Crocker Galleria
50 Post
The Crocker Galleria was conceived as part of a major downtown San Francisco redevelopment designed by SOM in the 1980s. Taking cues from its namesake in Milan, the Galleria is a cross between a covered urban street and a shopping mall. Unlike its namesake, the Galleria is not particularly engaged with the street despite being open at both ends. Circulation internally is congested. Over time this design has become functionally obsolete.
Our client is repositioning the Galleria as an urban retail hub. Our scheme is a design of subtraction, to allow a variety of uses. Escalators will be replaced by a central elevator core, positioned on the side of the barrel vault skylight so it will not compete with the long, horizontal architectural expression. The post-modern facades will be replaced by a transparent curtain wall flanked by aluminum flutes wrapping over the barrel vault arches on Post and Sutter Streets.
The curtain wall will have operable casement windows at the top of the arches at each end. They add texture to the glass wall, but their primary role is to provide natural ventilation and passive smoke exhaust during a fire. A kind of functional ornament.
Our client is repositioning the Galleria as an urban retail hub. Our scheme is a design of subtraction, to allow a variety of uses. Escalators will be replaced by a central elevator core, positioned on the side of the barrel vault skylight so it will not compete with the long, horizontal architectural expression. The post-modern facades will be replaced by a transparent curtain wall flanked by aluminum flutes wrapping over the barrel vault arches on Post and Sutter Streets.
The curtain wall will have operable casement windows at the top of the arches at each end. They add texture to the glass wall, but their primary role is to provide natural ventilation and passive smoke exhaust during a fire. A kind of functional ornament.