Located in the South of Market area of San Francisco, this project is a mixed-use 21st-century library/resource center and apartment building.  It is immediately situated in a mildly run-down neighborhood consisting of abandoned brick warehouses and parking lots - yet just a few blocks north lies Mission Street, replete with plenty of attractions, including retail and restaurants.  Locals are mostly young students and working professionals.  The resource center posits itself as the informational and social hub of the area, whether for studying or for entrepreneurial pursuits.  

Architecturally, the building responds to the aesthetics of Mission Street as well as its immediate surroundings.  The facade covering the north, south, and east faces of floors 2 through 4  is a terra cotta rainscreen composed of thin 1 x 6 ft panels.  Its clay-based texture corresponds with the predominantly brick site context while exhibiting a neoterism which hints at the building’s contemporary functionality.

Materiality also indicates the sectional program distribution - while the ground floor consisting of two restaurants and a smoothie bar is wrapped in concrete walls and floors 4-6 which include apartments are wrapped in stucco, the terra cotta rainscreen delineates the entire resource center, including bookshelves, reading rooms, a computer lab, lounge areas, and open-plan work-shared office.