A stunning edition for SF. :cheers:

Salesforce, 181 Fremont (:worship:) and now this. :cool:

:hyper:

Graceful, yet not overpowering, with a good ratio of design elements to work with the height. Great base, and incorporation of what looks like a restaurant.

Agreed! I'd add Oceanwide Center to that list as well.

Quoting major news for a new page.

This is an outstanding project! I hope the requests for a different massing have little effect on the end product.

https://img.rt.com/files/2015.10/ori...915e8b45c4.jpg
https://www.google.com/search?q=Trum...Vqx_M7rFZIS3M:

Giggle!

^ The glass curtain wall looks too similar to SF Tower's.

The curtain wall in the latest renderings looks like an homage to salesforce tower which is from the same architect.

Woooh straight lines and curvy corners!

Seriously though can they do something more original?

The archetype in SF for this intricate metal curtain wall type is the JP Morgan Building at 560 Mission, which has won a lot of praise from architects, and is becoming kind of a signiture of the Pelli firm.

While Pelli Clark Pelli are masters of the curtainwall, they are not as crafty at massing or shaping their skyscrapers - so far. The obelisk shape can't help them here. This is still a work in progress, so let's see what they come up with.

^^I like the renderings above on this page. They look Art Deco to me--kind of retro to the golden ages of skyscrapers in the 1930s and 1950s. Some may say that makes them imitative and something that's "been done" but beyond Timothy Pfleuger's couple of ornate buildings, we don't have much from that era in SF and nothing near so tall.

^^^I don't know if this is gold or brass trim, but this rendering actually reminds me more of Steampunk. I do also see a bit of Art Deco as well. I actually like it.

http://www.socketsite.com/wp-content...l-Transbay.jpg

Here is another similar article from sf.curbed.com with a couple additional renderings not seen in the previous Socketsite article:
http://sf.curbed.com/2017/2/8/145504...ing-550-howard

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fEx...89/howard3.jpg

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qJh...95/howard1.jpg

Here is the massing concept in question by Planning:

Source (also includes more detailed plans, sections and diagrams): http://notice.sfplanning.org/2016-013312PPA.pdf
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...%20Concept.jpg

Source: http://sf.curbed.com/2017/2/8/145504...ing-550-howard

^^These are the people who approved the Bank of America Building which for 4 or 5 decades has been the second most prominent form on the skyline, blockiness and all.

^^^Same department - different people - different thinking.

I agree. The best thing I can say about it is it looks... nice. In such a prominent location, I'd prefer something more sleek, iconic and special.

I think the Aon towers in LA and Chicago are exemplary and they are nothing but blocks. This stands out so much because there aren't many towers this tall in SF. I like the simple block shape of it. The square shapes can provide nice complements to the points and cone shapes of the other taller towers.

^^^Look here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=227030

^ these will surely keep us busy for the next couple of years - keep em coming!

I could agree with this. Given its prominence, I think its in the best interest for the sake of aesthetics for it to be super stellar. Key word is "super" as it's quite stellar already. So long as they don't modify the current proposal too much as it looks stunning in its blocky form.


At least they like the proposal. Had they out flat rejected it, it would of been a problem. Hopefully they can modify it, and get this thing to hard cost stage ASAP.

:star: All you need to know about this project in PDF :star:

Preliminary Project Assessment (PDF): http://notice.sfplanning.org/2016-013312PPA.pdf

Scroll down for diagrams, schematics.


Go to page 9 for the approvals process. Page 38 onwards for diagrams.

Edit: Just realized someone posted this. :titanic: