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San Francisco Federal Building
San Francisco, California
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San Francisco Federal Building Is a Breath of Fresh
Air
Innovation meets tradition to create a ground-breaking structure
 At
the new federal office building in San Francisco, concrete
is playing a key role in merging innovation with tradition. Set for completion
in 2005, the 18 story concrete office tower will take advantage of the
city’s coastal breezes, incorporating a modern glass
façade with movable elements that open and close—a timeless
approach to ventilation.
The 600,000-square-foot building has a narrow dimension of 60 feet, capitalizing
on concrete’s strength with shear walls (around the elevator core
and two plumbing shafts) to meet the challenges of the local seismic environment
and the unique footprint. The use of concrete for such an
application is atypical in an area that usually embraces steel, but large
amounts of concrete are essential to facilitate a natural ventilation
and cooling approach that takes advantage of thermal mass.
The interior of the building will feature exposed concrete ceilings, columns,
and walls. Remote-controlled façade elements that open in the evening
will release warm air, bringing in cooler air to reduce the building temperature.
The cooled-off concrete will help regulate temperatures throughout the
day.
One of the structure’s most innovative components is
the cast-in-place floor system, constructed with specially designed forms.
John Nolte, project manager/construction engineer for owner General Services
Administration (GSA), explains: “The underside of the form is fluted.
The upper side of the deck has cavities that comprise the under-floor
distribution system.” The under-floor distribution system offers
tenants flexibility and energy savings, he says, and the fluted
surfaces enhance natural air flow.
Sustainable design and construction shouldn’t rely only on modern
technologies,
says Tim Christ, project manager for architectural firm Morphosis. “People
have
gotten away from some of these timeless ideas,” he says. “We’re
trying to return to them.” Concrete’s thermal
mass has been used to reduce HVAC needs for generations.
A unique concrete mix is also lowering lighting costs: slag cement (which
is
almost white) mixed along with portland cement lightens the concrete significantly,
increasing reflectivity throughout the structure. Nolte says the building
will use 50% less energy than a comparable conventionally built structure.
The project team will apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) Gold certification, says Nolte, noting that the project
is a first in many ways. “GSA has always tried to employ energy
savings,” he says, “[but] this design is unique. I’ve
never worked on anything like it.”
Rendering Courtesy: Morphosis |
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Owner:
GSA
Architects:
Morphosis
SmithGroup
Structural, MEP
Engineers:
Ove Arup
Contractor:
Dick Corporation and
Morganti |
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