The Role of Sustainable Architecture in San Francisco

By Ross Levy
Principal

We are all aware of the issues with housing in California. It is hard to find and expensive once you do. That is enough of a challenge for most of us, but there is a larger and more nuanced set of issues that are intimately related to what we build, where we build and how we build it.

The underlying issue is that sprawl consumes viable natural land, land that sequesters carbon in the subsoil micro-biome. Compounding that problem, this type of development reinforces auto-centric patterns of living that lead to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.

Impact on the Environment

Buildings, their construction, and operation, constitute nearly 50% of our global Co2 emissions. The challenge of our time is the climate. We need to make the most of existing infrastructure by leveraging it, creating more density while at the same time envisioning more livable cities.

This is a big part of what The Greenhouse gas legislation, CA AB32, signed by none other than Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was intended to address. Following along have been further administrative actions, most recently and quite controversially, SB 827, sponsored by The Assemblyman from San Francisco, Scott Wiener, that will provide for “as of right” entitlements for high-density development along transit corridors.

Architects as Environmental Protectors

As architects, we are public artists. Our designs are reviewed and criticized by government agencies and by the public at large. We work in “contexts”; natural, urban, rural, sub-urban, dense and sparse, all of them unique and all of them sensitive.

In the context of San Francisco, a city with a rich history and strong sense of identity, how do we grow responsibly while maintaining our character and integrating new environmental technology? This is a uniquely architectural problem. It demands design solutions that are of the highest caliber, addressing a number of complex problems at the same time.

The first is the form of The City. We can create “new” architecture that is compatible with the “historic fabric” if we first consider mass and modulation. By this, we mean that the City, each block, has a definable rhythm of shapes and forms. Recognizing that, we can design to create and support that pattern, while also integrating design that is relevant to our age and our environmental evolution.

Our society, its built remnants, has been produced by a process of accretion, built up over time. We work in this continuity of time to produce structures that solve today’s problems; structures that are “net-zero” or “net-positive” energy generators, buildings that are carbon sinks rather than carbon emitters, and forms that support the historic or natural environment.

That seems clear enough, but there are a variety of opinions about “context” and “contextual.” Unfortunately, public agencies, such as San Francisco Planning, do not always share our vision of progressive architecture. To be fair, they, like any public agency, have multiple constituencies that they serve, and many political masters. We have always, and will always, work with our colleagues in public administration to, not only build a better city and a better planet but also to educate the public and to influence the Building and Planning Codes so that they are more closely aligned with the realities of our day.

Taking Action

I have personally been serving on a committee, The SFAIA PPAC, and its affiliated organization, SFDAG, in the interest of this ongoing dialogue. We are grateful to SF Planning for their time and open minds. It is this kind of approach that has yielded some success and respect for the work that we do. We have every intention of continuing.

Contact us to learn more.

Based in San Francisco, California, Levy Art & Architecture specializes in commercial and residential projects, with the goal of creating an innovative architectural design consistent with the client’s vision. A team of professionals with extensive experience and multi-disciplinary backgrounds handles a wide range of projects of every scale.

May 7, 2014July 12, 2019

Phenomenology & Formality: a critical commentary

Case Study: The New East Span of the Bay Bridge

We’ve been talking with our friends and colleagues and it seems that there is general agreement that the best experience of the new East span of the Bay Bridge comes as you travel east through the Yerba Buena Island tunnel. The approach is along the lower deck of the old west span where you are prepared by the staccato rhythm of beams, girders and chevrons overhead. These give way to the concrete beam roof in the tunnel itself which, then, transitions to the smooth, cast concrete undercarriage of the upper deck of the new span. This is where dynamics, the phenomenology of space and experience come into play.

As you leave the tunnel the upper deck peels away curving subtly to the North to reveal the monumental, white tower. The tower, actually a cluster of four columns, bound together by seven “link beams,” is at its most dramatic here, appearing immediately and at full scale within the normal range of vision, it is more vertical, most imposing, white, striking and elegant from this vantage. That impression is set up by the approach and the curved movement of the upper deck. The entire experience is based on high speed travel as it relates to physical form.

More than the formal elegance of the tower itself, described by the Architect, Donald Macdonald, in his book Bay Bridge, History and Design of a New Icon, it is the serial experience that really makes the impression. The critic Mitchell Schwarzer described this cinematic experience of space in his book Zoomscape. “In this thought-provoking book, he argues that the perception of architecture has been fundamentally altered by the technologies of transportation and the camera.” Here time and movement are the fourth dimension and they are employed as tools for understanding and, potentially, for defining design. As realized through the windshield at fifty five miles per hour the verticality of the tower is made more present by the curving sweep of the roadway surface, which is itself a product of the perception of a traveler moving through space. The proportion and the component parts of the tower are made more precise by their relationship to the monolithic, subtly beveled underside of the elevated roadway.

Unfortunately, there is a contrasting experience when travelling the bridge from East to West. Passing through the tolls on the Oakland shoreline, the tower is barely visible in the distance. The actual length of the viaduct, the physical distance, is a part of the issue, but the bigger problem is the architecture, which works against the potential experience of an east to west trip across The Bay.

The particular problem is the design of the light standards. These objects are highly aestheticized miniatures of the tower itself. They are formal by-products, “Key elements from the tower come off the structural system onto the other features of the main span and viaduct.” (p 78) There are illustrated diagrams that detail the geometric and proportional similarities and “the progression of the light fixtures from the East Oakland touchdown to the tower of the main span.” The logic is clear and there is ample precedent for making design decisions in this fashion. The problem is that the experience is lost in the mix. The light standards obscure the main tower and undermine the experience of the bridge.

I make these points, not only as a critique of the bridge, but also as a commentary on design and process relative to the “zoomscape.” The experience of traveling the bridge serves to underscore important issues about how architecture is conceptualized, taught, and ultimately experienced. We have shied away from design that is premised in experience, because we lack the tools, both the representational and critical tools, to describe and discuss design as experience. The visual is prioritized, and has been since the advent of classical ordering systems. We are trained to study form by graphic composition, so much of the dialogue is carried out in two-dimensional media, drawings, photographs, magazines and the internet. Even three dimensional models, whether real or virtual oftentimes represent “privileged views,” without providing cognitive access to the experience of the proposal. Perhaps we need to find other ways of representing our ideas; sound recordings, animated films, immersive environments, so that we can study and design from a dynamic vision of space and spatial experience. We make physical objects, but not as an end, it is their use, inhabitation, or occupation that is the intended goal. They are inhabited over time, by occupants who move and change their point of view. Just bearing this in mind, designing as much with the gut as with the eye will yield tangible results. If we can embed this understanding in our process and methodology, we will be that much further down the proverbial road.

September 30, 2013April 15, 2019

Monterrey Design Conference

For those of you who attend The Monterey Design Conference, you know how illuminating it is, one of those rare instances where professional development is an actual intellectual exercise. 2013 was no exception. The thing that stands out in my mind was the degree of subtlety that was on display and the emphasis on the phenomenology of space in opposition to more formal or graphic expressions. Perhaps this is best characterized by the “spirit in the prosaic” or the exercise of finding “the great within the small”, and by so doing “elevating the ordinary to the status of architecture” as Marlon Blackwell explained. Listening to him talk I realized that there is a fundamental humility that comes from working in less urbane areas of The United States and that it serves a less esoteric approach to design. Marlon works with small budgets in modest locations and creates sublime results without any of the pretention that is associated the academic practice of architecture.

Brian Price’s brief presentation followed a similar trajectory, a new and more experimental practitioner, he has already realized that we are often best served by “working through subtraction…. re-framing familiar things.” He was eloquent as he discussed the need to find new forms of engagement, a very important comment on the nature of architectural practice in this, still new, century.

Anne Fougeron’s work is a testament to dedication and persistence. Her lecture titled “Work: A Decade” charted a trajectory in both scale and invention that is something to aspire to. I was surprised to learn about her education as an art historian, but knowing that allowed me to understand her work through a new lens. She made references to Dan Flavin and James Turrell, artists who work in the abstract medium of light. This has direct implications for architecture where the medium is space, a material enclosure that has density and presence. Sealed containers that reject, limit, modulate or allow the introduction of light (and other environmental phenomena) as a fundamental “function.” Only someone with an understanding of, and appreciation for, art can appreciate the power of working with this all-present, but immaterial medium. It clearly informs her approach to architecture which is more about being than seeing. A very important message in this era of instantaneous image circulation and consumption.

MDC-Chapel — Site of the AIACC Monterrey Design Conference

I had the unique opportunity to attend The Monterey Design Conference at the same time as I was attending The Carmel Ideas Festival. The Ideas festival is a gathering of authors, some as well known at The New York Times’ David Brooks or the author Jane Smiley. They each speak for twenty minutes to an audience of interested lay people about a diverse set of subjects. As you might expect, they are very good at delivering their thoughts in a concise and compelling fashion. Without being overly critical, I was left with the impression that we, Architects in general, need to get a lot better at communicating our ideas. As wonderful as the projects that were presented were, the presenters often fell into simple narration of the images on the screen, sometimes losing track of the rhetorical agendas that the titles and introductions to their talks suggested.

With that criticism in mind, the highlight of The Conference for me was the Saturday session with Jack MacAllister. Jack spoke for almost an hour, in front of a single image, without notes and without allusion. Granted he has sixty years of experience to draw from, but his “Top 10 list for Architects” was both valuable and entertaining. His common sense advice was, all too often overlooked, is the sort that can only come from a deep and varied career. The way he told his story, and I use the word story intentionally because I am convinced that we need to become better story tellers, made his professional trajectory easy to comprehend. Working from the details at The Salk Institute, to founding firms, to advising, his impact has become larger and larger as he has touched more and more people with his knowledge and wisdom. At this late stage, he is a curator of architects, perhaps more influential than ever. His easy, unscripted, communication underscored that message.

The Conference was a success, and reflecting on it, I have to inquire about the agenda of the organizers, Larry Scarpa, Tim Culvahouse and Robert Ivy among them. Are these thought leaders working to help to usher in a new era in our field? With lecture titles like “Material/Immaterial” with work by Odile Decq whose projects evidence the expressive potential for small modulations within a regulated field, I believe that the message is clear. Space is the medium in which we work, phenomenology is the mode of experiencing that medium and whether or not one can find the language for expressing it, everyone responds to it. Architectural discourse has been on a juggernaut from form follows function, less is more, structuralism, post-modernism, to de-constrcutivism and out the other side. Perhaps The 2013 Monterey Design Conference was styled to remind us about what the real “stuff” of architecture is. To demonstrate that there is ample intellectual potential in contemplating and working from that “stuff” and to re-focus our endeavors in this time of growing environmental concern. There has never been a moment where the world needed our thoughts and talents more, let’s hope we can rise to that challenge.

Ross Levy AIA LEED BD&C CGBP

August 27, 2013September 1, 2021

Ode to the East Span

It is an old friend that we have known for all of our lives
A workhorse of a bridge
More like something you would find in Pittsburgh than Barcelona
I had an industrial presence
In some ways defined the region
Farewell good buddy and all the memories we have
Crossing and recrossing
Of times past, many times past
Tomorrow for the last time

Video from OnlyHDVideo on Youtube

Historic Photos from Eric Fischer’s Flckr Page

August 3, 2013April 15, 2019

Fruitvale Station

I’m not in the habit of writing movie reviews, but Fruitvale Station by Ryan Coogler, deserves some attention. It is both a remarkable piece of film and a provocative commentary. It asks us to reflect on urban life, public transit, “the commons” that we share and the way that the shared space can unite or divide us.

The film depicts the events leading to the shooting and death of Oscar Grant, an unarmed, black man. This is either a terrible tragedy, a gross injustice, or both. The film is remarkable for its depiction of poverty, neither sentimental nor melodramatic, it portrays the daily struggles of the young and disenfranchised in a dramatic but entirely realistic way. The delivery is as tangible as documentary, without the pedantic narrative it is more compelling. The acting and cinematography seamlessly support this approach.

There are vignettes of the BART trains themselves, the tracks, tunnels and landscapes that are a familiar, and now haunting, part of the everyday lives of those of us who live in the Bay Area. These give the film structure, but also, in a very clever way, pace. As the story progresses the shots of the trains, the stations and the riders increase in number and duration creating tension, until we arrive at the chaotic arrest and shooting scene during the early morning hours of January 1, 2009.

While the film is a success as a cinematic experience, there is a deeper subtext about the nature of public transportation as a portion of the “commons” that makes up our shared experience. Specifically, aspects of segregation that are “unintended” and yet institutionalized by physical patterns of development and associated transit systems. These underlie the tragic events that are the film’s narrative.

BART was conceived and constructed as a commuter line, built to move a white collar work force to and from the San Francisco Downtown Center. It functions to mobilize a sub-urbanized population and by doing so, institutionalizes sprawl just as the early train lines built by Henry P. Huntington paved the way for the vast tract development of the Los Angeles Basin. During off hours, this commuter system is left to the less fortunate, those who may not be able to afford to own and maintain a private vehicle, thus reinforcing socio-economic patterns of segregation and literally setting the stage for the series of unfortunate events that led to Oscar Grant’s death. This, in stark contrast to other municipal systems, The New York Subway or Paris Metro, that are regularly used by all segments of the populus because they are the best, most time and cost effective, local transit option. As a result, these systems are egalitarian, functioning as a critical point of integration, bringing the broad spectrum into direct contact with one and other on a regular basis, for both work and recreational travel.

The point is that Transit in the Bay Area only works well at one scale. This is a function of planning, demographics and the challenges of our topography, but it is a fact that stems from the origins of the systems and the lack of a coordinated approach. The simple paucity of lines to many areas, time consuming transfers from system to system, and shear expense, dissuade all but the intended user group. These complications further disenfranchise the less fortunate costing them time and money if this is the only option available to them .

The result is segregation by transportation. The fact is that our system was not built to serve people, rather it was created to serve businesses, corporate headquarters and tract developers. What the film points out is that rapid transit here is for everyone, but not at the same time. As BART, MUNI, AC Transit and others expand, mature and refine their operations, the principals of smart growth, transit oriented development, inclusive housing and new urbanism should inform their efforts. This will result in not only a higher standard of living and greener transportation but greater integration, deeper understating and more sharing. In the end, environmentalism and humanism are founded in the same sense of placing ourselves as individuals within the larger natural and social eco-systems. The ways that we traverse these spaces can either support or detract from this understanding.

July 20, 2013April 15, 2019

The Nose Knows (we just need to train it)

I ride a bike for sport and fitness and so have spent countless hours on, or alongside the road. As I have labored up narrow canyons, being passed by machines with exponentially greater horsepower than my two legs, I have become increasingly aware that not all exhaust is created equal. Reading the New York Times recently and having experience the aroma of my own diesel vehicle, I now understand why. Exhaust, like any other waste product is made up of constituent parts. That chemistry has a lot to do with the greenhouse gas production of any given vehicle and, therefore, is something we all need to be concerned about. While we could all educate ourselves reading technical manuals, Car and Driver, or consulting the EPA website, I am suggesting a simpler and more personal approach. Your nose knows.

Cognitive psychology tells us that our sense of smell, the most ancient and animally attuned of our senses, generates the most profound feelings and memories in us. With this in mind, I would like us all to become connoisseurs of exhaust. Here’s why.

“This planet will not be rescued by superexpensive technology for the few, but when the majority of the mobility is clean….Diesel is far less expensive than plug is and EVs, with better range and performance. Many models carry multigallon tanks of urea, a liquid that produces ammonia to scrub smog forming nitrogen oxides from the exhaust.” Rainer Michel VP Product Planning VW America.

So that creates a particular odor, an exhaust signature, that we should all familiarize ourselves with.

Bio-diesel exhaust has a unique aroma as well, a sometimes sulfurous, sometimes fast-food hint, that may or may not become associated with the smell of progress. Here is why

“Biodiesel exhaust is less offensive. The use of biodiesel and biodiesel blends results in a noticeable, less offensive change in exhaust odor. The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Emissions of nitrogen oxides are either slightly reduced or slightly increased depending on the duty cycle and testing methods. The use of biodiesel decreases the solid carbon fraction of particulate matter (since the oxygen in biodiesel enables more complete combustion to CO2), eliminates the sulfate fraction (as there is no sulfur in the fuel), while the soluble, or hydrocarbon, fraction stays the same or is increased.” Biodiesel.org

Here again, if we attune our sensibilities to what smells right we can quickly develop a common sense approach to combustion and establish a criteria that is easily intuited and universal.

The Internal combustion engine, by contrast, produces emissions that are dangerous, toxic, potentially fatal, and large contributors to the accumulation of greenhouse gas.

“Not all of the fuel is completely consumed by the combustion process; a small amount of fuel is present after combustion, and some of it reacts to form oxygenates, such as formaldehyde or acetaldehyde, or hydrocarbons not originally present in the input fuel mixture. The flame is “quenched” by the relatively cool cylinder walls, leaving behind unreacted fuel that is expelled with the exhaust.” Wikipedia

These trace elements have their own odor footprint, an aroma that is familiar to all of us as it is ubiquitous throughout the world.

But is this the smell that comforts? I recall pumping gas as a kid and genuinely enjoying the fumes that escaped from the tank during the fill up. I think we can all relate to the exhaust of a two stroke lawn mower engine combined with the smell of freshly cut grass as one of the happy memories of summer. Perhaps it is time for a new sensibility, a new set of smells and a new normal. Our sense of smell has powerful and personal psychological effects it can be harnessed to work for the greater good.

Makes Auto Exhaust Harmless — Mechanix Illustrated (Nov, 1938) Device Makes Automobile Exhaust Gases Harmless

What your exhaust shows you. — A- Blue smoke indicates oil B- Dark Gray indicated the fuel is too rich and C-White indicates a leaking gasket, usually coolant

July 19, 2013April 15, 2019

Photography as Abstraction

When, or how, does photography become fine art? In some ways it is the most difficult medium in which to work. Because of the precision of a camera as a recording device, the photographer must endeavor to see the shot, to frame it, to capture the light, to focus on the subject in a way that transcends the mere registration of the moment.

In one instance, it can be defining, journalistic, but deeper, capturing a moment that lives in our collective consciousness. Think of the work of Margaret Bourke White, its rendition of the human condition is directly observed, re-presented so honestly that it is at once objective and impassioned. “Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand.” MBW It is this tension and the emotion that it stirs in us, that elevates these images beyond historical document.

The second avenue is more technical, about the film, its contrast and the process as well as the composition and the subject. Here I site Mapplethorpe and Adams. “Mapplethorpe produced a bevy of images that simultaneously challenge and adhere to classical aesthetic standards: stylized compositions of male and female nudes, delicate flower still lifes, and studio portraits of artists and celebrities, to name a few of his preferred genres. He introduced and refined different techniques and formats, including color 20″ x 24″ Polaroids, photogravures, platinum prints on paper and linen, Cibachrome and dye transfer color prints.” Mapplethorpe Foundation. These two luminaries compose with nature and natural forms, rendering them in perfect gradations, high contrasts and unusual circumstances so that they become iconic, larger than life. “Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.” AA

The third, perhaps the most contemporary and challenging approach, is to conceive of and execute the project in such a way that the image has its own character independent of the initial subject matter. This locates the photographic project within the realm of abstraction. “Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.” Rudolph Arnheim Visual Thinking. The presence of the artwork transcends the subject matter to become its own object. This is particularly difficutl to achieve with a photograph because of the accuracy of the recording that defines the medium. We assume that a purely photographic exercise excludes post production techniques and is limited to the image capture itself thus making the leap to abstraction more difficult. It achieved by the composition and frame, the recording of natural light and physical phenomenon; patina, re-use, adaptation, and the marks of time. These works stand as artistic compositions of their own genesis and occupy a place in the history of art alongside expressionist painting, cubism, and Dadaism. They draw the viewer in and require an investment of imagination, an experiential dialogue in which the subject, the image and the viewer are all implicated.

Sharon Risedorph’s recent work at Pier 70 falls into this last category. It looks directly at the early twentieth century waterfront landscape and finds in it a wealth of inspiration. These works do not illustrate the size, scale, type or texture of the historical places, rather they find a wealth of raw material that is employed to create works of special presence. These are pure renditions of light and form, “made” in a creative process that is the result of exploration, observation and opportunism. Sharon uses the lens to produce works that are at once crisply photographic and richly abstract. They embody space and form in the same way that James Turrell’s works render light as physical matter. These images take the everyday, the discarded, the common and reposition it, elevating it to the level of abstraction that inspires curiosity and introspection.

We are excited to share these new works with you and look forward to seeing you all at Sharon’s show at Levy Art & Architecture in early September.

June 20, 2012April 15, 2019

Fly Ash in Concrete

There has been a lot of discussion recently about fly ash in concrete as there are concerns about heavy metals in this by-product of coal fired power production.

“Replacing Portland cement is a high priority for all of us…” Russell Perry, Smith Group

“The Environmental Building News (Alex Wilson) continues to support the use of coal fly ash in building materials as long as:

the use of fly ash reduces green house gas emissions elsewhere in the materials stream and
the fly ash is chemically and physically locked up so that the risk of leaching is kept acceptably low.

A 2008 study by researchers at The Ohio State University found that fly ash concrete exposed to heat through steam curing retained 99% of its mercury content and showed final emissions similar to thoseof common soil.

A follow up study at Ohio State in 2009 that looked at both gas emissions and liquid leaching showed that the amount of mercury emitted from fly ash concrete was independent of the amount of mercury in the cement.

In California and much of the Western United States, the primary cement substitute in concrete is slag. Bode concrete, for example, advertises a “green” mix that is 30% slag and 15% flay ash, in place of 45% of Portland Cement.

R-FlyAsh-Pumper — Concrete Pumper laying a slab

Slag is byproduct of the metal smelting process. Common components of slag include the oxides of silicon, aluminum, and magnesium, as well as sulfur, which is always present. Slag also contains phosphorous, calcium, ash, remnants of flux materials such as limestone, and remainders of chemical reactions between the metal and the furnace lining. Slag cement has actually been used in concrete projects in the United States for over a century. The earliest use of slag cement was documented in 1774, when it was combined with slaked lime and used as a mortar. Slag cement was first used commercially in Germany in the 1860s, and it was such a success that engineers in 1889 decided to build the Paris underground metro using slag-lime cement.

January 11, 2012April 15, 2019

Eco-Justice

Supporters of eco-justice attack the historic lack of regard for non-human parts of the environment. They encourage respect for living things as well as the various parts of the biosphere.

Advocates of eco-justice reject the idea that the worth of a thing is its value to human beings. They argue that other parts of nature have value entirely independent of their usefulness to humanity.

R-EcoJ-EBScrapGreen — Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

Natural systems depend on diversity, and adaptation to provide resilience in a dynamic environment

Human beings, as part of this system, depend upon bio-diversity as a reservoir of potential that allows for the entire system to respond to changing conditions.

R-EcoJ-EBOrangeFlow — Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

Given our growing ability to comprehend the profound nature of these inter-relationships, human beings have an ethical responsibility to protect these processes.

Wasteful practices and their hazardous byproducts have typically impacted the less fortunate (or less vocal), be they human, animal or plant, giving rise to the idea of Eco-Justice

R-EcoJ-EBMarket — Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

There are a variety of Guidelines and programs aimed at reducing our environmental footprint. The more modest attempt to be “less bad.” The most progressive propose to create a healing framework.