Famed Chicago architect Jeanne Gang unveils rippled S.F. tower

The proposed residential tower at 160 Folsom St. by architect Jeanne Gang for developer Tishman Speyer. It would rise one block inland from the Embarcadero. The proposed residential tower at 160 Folsom St. by architect Jeanne Gang for developer Tishman Speyer. It would rise one block inland from the Embarcadero. Photo: Studio Gang Photo: Studio Gang Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Famed Chicago architect Jeanne Gang unveils rippled S.F. tower 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

San Francisco's newest tower proposal was unveiled Thursday evening - a rippled, 400-foot shaft that is Chicago architect Jeanne Gang's reinterpretation of the city's fabled bay windows.

The residential tower would rise on the north side of Folsom Street at Spear Street, one block inland from the Embarcadero. It would be clad in masonry tiles, with stacks of 45-degree-angle bays and balconies snaking back and forth across the tall, relatively slender shaft.

"It's easy to think of a tower like this as a sculpture, but it's a place for people to live in as well," said Gang, one of the nation's most highly regarded architects. "We also want something interesting for people walking by to look at."

The 40-story tower would share a block with eight stories of affordable housing, also designed by Gang. The proposal by developer Tishman Speyer calls for 139 of the block's proposed 390 condominiums to be reserved for lower-income buyers.

Taller neighbors

While a 400-foot tower is modest compared with other towers approved or under construction nearby - such as the 1,070-foot high-rise being built for Salesforce at First and Mission streets - it exceeds current zoning for the block by 100 feet. Because of this, a change would need Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors approval.

The block's proximity to the Embarcadero, near Rincon Park, is likely to increase the tower's prominence. Another factor that would set it apart is the design approach conceived by Gang, an architect who was the subject of a New Yorker profile in May. Her only completed tower, the 82-story residential building Aqua, adorns the cover of the new edition of the AIA Guide to Chicago.

Gang says the inspiration here comes from the stylish bays of such older downtown buildings as Timothy Pflueger's landmark 450 Sutter St. from 1929. But rather than simply run them straight up each of the four walls, her design would have the bays fan out or fold in as they rise, in 11-story sequences that are replayed diagonally with twists as the tower climbs.

"What I like about tall buildings (aesthetically) is what you do with the height, the incremental moves along the way," Gang said. "It's not just the extrusion of a single form from bottom to top."

Focus on added height

Gang made her presentation to the citizen advisory commission for the Transbay district, the two dozen blocks surrounding the site of the former Transbay Terminal, which is being rebuilt and is scheduled to open in 2017. Beyond aesthetics, the discussion focused on the rationale for adding height.

Unlike other Transbay parcels being redeveloped with towers, this one involves only one slice of publicly owned land, a parking lot. Allowing a 400-foot high-rise would increase the sales price to Tishman Speyer from $14.6 million to $19 million, enough to subsidize all 75 affordable units in the lower building.

Mike Grisso, the city's project manager for the district, also suggested that the extra height "makes for a nicer design" than a 300-foot version. This sentiment was echoed by several members of the advisory committee, which voted 7-1 to support continued study of both alternatives.

Complex includes shops

While Gang is new to San Francisco, New York-based Tishman Speyer built the Infinity condominium complex on the south side of the block along Folsom. Infinity includes a pair of 350- and 400-foot towers, as does a similar Tishman Speyer project now under construction on the next block.

In addition to housing, the proposed complex includes shops along Folsom, Spear and Main streets. Town house-style units along the north edge would be entered from an extension of pedestrian-scaled Clementina Street.

Details are certain to evolve as the proposal moves forward; Gang, for instance, said Thursday that material for the skin is still being researched.

"We want something light in color, whether it's terra-cotta or something else," Gang said. "I've been coming through the Bay Area for years, and it's so light and colorful. That's the feel I wanted."

The earliest start to construction, if approved, would be 2016.