6
San F
P R O F I L E
The Salesforce Tower is under construction. Once completed, at 1,070 feet, it will be the tallest building in San Francisco. / Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Busy by the bay At the center of the venture capital universe, San Francisco is in the midst of a development cycle that has attracted architects from near and far.
By RICHARD MASSEY Managing Editor
difficult, and, according to a Bay Area poll by Charles Schwab, 82 percent of the residents say what they hate most about the city is its cost of living. But the architects aren’t necessarily complaining. Even though they have to fight for it, there’s plenty of work, the quality of life is about as good as it gets, and as long as San Francisco and Silicon Valley remain the center of the venture capital universe, there will be plenty to nourish the A/E/P industry. “The competition here is brutal, just brutal. It’s clear that a lot of firms are opening here.” Bryan Shiles, a founding partner at San Francisco- based WRNSStudio ,whichhasdesignedeverything from a high school to the headquarters of tech giant Airbnb, says the times have definitely changed. He recalls making the short list on a higher education
F ueled by a tech boom that has made it one of the most exclusive cities in the world, San Francis- co, particularly the east side, is undergoing a pro- found period of infill that is transforming its resi- dential, retail, and office spaces. At the center of this transformation are the architects, who, in firms large and small, are seeing an uptick in work, but also an upgrade in competition. Once the purview of mostly San Francisco firms, the City by the Bay has attracted the attention of heavyweights like Mithun , Snøhetta , SCB , and Foster + Partners , all of which have opened San Francisco offices in recent years. And since 2010, at least 23 firms have been established in the Bay Area, according to the AIA- San Francisco membership roster.
Bryan Shiles, Founding Partner, WRNS Studio
Office rents have skyrocketed, finding talent is
THE ZWEIG LETTER M
Made with FlippingBook Annual report