It seems that the umbrige felt by some San Franciscans about their city's apparent urban xeroxing of New York is not limited to the Rincon Towers but also extends to the proposal for the new Transbay terminal which will be slated to break ground sometime this fall and top out in 2014.The original terminal located roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north-south by Mission and Howard Street and east-west by Beale and Second street currently serves long distance and local transbay buses such as the Muni and SamTrans. The new proposal seeks to replace the current terminal with a new one including a tunnel that would extend the Caltrian commuter rail and a heavy rail portion designed to accomodate the planned high speed line from Los Angeles. This project, designed by Pelli Clark Pelli Architects will consist of a 1,200ft tall tower paired with organic undulations of the transit center toped with a 5.4 acre green roof that will be freely accessible to the public and will host a variety of cultural activities.
The new Transbay terminal will seek to incorporate as it's theme, "transit & sustainability" with the tower's apex crowned with wind turbines and each floor being able to draw fresh air from outside directly through the building's "porous" facade. Geothermal heating has also been incorporated to regulate room temperature and both tower and transit park will benefit from a rain and gray water recycling center that can provide water to neighboring buildings as well.
Even though mayor Gavin Newsom has lauded this project as "forward thinking," many residents ag
ain feel that an elevated 5.4 acre park does not compliment its surroundings nor does the 1,200 ft high tower which will again redefine the city's skyline. I agree, even though I really like the look of the roof park but one will only see it like that from the window of a taller surrounding building. What I feel is pretty awful is the structural undulation of the park from street level. The height of the building will only set a new height for new projects to contend with but that structural pattern on the terminal is just horrid and will continue to stick out for a very long time to come.This is a very innovative design and I think is the better proposal of all submitted to the city of San Francisco. It does a good job of making public transportation a bit easier and convenient which is a necessary component for cities in America today as we are continually faced with ridiculous gas prices but the terminal's street level facade...Its just bad!
Images obtained from: http://lifewithoutbuilings.net
3 comments:
I agree. The street level facade is not much to look at. Hopefully it gets value engineered out. And you're right regarding the green space on the terrace. It seems odd to need stairs and an escalator to get to a natural garden space. How natural can that be? The good thing is that the garden will help reduce the heat island effect of the downtown concrete jungle. Every downtown in the US needs more trees/shade/greenery anyway they can get it.
The high speed rail is a great idea. It will be very expensive ($8-Billion, Billion with a B), but it is very foreword thinking. Linking the SF and LA metro areas should help create a new mega-economic zone and will make any number of regional ideas a reality. This is why the future is so exciting. In 1920 you needed a ferry to get from Oakland to SF, then the Bay Bridge was built and you could drive. In the late 60's the BART tunnel was added and you could take the train.
When I travel to LA for work, I need to get up early, go to SFO (or God forbid Oakland International), park my car all day, go through the hassle of the airport and airlines with all their BS and then get to LAX and deal with rental cars before getting on Sepulveda or heaven forbid, the 405, to downtown LA. Imagine being able to get on a train (eat, nap, read the paper etc) and 2.5-hours later be in LA, take a cab and be at my meeting.
This is the investment that regions need to be making to be viable living centers in the future and I am proud SF is taking this initiative, even if the TransBay Terminal is ugly.
I agree. Both of you are right!!!
I'm not to familiar with this particular design but is no surprise that San Frisco wants to set the pace for the rest of Mega Cities.
Maybe, that is why I LOVE San Francisco. We need to start to look for new solutions for the existing problems of transportation. Not ONLY in long distance travel like San Francisco-LA; but also locally.
Call me a Hippie if you must; but what happen with all the environmental advances we should have by now? I don't want to be a pessimist but is this 'train' going to be a better deal or Is it going to make matters worse?
I do hope the train will be a better deal. High speed trains are usually electrified with overhead cabling, which is greener than cars or planes. High speed rail is very prevalent in Europe and I hope will be spreading in the US.
And yes, SF is the Best City in the US.
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