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San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid Center reopens with a flourish following Foster + Partners makeover

2024-09-12T19:26:00-04:00

Today marks the grand reopening of the Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco, California, following a $400 million redevelopment project from developer SHVO in partnership with Foster + Partners.

The 853-foot masterpiece William Pereira first bequeathed to the city in the summer of 1972 is now revitalized with modern-day amenities and a new lobby that once again matches his design’s original intentions while better integrating the building with civic life along the ground level.

Image: David Lipman

Outside the lobby, a revitalized Redwood Park with 49 replanted trees was enacted between Two Transamerica and Three Transamerica at Sansome Street to bind the site and program and serve as a new oasis-like destination in the heart of a busy pedestrian/commercial area.

Image: David Lipman

Another exterior component of the project entailed rejuvenating Mark Twain Alley, which is now a more vibrant civic space replete with plum blossom trees that ...

In the face of post-pandemic habits, U.S. cities turn to vernacular design traditions for answers

2024-09-12T07:00:00-04:00

Gone are the days when the easiest way to make an architectural splash was with a shimmering and photogenic stand-alone building, fancy forms torquing this way and that. Along with exploring new takes on regional or vernacular design traditions, the field’s top talents are taking on projects that reimagine existing institutions or public spaces — or forge new links among them.

In a new piece for The New York Times, Yale School of Architecture senior critic Christopher Hawthorne explores how architects are striving to rejuvenate downtown areas across the U.S., where hybrid work schedules and negative perceptions have led to reduced vibrancy.

While converting commercial buildings into residential spaces is a popular strategy, it's not always feasible due to structural constraints, Hawthorne argues. Architects are therefore exploring strategies to entice activity downtown by reimagining existing structures and incorporating regional aesthetics.

Related on Archinect: Foster + Partners' Three Transamerica redesign wins approval in San Francisco. Image credit: dbox, courtesy of Foster + Partners/SHVO

Throughout the New York Times piece, Hawthorne cites examples such as the Seattle Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion by LMN Architects which reconnects the city to its waterfront, the revitalized Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco by Foster + Partners aimed at attracting ...

Foster + Partners' Three Transamerica redesign wins approval in San Francisco

2023-12-21T15:18:00-05:00

New details about the planned redevelopment of the San Francisco Transamerica Center from Foster + Partners have been released following the unanimous approval of the Three Transamerica expansion plans by the city’s Parks Department and Planning Commission.

Renderings included in an Instagram announcement of the approvals from developer SHVO released yesterday show plans for a 220-foot horizontal expansion of the mixed-use former 545 Sansome St. property that results in a distinctive glass curtain wall at the base of the building’s north and west orientations. The building dates from 1930 and was originally designed by Willis Polk & Company.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SHVO (@shvo)

Per SF YIMBY, city planners acknowledged the distinctiveness of the character of their intervention’s scope, saying it was “recognizable as a modern intervention consistent with other newer buildings in the area” but that the demolition would not result in the removal of...

Foster + Partners unveils renderings for new Transamerica Pyramid Center retrofit

2022-03-31T18:04:00-04:00

Foster + Partners has shared an update to its recently announced retrofit of William Pereira’s iconic Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco.

New renderings appear to show fresh and open office spaces upgraded for workers’ comfort and workplace flexibility in addition to an on-site members club called ‘CORE,’ a top-floor cocktail bar, wellness area, retail, and several ground-level interventions meant to transform the block-sized development into a historically-sensitive connector of the city.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

The project represents the largest renovation in the building’s 50-year history and will encompass the revitalization of the adjacent Redwood Park in addition to the pyramid’s refurbishments and a complete overhaul of neighboring 545 Sansome Street into a “contemporary high-design office building.”

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

Historian and critic Paul Goldberger, who is an advisor to dev...

San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid is getting a makeover thanks to Foster + Partners

2022-03-29T19:59:00-04:00

Owner Michael Shvo and his partners have hired world-renowned architect Norman Foster to redesign the iconic tower’s interiors and plan to invest $250 million to renovate the 1972 building and expand its Redwood Park. The owners also plan to roughly double the size of neighboring 545 Sansome St. and add a new facade to create a modern office building at the cost of around $150 million.

Work is expected to begin within the week and take around a year to be completed. The project will include the expansion of Redwood Park and, potentially, the adjacent 545 Sansome Street, which will be rebranded as 3 Transamerica pending approval by the city.

Previously on Archinect: San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica pyramid is for sale

“We want to make this place a focal center of downtown, and make sure people come here not only to work,” Transamerica Pyramid owner Michael Shvo explained to the San Francisco Chronicle. “It will not only transform the interior of the building but the landscape and the exterior and bring life to the entire site.”

“It’s about responding to a very specific climate of a city,” Norman Foster said in a publicity video released by Shvo's company. “It’s about health; it’s about sustainability; it’s about green.”

Video courtesy SHVO on Vimeo.

San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica pyramid is for sale

2019-08-20T14:00:00-04:00

The Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco’s second-tallest building and an icon of the city’s financial might for four decades, is being marketed for sale for the first time. “Right now, San Francisco has a very robust office real estate market,” Jay Orlandi, chief administrative officer at Transamerica, said in a statement. “We are exploring options for a possible 100% interest sale of the property, with Transamerica retaining naming and branding rights.”

The 853-foot, William Pereira-designed pyramidal skyscraper reigned as San Francisco’s tallest tower for more than 30 years before it was dethroned by the Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects-designed Salesforce Tower in 2018.

Built in 1972, the Brutalist-style Transamerica building features a four-sided pyramidal form wrapped in repeating bands of modular concrete window frames, and is capped by a soaring pointed top that is illuminated in a variety of colors throughout the year. The top one-third of the tower includes a pair of monolithic elevator shafts that break with the building’s otherwise pyramidal form.

Though originally disliked due to its shape and height, the tower eventually became a symbol of the city of San Francisco and has adorned corporate logos, tourist memorabilia, and other ephemeral media symbolizing the city for decades. The base of the tower is marked by Redwood Park, a pocket park designed by landscape architect Tom Galli that includes a series of redwood trees tr...