[botoxic]

From John King's article in Tuesday's Chronicle:

There's a new architect in San Francisco, and guess what? He's the planning director.

That's John Rahaim, who this month moved into the post most recently held by Dean Macris. He arrived from Seattle, where he was that city's top planner, but both his bachelor's and master's degrees are in architecture.

As you might expect, this reference brought applause Jan. 15 when Rahaim introduced himself to an informal crowd that was knocking down wine and cheese at the local office of the American Institute of Architects. The group also cheered Rahaim's affirmation of the idea that new buildings needn't look as if they were transported here in a time machine.

"I'm a great fan of contemporary architecture - I believe architecture has to be of its time," said Rahaim, 52. But he added a caveat: "The challenge of contemporary architecture is to design and develop contemporary architecture that works within a city."

By way of comparison, Rahaim described some of the tower proposals brought into his office as "architectural gymnastics" with contorted shapes. No, he didn't mean that as a compliment. And no, he didn't name names.

As for his new job - one of the most wearying in San Francisco, given the trench warfare between interest groups that all have their own absolutist view about how things should be - Rahaim says he looks forward to plunging into the fray.

"We're in a place where people care passionately about their city, and that's a good thing," he said. At the same time, "we need a slightly elevated dialogue that talks about what the city wants to be in 20 years. ... There's an implicit assumption that this is the greatest city on earth, but it's going to change. Whether we like it or not."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl.../DD2JUHAFL.DTL