An overarching goal was to extrovert the Center’s programming and raise the public’s awareness of all aspects of design. The team created an expanded, cross-pollinated program that includes a café, gallery, lecture hall, meeting rooms and office space. The space was then designed to showcase craftsmanship while highlighting the historic concrete shell. All accretive finishes were removed to expose the raw concrete ceiling ribs and chamfered concrete columns of the tall, long cathedral-like space. Newly inserted program elements reinforce the primacy of the concrete shell, with the lecture hall volume set within and held away from the concrete structure. Felt acoustic baffles mirror the rhythm of the concrete ribs of the ceiling, reinforcing the textural quality of the original structure.

The existing bank vault is repurposed as a meeting room by removing a 1” thick steel plate wall to bring in light. Mitigating the 2’ level change that originally bifurcated the space, the selective addition of a raised concrete floor encourages movement and creates spaces for gathering. Visible from the entry, a newly inserted skylight at the back wall rakes light over a living wall, introducing biophilia into the urban environment and further encouraging people to experience the Center.

In moving to the historic Hallidie Building storefront, the AIASF and the Center for Architecture + Design desired to gain new visibility to the public, extend their reach and profoundly extrovert their programs. To capitalize on this visibility, the client-architect team deliberately expanded the Center’s program to provide a café, gallery, lecture hall, public meeting rooms and office space to create a cross-pollinated design center.

As part of a large barn raising effort, the design team recruited elite artisans and makers to donate their work to the Center, showcasing a range of design disciplines while achieving an unusually rigorous level of craft for a non-profit institution. By highlighting many design disciplines, the Center is raising the region’s cultural awareness of all aspects of design for all demographics. Partnerships with Youth Art Exchange bring youth into the Center for design focused classes while the café brings downtown workers into the space for their daily coffee. With this diverse programming, the Center is serving as a catalyst to reoccupy the urban center of the city.

The project is on track to achieve LEED Gold. By adding skylights at the back of the space and within the office mezzanine, the design provide daylight deep within the space. Energy performance provides 28% better performance than minimum. The use of local artisans and reclaimed materials are additional ways that this project is mindful of its environmental footprint.