2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
designing buildings that connect
San Francisco School of Glass
Studio Winter and Spring 2009. New Construction. Higher Education and Industrial.
+ Introduce the industry, craft, and art of glass both to University-level students and into the cultural life of the city.
+ Encourage local production and design-build partnerships.
+ Balance intensive energy use with passive strategies; limit the enclosed and conditioned spaces.
+ Integrate rainwater catchment, heat recovery, ventilation, and courtyard gardens with concrete structure.
+ Reuse concrete formwork at stairs and casework.
Tools Hand Sketching Sketch and Laser-cut Models SketchUp AutoCAD Hand Rendering
Phases PD SD DD
The university-level San Francisco School of Glass Fabrication participates fully in the life of the city, adding a performing art to the civic center, teaching citizens about a mysterious but ubiquitous part of their lives, and linking students to service learning projects.
On the public first floor, visitors see raw glass in the retail area, use vessels crafted from it in the cafe, take delight in it in the gallery, and experience its transformation in the visiting artist studio.
Faculty offices and the library of glass objects provide meeting places to discuss commissions.
The four main studios encourage collaboration by artists working with different techniques; they’re connected by a central stair in an outdoor work area.
Shops tucked into the service bar of the building support the studios, housing activities that require specialized machinery and dust removal.
On mezzanine levels above both studio floors, students reflect on their work.