Mission Bay and San Francisco’s Future
THE BEACON
The area’s largest project, the Beacon (originally called Mission Place), is located on a full city block bounded by Townsend, King, 3rd, and 4th streets. Completed in 2004, the mixed-use project has 595 condominium units, 45,000 square feet of office space, and 83,000 square feet of retail space.
Model of the final site plan for The Beacon (originally called Mission Place)
After the architectural firm, SOM, was awarded the commission for the project in 2000, Brian Lee, SOM’s partner in charge of the design, proposed breaking up the four-acre site with a mid-block passage from King to Townsend Street. Two 160-foot towers were located on the block’s north side near the mid-block division to minimize shading. The low-rise buildings with street level commercial uses that form the street wall are 40, 80 and 100 feet high.
Extensive underground parking was not feasible because the original Mission Bay, although filled in the19th century, left a high water table. The offices and retail use, which occupy the grade level and three of the stories above it, screen the parking garage and form a podium for landscaped courtyards on either side of the mid-block passageway.
During the design period in 2000-2001, construction costs escalated dramatically, resulting in a simplification of special features and details for this and other San Francisco projects. When cement plaster, commonly called stucco, became the dominant material, the architects envisioned the Mission Place buildings with a high degree of plasticity as in window openings set in deep reveals, large plaster screen walls, and major portals to the interiors. Varied textures of smooth and rough plastering along with dark metal railings and screens would recall California’s vernacular structures of the Hispanic colonial period. Colors and graphics by Debra Nichols Design were to play a prominent role in enlivening the street-level retail stores.
None of these ideas survived the design development phase because at its conclusion SOM became the design firm and HKS, the associated architectural firm, was assigned the task of managing the construction costs and providing the construction documents. Although the result of the restrictive construction costs gave the finished project a minimalist appearance, minimized would be a more accurate term. Yet, at this writing, the complex conveys a level of urbanity not generally attained throughout the area. Indeed, the size of the Beacon strengthens the fabric of the important intersection of King and 4th Street by providing design continuity that embraces the corner. The T-3 trolley stop at 4th and King Street also marks it as a gateway to the neighborhood.
Now one of many mixed-use residential blocks in Mission Bay North, the Beacon represents the design approach of expressing a single concept by using differently scaled massing and other elements that contribute to the fabric of the neighborhood. Among them is a notable Safeway market, a Borders Book store, eateries, and small retail outlets. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is also located in the complex.
The intersection of King and 4th Streets and the street frontage along King Street
The entrance to the residential towers from King Street
2 Comments
By Kai Collins on Jul 12, 2010
i kind of don’t like to live in condominums because they don’t offer large spaces for garden.;.”
By Natalie White on Aug 29, 2010
i always like to live in a 5 star condominium because the view is breathtaking,’;