Up, up, and away

As the new San Francisco Transit Center nears its grand opening, do not miss this wonderful interactive exploration of the project and all its impacts on the city, from the Architecture Desk of the San Francisco Chronicle: Symbol of a New San Francisco

... eye-popping novelties and numbers aren’t nearly as important as the long-term question of how the tower will settle into the landscape, once the shock of the new fades away.

“Ultimately, this aims to be a building about San Francisco,” Clarke said last month. He emphasizes such details as the facade’s grid of silvery aluminum sunshades, which relate more to such structural high points as Coit Tower than to the clutter of thin-skinned glass towers nearby.

“Many architects today approach tall buildings almost from a wholly artistic point of view,” Clarke said. “We’re much more comfortable with buildings that feel quietly confident and that ultimately are good citizens of their community.”

Are buildings citizens?

Probably not.

But buildings are important.

And this building is important.

And I'm pleased to see how the process is progressing.

San Francisco is evolving.

We are all evolving.

Here we go.