Pacific
Gas & Electric, a San Francisco-based utility company approached
us to work as design consultant for their new substation located in
the Hunters Point Neighborhood in San Francisco. PG&E had a
storied history as a promoter of civic minded architecture,
exemplified by buildings such as the Larkin and Embarcadero
substations. In
this case, a
mantle it´s
looking to be
retaken,
by collaborating with designers and master
planners to regenerate the Hunters Point area, where a former
military base was located. The site is located within a broader
development that includes several planned parks and trails.
The
client asked us to develop the substation with a public and
semi-private program that included a plaza and community gardens.
PG&E not only wanted update its infrastructure but foster a
tighter knight community through the project. The result, a series of
stacked masses was developed not only with the help of computational
fluid dynamics to achieve maximum thermal efficiency but with the
intent of building the community’s identity through a recognizable
sculptural mass. Furthermore, we specified that the structure be
built with rammed earth material, making this a warm, approachable
building that the community could readily accept. The use of rammed
earth also invokes the image that as with any public building its
success depends with drawing deeply from and making the best use of
local conditions.
