As part of the San Francisco Public Library's Branch Library Improvement Program, Tom Eliot Fisch and Paulett Taggart Architects renovated the historic Golden Gate Valley Branch Library in the city's Cow Hollow neighborhood. Completed in 1918 as a Carnegie library, the two-level brick and terra cotta Beaux-Arts structure was designed by Ernest Coxhead in the shape of a basilica. The project had to meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation & Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act while targeting Silver certification or greater under the LEED for Commercial Interiors rating system. The project has exceeded its sustainability goal by achieving LEED Gold certification.

courtesy Bruce Damonte

The most significant challenge was to provide access for people with disabilities while maintaining the 7,400-square-foot structure's historic integrity. Rather than add a long ramp to the main entrance, which would distract from the original facade, the design team created a new, small modern addition in the existing courtyard toward the building's back corner. An aluminum and glass box, this addition provides elevator access to both levels of the library and clearly reads as contemporary while complementing the historic architecture. The existing building's southwest corner is showcased as an interior element within the two-story addition, celebrating the combination of old and new.

courtesy Bruce Damonte

To reduce solar heat gain, windows on the south-facing facade to the rear were replaced with high-performance glazing, while historic windows on the other three sides were restored and cleaned. Solar panels provide about 25 percent of the building's power. A new high-efficiency mechanical system ties into the existing radiant system. Other resource-saving elements include specification of energy-efficient lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures, restoration of original furniture, and new linoleum flooring.

courtesy Bruce Damonte

Previously, the main level reading room was lit with harsh fluorescents. New pendants provide ambient lighting, while a new metal valance along the perimeter conceals a strip fluorescent that washes the walls with light. Daylight sensors dim these fixtures depending on the amount of natural light available. New lighting also brightens the formerly dark basement program room, which was leveled to eliminate a flight of stairs that broke up the space. The renovation of the basement also added a sink and ADA-accessible bathrooms while increasing the amount of storage space.

courtesy Bruce Damonte

Staff support areas at the back of the building were reorganized to make them more functional. Adding a staircase at the new entry allowed for the removal of an existing stair to make more room for the support areas and provide an office for the branch manager.

The project also involved seismic strengthening and creation of a new designated teen area separate from the main reading room.

+ Project facts

Golden Gate Valley Branch Library

Architect: Tom Eliot Fisch/Paulett Taggart Architects a joint venture

Project Team:
Bobbie Fisch, CID, LEED AP
Paulett Taggart, FAIA, LEED AP
Todd Afflerbaugh, AIA
Lara Kaufmann, AIA, LEED AP

Location: 1801 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 94123

Client: Branch Library Improvement Program, San Francisco Public Library

Gross Square Footage: 7,432 gsf

Site Area: 6,240 sf

Construction Cost: $3.5 million

Contractor: Fine Line Construction

Consultants:
Architectural Resources Group (Historic Preservation)
SOHA (Structural Engineers)
Timmons Design Engineers (Mechanical Engineers)
C&N Engineers (Mechanical/Plumbing Engineers)
Architecture & Light (Lighting Design)
Charles M Salter Associates Inc. (Acoustic Engineers)
Professional Roof Inspection Service, LLC (Waterproofing Consultant)
Kate Keating Associates, Inc (Environmental Graphics)
GLS Landscape Architects (Landscape Design)
Enovity, Inc. (Building Commissioning)

Key Materials:
Metal Panels – Alumawall
Storefront – US Aluminum
Terra Cotta replacement – Gladding McBean & Co.

Awards/Certifications:
AIA San Francisco Chapter 2012 Honor Award for Historic Preservation
AIA California Council 2012 Honor Award for Architecture
California Preservation Foundation 2012 Honor Award for Rehabilitation

LEED Gold – CI

Photographer: Bruce Damonte

+ All images courtesy Bruce Damonte

This elliptical-shaped office in the heart of Sydney set new standards for sustainability and innovative high-rise design in Australia.

1 Bligh Street, Sydney's first 6 Star Green Star high-rise building, won the International Highrise Award 2012 during a ceremony which took place in Paulskirche in Frankfurt.

courtesy Arup

Designed by Germany’s Ingenhoven Architects and Australia's Architectus, the 139-meter-tall and 30 floors elliptical tower was chosen from 26 competitors from 17 countries.

Meshing design and engineering skills, Arup engineering services helped transform a bold architectural idea into a functional building through a close collaboration between German and Australian offices and involving a wide range of services, from façade, electrical and mechanical engineering, through to fire engineering, lighting design and specialist steelwork structures.

Opened in September 2011, this AU$270m structure is a unique landmark in Sydney.

Innovative features include an automated 'double-skin' glass façade, a naturally-ventilated 30-storey atrium, and highly-efficient mechanical cooling systems. Through a range of integrated, environmentally-sustainable solutions, the 42,000m2 building is designed to target a 5 Star NABERS energy rating.

courtesy Arup

New face in town

1 Bligh Street features the first use of a double skin façade on this scale in Australia. The highly effective façade adapts to ever changing solar conditions at each orientation to minimise the solar penetration to the floor and control direct glare. This allowed the use of very clear glass, creating a building which is very transparent from the outside looking in, and from the inside looking out.

The team took a cold-climate, European-inspired façade design and adapted it for Sydney's hot, sunny environment.

From the innovative operable double skin façade wrapping the tower, to the 135m tall naturally ventilated central atrium extending from the ground floor wintergarden up to the glazed skylight overhead, the attention to detail is obvious throughout to create an office space of unrivalled quality.

Kerryn Coker, Arup's façade engineering specialist

The building has been achieved through the collaborative efforts of Arup, Enstruct, Cundall, Architectus + Ingenhoven Architects, and Grocon on behalf of the client and building owner, DEXUS Property Group, Cbus Property and DEXUS WPF.