Twitter's Mid-Market headquarters have already changed Market Street, bringing new activity and investment into the long-struggling area. Now the company is looking to change the area well above street level by installing a skybridge to connect its two buildings at One 10th Street and 1355 Market Street. Although the skybridge is being criticized from some corners as attempt to keep Twitter employees from having to interact with outsiders at street level, it seems more like a sensible way to built a cohesive office space for a big company within the city. In fact, there used to be a pedestrian skybridge connecting 1355 Market and One 10th, but RMW Architecture & Interiors removed it at the start of developer Shorenstein's renovation of 1355 Market because it didn't meet current seismic standards and its slope exceeded the level mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Back when the two buildings served as a furniture mart and hosted wholesalers' showrooms, the skybridge linked the two buildings at several levels. The connection allowed pedestrians to easily travel between the two without having to take an elevator downstairs. Twitter's proposed replacement bridge will have the same intent and, according to the company, will save employees about five minutes each time they use it. The new skybridge is set to be at least eight stories high and is currently awaiting approval by the Planning Department. And although the bridge may keep Twitter employees from using the pedestrian courtyard for crossings, the buildings are designed to provide lots of opportunities for public interaction at street level. Much of the urban campus's ground floor is taken up by the Market, a food emporium that will open soon, several restaurants, and the public courtyard between Twitter's two buildings.



· Twitter Proposes Skybridge to Connect San Francisco Offices [Bloomberg]

· Twitter Building a "Skybridge" So Employees Don't Have to Go Downstairs [Valleywag]

· Twitter Building Restaurants Prepare to Open Next Month in SF [SF Business Times]