Quote:
Originally Posted by nequidnimis
Is it really Sue Hestor and the NIMBY's who made SF an uglier place, or the builders of Fox Plaza, the Philip Burton Federal Building, the AAA Tower and One Rincon Hill - all highrises out of context?
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I'm going to let the attacks on Sue Hestor dry up for now but I would comment about "out of context" buildings.
One Rincon Hill is a perfect example. Its "context" as planned by the Planning Dept is part of a cluster of 6 or more highrises contributing to the overall form of the skyline. If and when those other buildings, including the second ORH tower, get built, it won't look nearly so "out of context."
My understanding is that the group of buildings near Market & Van Ness including Fox Plaza and the AAA tower may be something similar. I believe at the time these were built, that area was also to be a highrise district and those particular buildings would have melded into a mass of highrises. But in that case, anti-development types, quite likely including Ms. Hestor, got the height limits lowered leaving those 2 buildings standing tall and alone.
Now, however, I believe the limits at least right around the intersection have once again gone up courtesy of the Market-Octavia Plan and we could one day lose FP and AAA in the mass. I do wish the Argenta had been of similar height to the other 2--it would have looked better and it would have helped hide FP. So will 10th & Market if it gets built (no thanks to Sue)
The Burton Building, being a federal project, isn't subject to city planning and the feds do what they want. I particularly hate that building but others--right here--have defended it as a nice example of mid century "international style" modernism.