UK studio Foster + Partners has renovated the modernist skyscraper Pyramid Transamerica in San Francisco, USA, restoring elements from the original design and linking it to a nearby redesigned park.
Foster + Partners restored the 853-foot-tall (260-meter) office skyscraper, which is the second tallest building in San Francisco, for developer SHVO by opening up the lobby, refreshing amenities and implementing landscaping strategies to better connect the iconic building. to the streetscape.
Originally designed by William L Pereira & Associates and completed in 1972, the skyscraper has faceted quartzite concrete facades with pierced windows and a base that flares out with massive trusses towards the street.
Although the structural systems and sky façade were left relatively intact, the architecture studio wanted to open up the lobby and amenity areas to reveal the structural elements.
“Since Pereira was first established in 1972, our work on the Transamerica Pyramid has revitalized the building, clearing out years of later additions that threatened the space internally,” said Foster + Partners studio head, David Summerfield , Dezeen.
“The new master plan restores the logic of Pereira’s plan, reaffirming its clarity and revitalizing the ground plane.”
The main intervention in the lobby was to remove the installed ceiling, and hide the structural concrete grid above.
According to Summerfield, the team looked back at the original blueprints to understand the structural elements that were hidden by the ceiling.
“The new design takes its cue from the unique geometry and structural scale of the Transamerica Pyramid, carefully restoring the historic lobby, celebrating the original architecture by exposing the beams and structural cross-wire in the arrivals area and the existing iconic colonnade brought inside,” Summer Park said.
“This structure is exposed and clad to match the exterior of the building, creating a seamless transition between indoors and outdoors.”
The upward and outward expansion and the addition of the glass skylights achieved the original height of the lobby and established greater connections with the urban environment and the adjacent park.
Much of the building’s upper levels contain offices and will be redeveloped based on tenant needs, while a series of private wellness areas and bedrooms have been remodeled.
To the rear of the building, Redwood Transamerica Park has been updated with a smaller annex building, with a pyramidal roof, and a cafe.
The park has many mature Redwood trees, and Foster + Partners added additional landscaping, especially at the perimeter to open the space to the public.
At the back of the block, across the park, there are two buildings with a path between them. Known as Mark Twain Alley, it has also been renovated and small plantings have been added to create a promenade with shops leading to the park and eventually the skyscraper.
These buildings were also purchased by SHVO and will be redeveloped in the next round of construction.
Founder Michael Shvo told Dezeen that the building “symbolized the American dream” when he visited it as a child.
“It was important to make this building a community center, as much as a great office building,” Shvo said.
In order to promote a community-oriented program, the developers have also initiated an arts program that will feature rotating exhibits and sculptures in the park.
Other renovations of iconic buildings include Detroit’s Book Tower by ODA and SOM’s restoration of its original design for the Lever House skyscraper in New York.
Photography is by David Lipman
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