Blog: October, 2010
Urban Field Notes: Eight Bay Area landmarks make the case for concrete
When I was growing up, anti-urbanists spoke about concrete as if it were the material of the devil: "concrete jungle," or "ribbons of concrete," or "cold as concrete." But a few architects were able to celebrate the material's plasticity and create new kinds of spaces that were warm and even inviting. In the Bay Area, there are a number of fine midcentury landmarks worth exploring.
The San Francisco Art Institute features concrete as the primary building material from two different periods, the 1920s and the 1960s. Near the U.C. Berkeley campus, Mario Ciampi designed two different kind of "brutalist" concrete structures "” the University Art Museum and Newman Hall, a Catholic church.
In downtown Oakland Kevin Roche's design for the Oakland Museum proved flexible in the hands of local architect Mark Cavagnero when it came time to renovate and add some gallery spaces. Several blocks away is SOM's Christ the Light Cathedral with a beautiful poured-in-place concrete base. The interior is both intimate and awe inspiring.
Perhaps the grandest concrete building in the Bay Area is Saint Mary's Cathedral on Geary Street, designed by architects Pier Luigi Nervi, Pietro Belluschi, John Michael Lee, Paul A. Ryan, and Angus McSweeney. Be sure to check out Richard Lippold's baldacchino.
Occasionally, a mid-century building created from concrete has escaped renovation and stands in its original glory. The Glen Park BART Station, designed by Ernest Born with Corlett & Spackman, is one of these.
Concrete offers great flexibility at construction, but after the material sets, it's harder to work with. If we're lucky, we will see more buildings like the Sunset's new Sava Pool.
1. SF Art Institute. Bakewell & Brown found they could evoke a rough interpretation of the Spanish Mediterranean style, while 40 or so years later, Paffard Keatinge-Clay used the same material to build a great brutalist building that evokes Corbusier's Carpenter Center at Harvard.
2. Berkeley Art Museum. Concrete is a tricky material in a seismically active zone, and the fate of the museum is uncertain. The splaying of the galleries was visually stunning, but not so resistant to earthquakes. Some black spider legs are holding the wings up for the time being. Photo by Steven Addison, courtesy BAM/PFA.
3. Newman Hall. This structure enjoyed a much more successful seismic upgrade than the Berkeley Art Museum and combines the aesthetic of Corbu with the Bay Area's landscape tradition.
4. Oakland Museum. Mark Cavagnero used a lighter, complementary metal that can be easily read as an intervention but can also be removed at some future date. Photo by Tim Griffith.
5. Glen Park BART Station. Born designed the station's asymmetrical marble mural, which contrasts with the rectangular structure. The surprise of this station is that such a modest but exquisitely detailed pavilion on the street is really a canopy for a cascade of light and stone that illuminates the BART tracks far underground.
6. Saint Mary's Cathedral. The roof forms of this church are hyberbolic paraboloids, and conclude in a cross form. The column bases are some of the most beautiful concrete work I have ever seen. Photo by David Wakely.
7. Sava Pool. Mark Cavagnero and Paulett Taggart found concrete a hardy material to work with near the Pacific Ocean when they designed the new Sava Pool in the Sunset District. The combination of daylight and contrasting interior materials makes this a significant new civic treasure. Photo by Tim Griffith.
8. Cathedral of Christ the Light. While the foundation takes advantage of concrete's ability to be formed, the main structure is lighter, a beautiful wood skeleton covered with glazing. Photo by Timothy Hursley, courtesy Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.
Caseworker: Kenneth Caldwell is a writer for and consultant to the design industries. You can read his blog at www.designfaith.blogspot.com.
Photo Credit: All photos by the author except where noted.
[Urban Field Notes, an additive of cultural landscapes and observations compiled by SPUR members and friends, will now be a regular feature on the SPUR Blog. Urban Field Notes can also be found in the Urbanist, a monthly publication sent to all SPUR Members. Send your ideas to Urban Field Notes editor Ruth Keffer at editor@spur.org]
California Forward Features Interview with Gabriel Metcalf
"The only way we're going to do something about sprawl, which is the environmental problem of our generation, is to increase density near transit and already urbanized areas."
Watch the full interview with SPUR's Executive Director.
Canadian Suburbanites More Likely to Ride Transit than Americans
Jarrett Walker of Human Transit has an intriguing post comparing transit ridership in American cities to those in Canada. As you can see in the chart below (based on these data), Canadian cities seem to have higher transit usage than American metro regions of similar size (the points on the chart are all based on metropolitan areas, not central cities).
[Chart via: urbanist.typepad.com/]
There's been a lot of speculation over at Human Transit as to why this might be, as the reasons aren't immediately obvious. Canada and the US are similarly wealthy places, and built their cities at similar times, unlike much older European metros. The type of transit offered also doesn't stick out as a key driver — San Francisco, DC, and Boston all have robust rail options, and still have a much lower transit share than Canadian counterparts.
Digging a little, it seems that the disparity is largely driven by the suburbs. If we look only at central cities, the gap seems to shrink. In fact, the percentage of people riding transit to work is higher in some American cities, as shown in the table below:
Canada USA
| City | % Commuters riding transit | City | % Commuters riding transit |
| Toronto | 34% | San Francisco | 32% |
| Montreal | 33% | Boston | 35% |
| Vancouver | 25% | Washington DC | 37% |
| Calgary | 17% | Seattle | 20% |
| Ottawa | 22% |
So why are Canadian suburbanites more likely to ride transit than Americans? The original data aren't granular enough to really dig in, but a few possibilities come to mind. For one, Canadians pay more to fill up their gas tanks: the current average price in Canada is about $4 per gallon, compared to $2.81 in the US. This premium has persisted for a while, and may have helped to counteract sprawl, especially the employment sprawl that generates auto trips in the US. The numbers might also point to successes in Canadian land-use policy like Ontario's Places To Grow program, which channels development into suburban downtowns and away from the exurban fringes. Either way, American advocates might want to spend more time looking north of the border, and thinking about how we can import some of that ridership.
The Week Ahead
Water for a Sustainable City: Hetch Hetchy and San Francisco: Don't miss the last week of this exhibit about the history and function of the complicated Hetch Hetchy Water and Power System. It shows the obstacles overcome by engineers, politicians, voters, and conservationists for the development of our drinking water system. The precious Hetch Hetchy Water and Power system gives San Francisco some of the highest quality drinking water in the world. Learn about sustainable innovations from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission as well.
When: September 2 — October 29
Where: AIA San Francisco | Center for Architecture + Design Gallery, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco
Ye Kang Ko, Green Policy Conflicts in Korea: Learn about the new "green" but not so sustainable initiatives in South Korea. Explore the question of whether "green" development for the country's economic gain and decreased dependence on fossil fuels, should destroy its natural resources.
When: Wednesday, October 27, 1:00 PM
Where: 315 A Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley
W.T. Pfeffer: Designing Infrastructure Around Evolving Sea Level: A Physical Scientist Looks at Architecture: A physical scientist explores the incredible challenges of sea level rise on human life and land use. Sea levels are rising and we can't stop it. Much of the world's populations live on coastlines; we need adaptations in planning to work around the evolving sea. In an effort to address this problem, the physical scientist explores the idea of how to foster fluid communication and understanding between physical scientists and urban planners.
When: Thursday, October 28, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Where: 316 Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley
Introduction to Rooftop Gardening: This workshop will speak to the benefits of urban rooftop gardening. You will learn the different methods of creating a self-watering container for your own rooftop garden. Examples of some beautiful gardens from around the world will be shown as well.
Pre-registration is required.
When: Saturday, October 30, 2010 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
[Photo Credit: Colleen McHugh]
Weekly Snapshot
SPUR members toured Recycle Central last week [Photo Credit: Colleen McHugh]
Can We Farm in Skyscrapers? Author Dickson Despommier thinks we can. His newest book on "vertical farming" advocates for growing food in multi-story urban agriculture centers as a way to cut down on the resources traditionally involved in producing and transporting crops.
How SoHo Can Save the Suburbs: As more young families opt to live in cities rather than suburbs, suburban renewal has taken on a new level of importance for many of these areas. Richard Florida looks at how "edge cities" nation-wide are turning their unused spaces into "hip hotspots," in an attempt to remake themselves into vibrant, livable places.
Tales of Bike Lane Abuse: A report sponsored by the Manhattan borough president found that many of NYC's signature bike lanes are frequently intruded on by cars, pedestrians, and even buses that use the lane as a short cut for getting around traffic.
How Hollywood Learned to Ride the City: A video by The New York Times follows professional bike coach Dave Jordan as he spends a summer teaching Hollywood stars urban bike riding in preparation for their upcoming roles. This marks a new trend in filmmaking, in which the industry is beginning to stray from its typical car-driving characters and portray more bikers in movies.
Public Access to S.F. Bay Tied to Private Projects: According to John King, the migration of San Francisco's Exploratorium from the Palace of Fine Arts to Piers 15 and 17 may offer a model for how private development can bring out about quality public space.
Loma Prieta Turns 21, a Sobering Reminder for a More Resilient San Francisco
Long-time and fair-weather Giants fans alike are enjoying a thrilling — yet quintessentially torturous — postseason this October, hoping for a fourth World Series trip since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. Listening to postseason baseball commentary is often a lesson in history — or at least a lesson in obscure team records for most strikeouts in a playoff game or what players have hit the first three homeruns for their team in a postseason series. Sunday marked the 21st anniversary of another moment in Giants history — what would have been Game Three at Candlestick Park in the Battle of the Bay World Series against the Oakland A's. But as we well know, fans at Candlestick and across the Bay Area on that Tuesday evening in October were treated to a 6.9M earthquake instead of a baseball game.
Loma Prieta may be drinking-aged, but this anniversary acts as a sobering reminder of all we still need to do as a city to prepare for the next major quake — one that scientists suggest may be even bigger. In particular, San Francisco has done little to retrofit and protect its most vulnerable housing structures. Many soft-story buildings — those with openings such as garage doors or large windows, and lacking interior partition walls on the ground floor — sustained damage after Loma Prieta, and several collapsed completely. There are about 2,800 similarly vulnerable soft-story structures throughout the city that need to be strengthened. Proposition A on November's ballot is a first step in doing just that. This $46.15 million general obligation bond would fund specific seismic improvements to permanently retrofit affordable housing and single room occupancy buildings that have seismically vulnerable soft-story conditions. For further analysis on Prop A and the City's other ballot measures, see SPUR's Voter Guide.
The following are a collection images from 1989 of soft-story damage after the Loma Prieta Earthquake. If you're interested in helping with the Proposition A campaign, please send an email to volunteer@spur.org. Go Giants!
Election 2010 Resources
Election Day is fast approaching - make sure you're not stranded at the voting booth without all the right information. We've compiled a list of resources on San Francisco and statewide Props to help you navigate the ballot this November.
SPUR Voter Guide: SPUR's official analysis of San Francisco's ballot measures, including detailed pros and cons, and an official position on each measure.
California Choices: Non-partisan analysis of statewide ballot measures. There's also a complete list of ballot endorsements by non-profits, unions, newspapers, political parties and gubernatorial candidates.
Legislative Analyst's Office: Government analysis from the state's non-partisan fiscal and policy advisor.
California Budget Project: Analyses of state fiscal and tax Propositions, emphasizing their implications for middle- and low-income California residents.
Ballotpedia: A ballot wiki and "interactive almanac of state politics."
[Photo Credit: flickr user nshepard]
Brian O'Neill's Legacy Ensures a Bright Future for the GGNRA
[Photos: left: flickr user armstrks, right: via SF Chronicle]
"Nothing big happens in less than a decade," the late Brian O'Neill was quoted as saying. Those words from the ambitious superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (and longtime SPUR board member) who worked to transform one of the largest urban park districts in the country, still serve as a reminder when tackling giant projects, putting into perspective all that was accomplished during his tenure.
During an evening symposium at SPUR on the future of the park, GGNRA Executive Director Greg Moore emphasized the importance of community partnerships and local stewardships to carry on O'Neill's legacy.
When placed at the head of the 75,500- acre GGNRA — which encompasses San Francisco's Presidio, the Marin Headlands and portions of San Mateo County — in 1986, O'Neill's vision was "audaciously vast," said Moore. This was exemplified with the transformation of military posts to national parks over a span of several decades.
As San Francisco finally sees headway on massive projects such as the seismic and structurally unsafe Doyle Drive replacement, the giant swaths of green along the Northwestern portion of the city are also seeing progress once unthinkable.The 1,492-acre Presidio has been a monumental demonstration of what collaboration between multiple agencies such as the California Coastal Conservancy and a dedicated community can achieve, albeit one fraught with difficulties including legislative holdups and funding shortfalls.
Building on the legacy already established by early park advocates such as Philip Burton and John F. Kennedy, O'Neill went on to spearhead many projects whose success is visible today. The replanting of over 150,000 native plant species, construction of several impressive overlook sites, rehabilitation of more than 100 historic structures and major improvements to the GGNRA's 196 miles of trails have all been made possible through multi-agency collaboration and local involvement.
The Trails Forever Initiative, launched in 2003, aims to link the massive greenbelt north and south of the Golden Gate through an extensive network of trails. Signature trail projects include Land's End, Marin Parklands and Mori Point in San Mateo, which focus on making the trails more accessible and sustainable while encouraging citizens' responsibility to the parks.
Crissy Field [Photo: flickr user Mel1st]
Among the most noticeable projects — and a popular favorite — was the overhaul of Crissy Field. Once used as a backyard dumpsite for the military, it had all the hallmarks of a toxic, forgotten port with piles of buckled concrete, discarded tires and mechanical parts. The $34 million campaign spearheaded by O'Neill resulted in a beautiful space now regarded as the front yard of San Francisco with a velvety lawn, walking and biking paths, public art installations and education centers for urban youth. More than 500,000 school kids participate in the Parks as Classrooms programs, fostering future generations of park enthusiasts and preservationists.
And the projects keep growing and evolving, thanks to the strong sense of stewardship fostered by trailblazers like O'Neill. On any given day of the year, volunteers including anyone from school children to corporate employees can be seen continuously working on the park. While the accomplishments have already been great, it is the ongoing stewardship from the people of the Bay Area that will keep the parks forever thriving.
Obama Talks Infrastructure
When Obama was elected, supporters of progressive transit talked excitedly about a "new New Deal." Comprehensive national infrastructure plans have guided each era of American growth and development. America 2050, a national coalition that SPUR is a part of, created a prospectus for a modern national plan modeled on three prior ones: the Gallatin Plan of 1808, the Inland Waterways Commission Plan of 1908 and the National Toll Road and Free Road Plan of the 1930s.
The President has rhetorically endorsed progressive national infrastructure investment for this era. In his Columbus Day speech he called for "a smart system of infrastructure equal to the needs of the 21st century; a system that encourages sustainable communities with easier access to our jobs, to our schools, to our homes"¦a system that reduces harmful emissions over time and creates jobs right now."
Yet over the past week the administration showed signs of backing away from pushing such legislation forward this year, leaving observers scratching their heads.
Are these high-profile announcements solely political? An attempt to energize the base during election season? Or are they serious agenda-setting statements? Most importantly, will progress actually be made this year in Washington on modernizing our country's infrastructure?
While this proposal may seem like a political trial balloon this fall, infrastructure spending will likely anchor the legislative agenda for 2011. Why? Because it has bipartisan support and strong backing from financial interests, state and municipalities. Infrastructure spending has typically been an enterprise that Republicans and Democrats agree upon and could provide an area of consensus in a divided legislature. It's exactly the type of modest legislation that President Clinton used in 1995 and '96 to move forward after losing party control of Congress.
Obama's infrastructure investment proposal is, in effect, a $50 billion down-payment on the $450 billion six-year transportation bill that failed to pass Congress last year. Note also that the $50 billion does not come close to the $2.2 trillion the American Society of Civil Engineers says is needed to repair existing infrastructure. But a $50 billion investment "jumpstart" is a pragmatic way of moving forward on urgent repairs.
The President has proposed to change the way transportation funding works, in particular by using some sort of performance-based criteria rather than "return to source" or earmarks; but "” who knows? "” this is the always-announced, never-implemented agenda of the reformers.
Rails or roads? [Photo Credit: flickr user jrâ¹â¸â¶â¶â´]
Here is my own prediction about the timeline of how this legislation will play out in Washington:
- Look for an 11th hour attempt by Democrats to bring up Obama's infrastructure plan in November's lame-duck Congress; Republicans will rebuff it.
- In January, when the new, 112th Congress convenes there will be a good month of gavel-shifting and maneuvering.
- Infrastructure spending will be seriously discussed again in February when Republicans must begin to share responsibility for hastening and improving the economy's "jobless recovery."
- Most important will be the President's Fiscal Year 2012 proposal budget, which will be announced at the end of January after the State of the Union address. In all likelihood, when the President releases his budget, there will be a specific line item for the infrastructure bank.
- How Congress responds to the 2012 budget proposals in March and April will be crucial. But the groundwork for this debate should be developed now, and in the weeks immediately ahead.
With transportation bills of any type, there is always a fight over which portion goes to more highway construction and what portion goes to energy-efficient transit. SPUR has of course advocated that the country shift as much funding as possible to transit. But even if that goal is politically ahead of the legislature, we should at least be able to provide an equal federal funding match to transit and highway projects, rather than paying a higher share of highways as is the practice today.
There are a lot of politics to get through. We have joined the Transportation for America coalition as our show of support for a forward-looking investment in a better transportation system. We hope the President's $50 billion proposal, which covers transit and much else, will help get the ball rolling on what surely must be a national priority.
The Week Ahead
SPUR members on the Visitaion Valley Greenway tour last week. This week's tour is of Recycle Central.
Francisco Pardo Lecture: Pardo is the co-founder of At103, a Mexico City-based architecture firm that has been continuously developing architectural projects since 2001. At103 has created over 50 projects. They are currently developing the largest, most contemporary TV studios in Latin America.
When: Wed. Oct. 20, 7PM
Where: 112 Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley campus
Jerry Bradshaw: Urban Rain Gardens Along San Pablo Avenue: UC Bekeley CED is presenting Jerry Bradshaw, Public Works Director / City Engineer for the City of El Cerrito. He will talk about the new urban rain gardens along San Pablo Avenue, making an in depth report on the whole process of the project. This talk is part of the Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning Colloquium series (LD ARCH 253). All are invited to attend.
When: Wed. Oct. 20, 1:00-2:00PM
Where: 315 A Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley campus
Documentary: The End of the Line: Director Rupert Murray felt compelled to make this film after reading Daily Telegraph environmental reporter Charles Clover's book The End of the Line. This hard hitting documentary focuses on the reality that unabated industrial fishing will exhaust our existing fish stocks by 2050. The End of the Line was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. Free. When: Wed. Oct. 20, Doors: 6:30PM Film: 7PM
Where: 2150 Folsom between 17th and 18th Streets
Living Landscape: The Extraordinary Rise of the East Bay Regional: Park District and How It Preserved 100,000 Acres: A talk with the author, Laura McCreery, about her new book which follows the 75-year history of the East Bay Regional Park District.
When: Thurs. Oct. 21, 7PM - Free
Where: Books Inc., 1760 4th Street, Berkeley
Documentary: On Coal River: "With the recent April 2010 Massey Energy Company coal mine disaster in West Virginia, On Coal River could not be more relevant. When residents of the Coal River Valley begin noticing that a host of medical problems are linked to a Massey-owned coal-waste dumping ground that sits above the local elementary school... they join together in a David-and-Goliath struggle to draw national attention to the dangers they face on a daily basis." -Silverdocs
When: Fri. Oct. 22, 7:15PM
Where: Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., San Francisco
Documantary: Vanishing of the Bees: Honeybees don't just allow us to sweeten our food -- they make our food possible. Honeybee populations are collapsing and we are not sure why. This film explores the global stresses that the bee species are attempting to endure. Learn about how incredibly important the bees are and how our actions affect their existence. Narrated by Ellen Page.
When: Sat. Oct. 23, 5:00PM
Where: Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., San Francisco
[Photo Credit: Colleen McHugh]
Blog RSS Feed