
| Sponsored by Dwell, 7x7, Hometta, Istanbul Rug | 
© Bruce Damonte | During this educational panel and cocktail reception, tour participants will learn more about the design, construction and overall costs related to the homes showcased during the weekend. | | Lunch with Dwell Editors and Tour of the Dwell Headquarters
September 11, 11:30 am–1:30 pm
$50 AIA Members + Nonmembers. Lunch included.
Dwell, 40 Gold Street, San Francisco | Sponsored by Dwell | | This is an exciting opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the award-winning design magazine. Meet your favorite editors and hear the back-story behind the articles and homes featured in the publication. | |
HOME TOURS HEADQUARTERS & EVENTS AT THE HEADQUARTERS
| | Home Tours Headquarters
September 12–13, 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Stable, 2128 Folsom Street, San Francisco
| Sponsored by NanaWall | 
© Bruce Damonte | Once the site of the mayor’s carriage house in the 1800s, this year’s Home Tours Headquarters, Stable, maintains the unique character of its original structure with updated modern elements. Revived by Malcolm Davis Architecture, the building is now home to Malcolm’s architectural practice, several small business offices and an apartment. The old carriage space below is a storefront for Stable Café, Mission Creek Kitchen and a gallery space, The Stable Salon. At the Home Tours Headquarters, you can purchase day-of tickets or pick up will-call tickets, tour the new Stable Café and collective spaces.
| | Architectural Play!
September 12–13, 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Stable, 2128 Folsom Street, San Francisco
| | Throughout the weekend, participants can learn more about the unique location and take part in drop-in programming, such as “Talk to an Architect,” and “Shelter the Norm,” hosted by the AIA San Francisco Small Business Committee and KMD, lounge under a parametric canopy made by Bios Design Collective, and enjoy food and drinks from Stable Café.
| | San Francisco Living Exhibition
September 12–13, 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Stable, 2128 Folsom Street, San Francisco
| | Throughout the weekend, participants can learn more about the unique residences on the 2009 home tours in this exhibition showcasing the participating firms.
© Sharon Risedorph
| | Cocktail Reception
September 12, 4:00 pm
Free to Home Tours Participants | $5 Nonparticipants
Stable, 2128 Folsom Street, San Francisco | Sponsored by Dwell | 
© Melanie McGraw | After enjoying the first day of the San Francisco Living: Home Tours weekend, join AIA San Francisco and Dwell for Saturday afternoon cocktails, music and conversation. | WEEKEND DEALS
Show the Architecture and the City guide at either Zinc Details location and receive a 10% discount off any purchase. Both stores will also host a wine reception on September 13 from 4:00-6:00 pm. Don’t miss the raffle to win a $500 gift certificate at Room & Board, and other prizes, at the Home Tours Headquarters. | Sponsored by Room&Board, Zinc Details |
BEHIND THE SCENES TOURS
| | Treasure Island: 2020’s Best Place to Live (2 LUs)
September 3, 10:30 am
$20 AIA Members | $30 Nonmembers
Tour start point: Casa de la Vista on Treasure Island, San Francisco
| Sponsored by Perkins + Will | 
© Bruce Damonte | The new Treasure Island is holistically designed for sustainable living, and this tour will reveal how planning decisions can lead to better everyday living for future residents. Treasure Island will be the centerpiece of San Francisco Bay—unmistakable, unmatchable and impossible to miss. Over the next decade, it will be transformed into a self-sustaining community defining new standards in sustainable, happy, healthy living. It will anticipate the way we need to live on this planet: together in nature, nestled in context, yet comforted by a sense of neighborhood and home.
Shuttle service to Treasure Island provided for first 20 people to register. Limited seating. First come, first serve. Please specify whether or not you will be requiring transportation when you register.
Tour led by Karen Alschuler and Kamala Subbarayan of Perkins + Will.
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| | Follow that Car!: Architectural Run (1.5 LUs)
September 6, 9:00 am
$20 AIA Members | $30 Nonmembers
Tour start point: Hallidie Building, 130 Sutter Street, San Francisco
| Pace 12 minute miles. Total running time 75 minutes. Composer William Day will create a sound piece to accompany the run on MP3 players (provided). | 
© Bruce Damonte | Starting at the office building of Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon, this architectural adventure follows—or at least attempts to keep up with!—car chase scenes from famous films shot in San Francisco. Tracking Madeleine from Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the run follows Jimmy Stewart through the streets of downtown San Francisco, before meeting up with Gene Hackman from The Conversation in Union Square, (a glimpse of Tippy Hedren carrying a cage of birds, perhaps?), and then chases after Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, among other adventures. At the Bay, the run hooks up with Clint Eastwood from Dirty Harry near Embarcadero Center before returning to the beginning. Be forewarned: this is definitely a hilly run!
Tour led by Donna Schumacher of X: architecture/art. |
| | Exotic Hardwoods + ConcreteWorks Factory Tour (2 SDs)
September 17, 1:00–4:00 pm
$20 AIA Members | $30 Nonmembers
Tour start point: Exotic Hardwoods, 4800 Coliseum Way, Oakland
| Sponsored by Exotic Hardwoods + ConcreteWorks | 
© ConcreteWorks | This two-for-one tour takes you across the Bay to some of the design industry’s most interesting— and dare we say ‘exotic’—factories. The first stop is Exotic Hardwoods, an environmentally responsible company that strives to expand the selection of unique sustainable veneers and carries products that inspire everyday design sensibilities. The largest supplier of FSC-certified woods on the West Coast, the showroom will offer a peek at FSC-certified panels being manufactured. Following the tour of the factory, participants will head to ConcreteWorks Studio, a design firm specializing in the craft of concrete, located at 1137 57th Avenue. Founder Mark Rogero has developed a unique casting process, using 80% recycled concrete content, that enables new and limitless possibilities for an age-old material.
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| | Second Bay Traditions Bicycle Ride: A Tour of San Francisco Modern Architecture (3 LUs)
September 20, 11:00 am
$20 AIA/SFBC Members | $30 Nonmembers
Tour start point: Justin Herman Plaza (Next to Vaillancourt Fountain), San Francisco
| Sponsored by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition | 
© Adriana Nunez | This tour will focus on notable modern residential architecture outside of San Francisco’s downtown core. It will look at works by Second Bay Area Tradition architects and contemporaries, including buildings by Richard Neutra, William Wurster, Gardner Dailey, Henry Hill, Joseph Eichler and Anshen + Allen. Part of a rich architectural tradition, these buildings are also a feature of our everyday landscape. Viewing these houses through the focused lens of local architects and planners, our daily city becomes a richer, more revealed place.
Tour led by David Baker, FAIA, Robin Levitt and Rob Bregoff. Total biking time is four hours. Ride will cover 20 miles, including hilly terrain. Riders must provide their own bicycle (low-gearing recommended) and wear comfortable clothing with layers and a helmet. The tour will stop for lunch at the appropriate time (lunch not included).
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| | Gardens Everyday (2.5 LUs)
September 26, 12:00–5:00 pm
$30 AIA Members + ASLA Members | $40 Nonmembers
Various San Francisco neighborhoods
Locations will be provided to ticket holders only. Tickets can be picked up at UCSF Medicinal + Botanical Garden - Potrero Hill, 654 Minnesota Street (Between 18th Street and 19th Street), San Francisco starting at 11:30 am on Saturday.
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© Ben Fash | Showcasing the artistic expressions of landscape designers Topher Delaney, Shirley Watts and Cevan Forristt, this self-guided tour takes participants through some of the city’s innovative garden spaces, including a new Urban Contemporary Botanical Medicinal Garden at UCSF, private residential gardens in Potrero and a metal-meets-petal hideaway retreat for a Glen Park bicycler. The tour concludes with a backyardcookout themed reception at SEAM Studio, “an atelier which serves as a venue for the investigation of cultural, social and artistic narratives ‘seamed’ together to form dynamic physical installations.”
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| | Portola Valley Town Center Tour (2 SDs)
September 26, 2:00 pm
$20 AIA Members | $30 Nonmembers
Tour start point: Historic Schoolhouse, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley
| Sponsored by Green Design Furniture | 
© Cesar Rubio Photography | The new $21 million Portola Valley Town Center, designed in a collaboration by Siegel & Strain Architects and Goring and Straja Architects occupies an 11-acre site beside a meadow and walnut grove. The impressive new project, which sits on the San Andreas Fault, consists of three main buildings: a library, town hall and community hall. It also includes a baseball field, soccer field, tennis courts and a 300-foot-long stretch of restored creek that had been diverted into a culvert. The architects, builders and town officials involved in the redevelopment of this civic center were focused on creating a space that all ages of the community would use on a daily basis while being thoughtful of issues such as sustainability, energy use, open space, natural habitat and landscape. This tour will look at ways in which architecture can, and should, preserve open space, restore natural habitat, connect to the landscape, encourage community involvement and reveal eco-friendly components.
Tour led by Larry Strain, FAIA, Jim Goring, AIA, and Susi Marzuola, AIA, project architects, and Ted Driscoll, former Mayor of Portola Valley.
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| | Heath Ceramics 50th Anniversary Factory Tour (1 LU)
September 27, 2:00 pm
Free; Registration required.
Heath Ceramics, 400 Gate Five Road, Sausalito
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© Renee Zellweger | Led by current owners and creative team Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey, this behind-the-scenes tour showcases the historic factory’s unique process of working with clay. Designed by Claude Stoller of Marquis+Stoller in 1959, with founder Edith Heath, the factory is a classic, modern example of a sociallyresponsible, architecturally interesting factory, studio and store. The company’s values are reflected in work environments that emphasize light, air and the landscape within the factory context. On this tour, you’ll experience the factory, and get a behind-thescenes look at the building and manufacturing process. |
WALKING TOURS
On these weekly tours, explore the everyday nooks and crannies of San Francisco, and the impact architecture and design has on your everyday life.
| | Victorian “Tract Homes” of the Mission (2 LUs)
September 1, 3:00–5:00 pm
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
Tour start point: Corner of 23rd and Bartlett Streets (Next to Velvet Cantina), San Francisco
| Sponsored by Page & Turnbull | 
© Bruce Damonte | Affordable housing was just as important in the 19th century as it is today. As a developing suburb during the Victorian era, San Francisco’s Mission District became a laboratory where architects and builders took advantage of mass-produced materials and assemblyline construction techniques to produce an astonishing array of residential housing for middle-income and working-class residents. This tour will explore chronologically successive waves of development, ranging from mirrored single-family homes of the 1870s constructed by large real estate syndicates, to whole-block subdivisions of flats, cottages and row houses constructed by merchant builders in the 1880s and 1890s.
Tour led by Jonathan Lammers of Page & Turnbull. |
| | The Mid-Century City: Modernism on Cathedral Hill (2 LUs)
September 8, 3:00–5:00 pm
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
Tour start point: North entrance to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Geary Blvd. between Gough and Cleary Court.
| | | The Cathedral Hill neighborhood exemplifies the utopian (and some may say unforgiving) planning ideals of the modern movement - the separation of the car and pedestrian, abundant open space and apartments clustered around landscaped courtyards to serve the working and middle class population. This tour will visit St. Mary’s Cathedral, an iconic sculptural structure hovering over an abstract plaza, designed in the 1960’s by the noted Italian structural engineer Pier Luigi Nervi. The tour will also explore two large Eichler apartment complexes, a modern residential development built by the Longshoreman’s Union and Japantown, a retail center designed by Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the World Trade Center. Tour led by Docomomo.
Note: The original "Gardens are for People" tour was cancelled. |
| | Industrial Green: Lessons in Sustainability from SOMA’s Historic Building Stock (2 SDs)
September 15, 3:00–5:00 pm
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
Tour start point: 57 Columbia Square, San Francisco
| Sponsored by Page & Turnbull | In the wake of the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) area was redeveloped as one of the great industrial centers of the West. Designed with an emphasis on flexibility, as well as profitability, many of the new buildings employed inherently sustainable features. This tour will explore the “green” design of SOMA’s industrial buildings, from flexible loft floor plans to the use of skylights and natural ventilation. The tour will also include side trips to some of SOMA’s back-alley residential enclaves where efficient, low-cost housing allowed workers to live within walking distance of their work site.
Tour led by Christina Dikas of Page & Turnbull. |
| | The Future Waterfront: Sea Level Rise and the San Francisco Bay (2 HSWs)
September 22, 3:00–5:00 pm
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
Tour start point: BCDC Office, 50 California Street, 26th Floor, San Francisco
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© Bruce Damonte | The San Francisco Bay shoreline, like similar estuaries around the world, is comprised of urban waterfronts, local communities, public infrastructure and marsh habitats. This walking tour will begin with a short presentation about the greatest threat to the San Francisco Bay Area over the next century—that climate change will make the Bay larger due to sea level rise and threaten existing built and natural resources. Join us as we talk about adapting waterfronts to global sea level rise in the place in which we live—San Francisco. Tour led by Will Travis and Brad McCrea of Bay Conservation and Development Commission. |
| | Cultural Gems in the Mission District (2 LUs)
September 29, 3:00–5:00 pm
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
Tour start point: 500 Capp Street (Corner of Capp and 20th Streets), San Francisco
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© Jeannie Choe | Discover three cultural gems in the Mission District: seminal artist David Ireland’s home, Stable and the new Southern Exposure. Each space speaks to the historical roots of the neighborhood while furthering the emerging cultural movement of the district. The tour starts with a look at the exterior of David Ireland’s personal residence, soon to be renovated; then passes the recently opened Stable building, a historic carriage house turned coffee shop and food collective; and ends with an in-depth look at the brand new Southern Exposure. Southern Exposure’s new space will be an important and vital element of the cultural life of San Francisco. The building provides flexible spaces that support a community of visual artists, cultural producers and the public. Participants will get a special peak at the opening exhibition, Bellwether, showcasing Ant Farm, Renee Gertler, Liz Glynn, Jonn Herschend, Whitney Lynn, Jay Nelson, Nonchalance, Lordy Rodriguez, Christine Wong Yap, and SoEx’s Youth Advisory Board. Tour led by Quinn Morgan, Mark Jensen, AIA, Courtney Fink and Richard Johnson. |
FILM SERIES
Celebrate the relationship between architecture and celluloid through these documentary films that spotlight the built environment, the architectural profession and the ever-mythical architect’s ego. The film series is generously sponsored by Autodesk and made possible in part by the LEF Foundation.
Community Partners: San Francisco Film Society and San Francisco Main Library
| | Bird’s Nest: Herzog & de Meuron in China
September 2, 6:00 pm
Free; Registration required.
San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
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Beijing Stadium © Clive Lewis, ARUP | This revealing documentary by Christoph Schaub and Michael Schindhelm explores how prestigious buildings, such as the Bird’s Nest, designed by Herzog & de Meuron for the 2008 Olympics, are built in China. On one hand the documentary attempts to understand the architects’ successful methods of contextualization; on the other, it explores the intentions, expectations, and strategies of the firm’s Chinese clients in this complex creation process. |
| | Faubourg Tremé:
The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
September 16, 6:00 pm
Free; Registration required.
San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
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Faubourg Tremé, © Michelle Elmore | Faubourg Tremé is arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America, the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement in the South and the home of jazz. New Orleans’ Times Picayune columnist Lolis Eric Elie who bought a historic house in Tremé in the 1990s, when the area was struggling to recover from drugs and poverty, guides viewers through this neighborhood. The result is a riveting tale of hope, heartbreak and resiliency set in New Orleans’ most fascinating neighborhood. Shot largely before Hurricane Katrina and edited afterwards, the film is both celebratory and elegiac in tone. |
| | 1,000 Sq. Ft. Work-in-progress Screening + Panel Discussion (1.5 LUs)
September 23, 6:00 pm
Free; Registration required.
San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
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Avenel House © Julius Shulman | 1,000 Sq. Ft. unveils the unorthodox architectural practice of noted Los Angeles modernist architect Gregory Ain. The short film brings to life the vibrant and all-butforgotten milieu of architecture, progressives and the bohemian scene whose story played out in mid-20th century LA. While a keen portrait of Ain, the film also explores the apprehensive times in which Ain practiced, and the iconic architecture he designed. Perspectives on Ain are shared by Julius Shulman, Frank Gehry, FAIA, and Thom Mayne, FAIA, Ain’s students at USC, musician David Byrne, and current inhabitants of his landmark housing project “The Avenel Homes Project” built in 1947-48. Following the screening will be a conversation with filmmakers Christiane Robbins and Andrew Avery, Katherine Lambert, AIA, Professor; and Anthony Denzer, PHD, architect, professor and author of Gregory Ain, The Modern Home as Social Commentary. The conversation will be moderated by Allison Arieff, "By Design" columnist for the New York Times, and former editor in chief of Dwell magazine |
| | Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
September 30, 6:00 pm
$10 General Admission
Autodesk Design Center, One Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco
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Self Portrait © Julius Shulman | Visual Acoustics explores the monumental life and career of architectural photographer, Julius Shulman (1910-2009). Populating his photos with human models and striking landscapes, Shulman combined the organic with the synthetic, melding nature with revolutionary urban design. The resulting images helped to shape the careers of some of the greatest architects of the 20th Century, including Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, Pierre Koenig and John Lautner, among others. Taking its aesthetic cues from Shulman’s own sensual and nuanced photography, the film’s narrative is built from a blend of Shulman’s own images as well as in-depth interviews with renowned architects, designers and artists. In addition, Shulman’s own involvement in the process offers an unforgettable portrait of Modernism’s most eloquent ambassador.
| | Closing Night Party
September 30, 7:30 pm
Free with film admission | $10 General Admission
Autodesk Design Center, One Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco
After the screening of Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, AIA San Francisco and the Center for Architecture + Design will host a conversation with filmmaker Eric Bricker, followed by a reception to celebrate Julius Shulman’s amazing career and the close of the Architecture and the City festival.
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LECTURES
| | The Architecture of Community: Louis Kahn, Daniel Libeskind, and the Search for Jewish Meaning (1.5 LUs)
September 3, 7:00 pm
Free with Museum Admission | Admission is $5 after 5:00 pm.
Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission Street, San Francisco
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Mikveh Israel © Louis I. Kahn Collection | Suburban synagogues were the primary markers of the vitality of Jewish life after World War II. In the twenty-first century, Jewish museums have supplanted synagogues as the most visible symbol of the American Jewish landscape. In this first annual architecture lecture, Susan G. Solomon, author of Louis I. Kahn’s Jewish Architecture: Mikveh Israel and the Midcentury American Synagogue, will compare how Kahn and CJM architect Daniel Libeskind, AIA, have created Jewish meaning within the boundaries of modern architecture. |
| | The Architect’s Forum (2 LUs)
September 10, 6:30 pm
Free to Home Tours participants | $20 Nonparticipants
Istanbul Rug, 424 9th Street, San Francisco
| Sponsored by Dwell, 7x7, Hometta, Istanbul Rug |
Alabama Residence © Bruce Damonte | This educational panel reveals details regarding the design, construction and overall costs related to the homes showcased in the 2009 San Francisco Living: Home Tours weekend. This year’s tours feature state-of-the-art, single-family homes in Glen Park, Cole Valley, Bernal Heights and the Mission District, among others. Participating firms include Malcolm Davis Architecture, Apparatus Architecture, Axelrod Architects, Boor Bridges Architecture, Edmonds + Lee Architects, John Maniscalco Architecture, LSarc, Mork-Ulnes Design, Sasaki|Architect: Strachan Forgan, SB Architects|Architect: Bruce Wright, Studio Sarah Willmer Architecture and WRT Solomon ETC. |
| | Sensate: Bodies and Design (1.5 LUs)
September 17, 7:00 pm
$7 AIA/SFMOMA Members, Students and Seniors | $10 General Admission
Tickets include Talk and Performance.
SFMOMA, Phyllis Wattis Theater, 151 Third Street, San Francisco
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Distortion No. 78 © Estate of André Kertész | In the new exhibition Sensate: Bodies and Design, SFMOMA turns to architects and designers who use the body as a model for their work, whether in a direct reference like Oscar Niemeyer’s Vertebrae Chair or more obliquely, like Greg Lynn’s Embryological House. Hear architects Andrew Kudless and Alex Schweder, who have large-scale works specifically fabricated for the show, in conversation with Henry Urbach. |
| | Re-thinking the American Strip Mall (1.5 LUs)
September 18, 6:30 pm (Please note UPDATED START TIME.)
Free; Registration required.
Crome Architecture, 905 Fourth Street, San Rafael They are ubiquitous across the country and though uninspired in design and underutilized, we pass them every day. This conversation explores new strip mall design as an inspiring, sustainable, mixed-use center and explores the many ways strip malls should benefit the community. It also highlights the unique perspective of architects who specialize in retail projects, often located in these spaces. |
| | Museums of Tomorrow: Profiles of the New Exploratorium, the Museum of the City of San Francisco, and the Walt Disney Family Museum (1.5 LUs)
September 22, 6:00 pm
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco
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Disney Museum © Bruce Damonte | Everyday design is a combination of science, art, history and innovation. The mission of these three new buildings is to teach through hands-on experimentation and interactive exhibits, to inspire a new generation of scientists and artists, and to celebrate our region’s history of innovation. Come hear how the three newest museums proposed for San Francisco will capture the community’s stories, celebrate science, and trigger the visitor’s imagination through art, animation and design. |
| | | Lecture with Piero Lissoni (1.5 LUs)
September 23, 7:00 pm
Free, Seating is limited and on a first come, first served basis.
CCA, Timken Lecture Hall, 1111 Eighth Street, San Francisco
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Piero Lissoni © G. Gastel | Through his designs for Boffi, Living Divani and Porro, architect and designer Piero Lissoni creates objects to be used every day—in the bathroom, kitchen and throughout the home. Join us for an in-depth conversation with Lissoni as he speaks about the history of Italian modern design, form versus function and the inspirations behind his creations. |
| | The Tiny Shed Challenge
September 27, 11:00 am
$15 AIA Members | $25 Nonmembers
Flora Grubb Gardens, 1634 Jerrold Avenue, San Francisco
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© Creative Commons | Showcasing unique and site-specific shed designs, this talk inspires people to think beyond “off the shelf” solutions and take design back into their own hands. On display will be design concepts for sheds that might fall under the no-permit-required guidelines for San Francisco. Based on parcels indicative of the neighborhoods they are designed for, the designs will be site-specific, built of reclaimed & re-used materials, and they will be—of necessity—off the grid. The designs will also be envisioned for execution through collaboration with a host of local artisan/craftsmen who bring unconventional and unique visions to the project. |
| | GOOD Design San Francisco
September 29, 6:00 pm
$10 General Admission
SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco
Presented by AIA San Francisco, CEOs for Cities, GOOD magazine and SPUR
Good design can solve everyday problems. Join Min Day Architecture, Mike and Maaike, Stamen Design, Surface Design, Kuth Ranieri Architects and Volume, some of the brightest minds from the vast and varied San Francisco design community, as they present simple solutions to some of the city's most pressing issues, selected by urban leaders who can help launch them into action. The urban leaders include Monique Moyer, Executive Director, Port of San Francisco; Nathaniel Ford, Executive Director, SFMTA; Chris Meany, Principal, Wilson Meany Sullivan; Michael Cohen, Director, City of San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development; Carlos Garcia, Superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District; Zahid Sardar, author, editor and columnist. The fast-paced event, which highlights multiple design solutions to everyday life, will conclude with a reception and more conversation on the fourth floor library and rooftop of the new SPUR Urban Center. The conversation will be moderated by design writer Alissa Walker, contributing editor for GOOD. |
EXHIBITIONS
| | Small Firms, Great Projects
August 27–October 23
Opening Reception September 3, 6:00 pm
AIA San Francisco/Center for Architecture + Design Gallery
130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco
| Sponsored by California Home + Design, San Francisco Design Center, BPS | 
Ridge House © Sharon Risedorph | Celebrating exceptional Bay Area architecture, this exhibition showcases the innovative and award-winning work of local architecture and design professionals. Whether you are looking for an architect, or simply passionate about architecture, Small Firms, Great Projects is an invaluable resource. The exhibition introduces viewers to architecture and design firms experienced in a wide range of work, including new residences and remodels, commercial and retail spaces, educational, civic, institutional and religious projects, historic preservation, landscape and interior design. |
| | LOST!
August 31–September 4
3A Gallery, 101 South Park, San Francisco
Visit www.vmwp.com/lost.php for competition details.
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© VMWP LLP | This exhibition offers the design enthusiast and public an inside look at the ‘unseen’ design process that goes on every day. Featuring the work of local design teams, LOST! showcases innovative project proposals that, for one reason or another, have gone unnoticed. The result of a competition run by Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP and juried by designers, city officials, press and development professionals, this exhibition represents winners among losers of past competitions and commissions. Winners of the competition will be announced September 18. |
| | OWA Women Architects: Building in the City
September 1–30
Opening Reception September 8, 6:00–9:00 pm
ARCH, 99 Missouri Street, San Francisco
Sponsored by ARCH Drafting Supplies, Barcelon & Jang Architecture
| | OWA Women Architects: Building in the City showcases a range of work by women design professionals in the Bay Area, highlighting their ongoing commitment to create and support sustainable design practices. The exhibition reveals specific sustainable design projects that reflect sensitive and elegant responses to a design problem. Furthermore, it reveals the community’s problem-solving challenges, highlighting the way creative designs are inspired responses in balance with nature and in harmony with the built environment. |
| | San Francisco Living: 2009 Home Tours
September 12–13, 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Stable, 2128 Folsom Street, San Francisco
This exhibition celebrates the 2009 San Francisco Living: Home Tours architects and homes by taking an in-depth look at the unique residences on the 2009 tours--all from the architect’s perspective.
Clock Tower Loft © Sharon Reisdorph |
| | Sensate: Bodies and Design
Through November 8
SFMOMA, Phyllis Wattis Theater, 151 Third Street, San Francisco
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P_Wall (detail) © Andrew Kudless | Mutant bodies, fictional bodies, animate architecture: these are among the provocations offered by Sensate, an exhibition that reflects recent debates about what bodies are and how they are met and mirrored by design. Works from the SFMOMA collection are joined by two large-scale installations fabricated especially for the exhibition. Andrew Kudless’s cast plaster P_Wall covers a 45-foot-long gallery wall, its bulbous, creased texture replacing the smooth surface with a decidedly different kind of skin. Alex Schweder’s A Sac of Rooms All Day Long is a massive, inflatable sculpture that begins as a heap of clear vinyl and, over the course of a day, slowly rises to assume the shape of two houses, one inside the belly of the other. The installations, alongside other works by artists, architects and designers, replace traditional references to the body with approaches that admit greater complexity, nuance and uncertainty. |
| | Agents of Change: Civic Idealism and the Making of San Francisco
Through November 15
SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco
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© San Francisco Chronicle | Through compelling content spanning a variety of media—historical maps, photographs, recorded interviews and an interactive multimedia installation—this major exhibition examines the history of citymaking in San Francisco, and challenges visitors to consider today’s urban issues in light of their own values. The story is told through the lens of history, and organized into six overlapping generations: The City Builders, The Progressives & Classicists, The Regionalists, The Moderns, The Contextualists and The Eco-Urbanists. Curated by Benjamin Grant, with exhibition design by Studio Terpeluk, graphics by Leon Yu and multimedia installation by Taco Lab.
| | SPUR Urban Center Tour (1.5 SDs)
September 18, 3:00–5:00 pm
Free; Registration required.
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SPUR Urban Center © SPUR | Don’t miss the behind-the-scenes tour of SPUR with exhibition curator Benjamin Grant and Urban Center architect Peter Pfau, AIA. From the City Builders, to the Regionalists to the current movement of Eco-Urbanists, you will learn about the urban planning movements that have shaped San Francisco’s physical and social landscapes—and get an exclusive peek at the architectural and green building features of the new 14,500 square-foot SPUR Urban Center in the heart of the city’s bustling Yerba Buena Cultural District. |
FAMILY PROGRAMS
Don’t miss these programs specifically designed for families! Budding designers and curious kids are invited to explore the built environment through these specialized programs. Please check individual listings for the appropriate age range before registering and note that parents must accompany children to all events.
| | First Annual Kids’ Digital Design Contest
Deadline September 15
Winners Announced on September 22
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Kids' Digital Contest Flyer © Mason Kirby | The First Annual Kids’ Digital Design Contest is a competition for children ages 0-15, using the digital modeling tool SketchUp (free to download, simple to learn, and amazingly difficult to put down). With the help of parents, the goal is to provide a venue for kids to demonstrate, develop and reveal their capacity for creative three-dimensional thinking! The competition’s inaugural theme is ”Under/Over/Within,” and features an intertidal aquatic site. Age-based judging ensures fair competition and lots of cool prizes. Competition juried by Allyson McDuffie, Education Program Manager at Google; William Menking, Executive Editor of The Architect’s Newspaper; Rob Whitehead, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Whitehead Design Workshop; Cameron Sinclair, Assoc. AIA, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Architecture for Humanity; Seth Wachtel, Architecture Program Director at the University of San Francisco; Ian Dunn, AIA, Associate, David Baker + Partners Architects; and Mike Bradford, Owner, Bradford Construction. Prizes will be given by age group, such as 0-5, 6-9, 10-12, 13-15. First place recipients receive a Google SketchUp Pro Educational License. Second and third place recipients will be awarded with Google merchandise. In addition, the first hundred entries receive a kid’s day pass to the California Academy of Sciences. |
| | Ready Set Grow: Pet Columns
September 18
Free; Registration required.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but due to unforeseen circumstances this program has been cancelled. It will however take place during the festival in 2010, so stay tuned for information next year.
Recommended for children ages 6 and up; Kids must be accompanied by an adult.
| Sponsored by Virginia Tech & UC Berkeley | 
Pet Columns © C U P + ISAR | Design studios C U P + ISAR of Virginia Tech & UC Berkeley, respectively, join together to install 100 digitally manufactured pet columns that are 100% biodegradable and completely assembled from corrugated cardboard, soil and other materials this Park(ing) Day. After installation, children of all ages will be invited to help disassemble the Pet Columns and return home to plant them in their own communities. This act is an open call for design scientists and citizen architects to be activated anywhere and everywhere during the Architecture and the City festival. |
| | Find That View: Photo Scavenger Hunt
September 19, 11:00 am
$10 General Admission per Family
Starting point: Justin Herman Plaza (Next to Vaillancourt Fountain), San Francisco
Recommended for children ages 6 and up; Kids must be accompanied by an adult. Stairs will be minimal, but expect about one hour of walking.
| Sponsored by KMD Architects | 
One Bush Lobby © Keith Baker | Test your knowledge of San Francisco’s visual landscape! This family-friendly scavenger hunt will start near the fountain in the Justin Herman Plaza, where you’ll receive photos of architecture within walking distance. Each photo will include fun facts about the building you’re looking for, so you may just learn something you didn’t know. The route will be on a loop, and after you find each stop, enjoy refreshments in the plaza. |
| | Heath Ceramics Kids’ Tour & Tilemaking
September 27, 11:00 am
Free; Registration required.
Heath Ceramics, 400 Gate Five Road, Sausalito
Recommended for children ages 6-12. Maximum 8 kids; 8 adults. Kids must be accompanied by an adult.
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© Heather Knape | MDRP | Families are invited to join Heath Ceramics for a behindthe- scenes tour 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 tile glazing, where children, who must be accompanied by an adult, are invited to create their own work of art on a Heath tile with original glazes. The tiles will be fired following the event and will be available for pick up the following weekend.
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DINING BY DESIGN
| | City Bountiful (1 LU)
September 11, 6:30 pm
$75 per person; Space is limited.
Studio for Urban Projects, 3579 17th Street, San Francisco
| Sponsored by: studio for urban projects | 
© Bruce Damonte | A new groundswell of interest in urban agriculture has gripped San Francisco. To what degree does it make sense for cities to become sites of food production and what are the most compelling models? On this evening, join the folks behind the Studio for Urban Projects for a special meal of seasonal and fresh local fare, prepared by Chef Nicole LoBue with wine sponsored by Bi-Rite. The evening will also include a discussion with environmental design historian Laura Lawson, author of City Bountiful, who will imagine new possibilities for urban gardening in San Francisco. Studio for Urban Projects collaborators Marina McDougall and architect Richard Johnson of Richard Johnson Design will also share highlights on the new design for San Francisco’s Garden for the Environment with GFE director, Blair Randall. |
| | Radio Africa @ the Coffee Bar
September 24, 7:00 pm
$60 per person; Space is limited.
Coffee Bar, 1890 Bryant Street (Corner of Florida and Mariposa Streets), San Francisco
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Coffee Bar, © Matthew Millman | The Mission District is home to many unique coffee shops, but this former loading dock in San Francisco’s Media Gulch is one of its finest. Transformed by design team jones | haydu into an epicurean coffeehouse serving a diverse clientele and range of activities, the aptly named Coffee Bar is home to the nomadic Radio Africa kitchen every Thursday and Friday evening. By providing varied inhabitation options, the coffee shop acknowledges the trend toward a modern office-less workforce and the space’s design seeks to encourage interaction, theatricality, observation and community. On this special evening, join jones | haydu for a dinner crafted by Radio Africa to learn more about the design intent and process, and to discuss how the architecture encourages and supports the local community. |
SPECIAL EVENTS
| | Solar Decathlon Refract House
September 1, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara
www.refracthouse.com | | 
Refract House © CCA | Join students from Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts as they celebrate the completion of the “Refract House,” an 800-square-foot house designed for the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Part of a global competition, featuring 20 school teams from around the world, the solar-powered house will be on display from October 9-18 at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Conceived in 1999, the Solar Decathlon is open to teams from colleges and universities across America, as well as several international schools. The teams compete to design, build and operate the most energy-efficient, attractive and comfortable solar-powered house. The team invites all those interested to celebrate this tremendous student accomplishment! |
| | PARK(ing) Day
September 18
www.parkingday.org | | 
PARK(ing) Day © Bill Poole | Originally created by Rebar, San Francisco art and design collective, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. Anyone can participate in PARK(ing) Day, though it is strictly a non-commercial project, intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play. |
| | California and the Netherlands: A New Alliance for Climate Change Adaptation SOLD OUT!
September 21, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Free; Registration required. Lunch included.
Ferry Building, Port of San Francisco Board Room, San Francisco
This event will be streamed via a live webcast, which can be viewed at the following link: eventcompressiongroup.com/clients/nost-sv/wm-player.htm.
| Sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in partnership with AIA San Francisco | 
Royal Netherlands Embassy | During this day-long symposium, Californian and Dutch policy-makers, planners and engineers will explore strategies that address the impact of sea level rise on the San Francisco Bay. The morning session covers findings from a pilot study on innovative adaptation measures for sea level rise conducted by Arcadis, Deltares and Alterra in collaboration with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. The afternoon session compares climate change adaptation strategies between both the Netherlands and California and explores the opportunity for a longterm partnership. |
Need more information? Contact us here. |
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