San Francisco Art Institute

This article appeared in the November 2018 issue of ARCHITECT:

A crumbling, landmarked former Army warehouse was transformed into a light-filled, energy-efficient art school.

Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMSA) have transformed a historic 1909 concrete-and-steel structure on Pier 2 at the city’s Fort Mason Center into a new campus for the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). “The most sustainable strategy is reusing and adapting to new use,” principal Marsha Maytum, FAIA, says.

Fort Mason served as a United States Army facility for more than a century and was the principal supply port for the Pacific theater during World War II. Following its decommissioning in the 1970s, Pier 2 was renovated as part of the overall complex’s transformation into a cultural, educational, and recreational facility. The current project reimagined the original single-story, open-space structure as a two-story, 69,422-square-foot art school.

Maytum notes that many competing interests had their hands in the project, with design input and review from the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, the National Park Service (NPS), and California’s State Historic Preservation Office—in addition to the actual user, SFAI. The most important preservation goal was maintaining the overall character of the full-height indoor volume with its exposed truss structure.

The budget of $352 per square foot was modest when compared to an average for comparable buildings in the region of $500 to $700. The team met the project’s funding needs through a complex mix of sources, including the NPS Save America’s Treasures program, Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, and a Department of Energy grant.

Fort Mason is located on the edge of San Francisco Bay within the Marina District, with a decent walk score of 72. Public access was critical, and the design not only extends an open invitation to enter and experience the 500-foot-long shed structure, but allows access to the outside pier edge. Programmed elements include student studios, public exhibition galleries, flexible teaching spaces, a black-box theater, and a workshop/maker space.

The program of 160 individual studios spaces necessitated the addition of a new mezzanine level, which was strategically kept a few inches away from the historic envelope, according to associate principal Ryan Jang, AIA. Drawing on the character of the original trusses that span the space, the new steel frame insertions were kept as light as possible. The architects used a perforated deck with acoustic material, plus concrete topping slab to minimize sound transmission between spaces.

The existing concrete wall worked well as a thermal mass, but the architects couldn’t replace the windows with better insulated units, as their industrial character was a protected element. The single most effective addition from an energy standpoint was the installation of a new, high-efficiency insulated radiant concrete slab over the bay. Using THERM—a free software developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory—for 2D thermal imaging, the firm’s designers could evaluate the efficacy of adding rigid insulation and a new radiantly heated slab over the existing concrete deck of the pier, says LMSA associate Gwen Fuertes, AIA.

Adding a large photovoltaic system (it’s the largest ever installed on a national landmark) to the shallow sloped roofs of the historic structure provides 100 percent of the building’s electricity needs. The building already exceeds 2030 Challenge targets: The actual measured EUI is less than half of what was predicted, and net measured EUI shows an 83 percent reduction from average for the building type. The designers believe the renovations will extend the life of the historic building by another century—resulting in a 74.9 percent reduction in greenhouse gas impact versus constructing a standard new building.

The open layout with a central atrium under the historic clerestories facilitates daylighting throughout the building. Eight-foot-tall partition walls around each studio help distribute daylight while creating spatial transparency and maintaining the integrity of the building’s historic volume. Perforated riser stairs at each end of the atrium keep these necessary circulation and egress elements from blocking light, contributing to the sense of openness. Daylighting is available to all instructional and public spaces, as well as 71 percent of all regularly occupied spaces.

Supporting the programmed art studios requires a high rate of ventilation, due to the use of paints and other artist materials. How to mitigate the noxious fumes and odors while keeping the atrium space as open as possible “was one the great design puzzles,” Maytum says. Studio pods and brush-washing stations keep the most noxious activities concentrated within contained areas where low-level exhaust systems can capture fumes and other particulates. The architects located the ducts towards the perimeter of the structure and added destratification fans into each structural bay between the historic trusses. “It’s a simple solution,” Maytum says. “They make sure air movement was discreet.”

Similarly, art studio sinks and brush-washing stations are consolidated to optimize the length of supply and waste piping, reducing costs and mitigating the possibility of waste materials from reaching the ecologically fragile bay water directly below the pier. Building water consumption has been reduced by 32 percent from baseline.

The open nature of the solution means that Pier 2 should remain flexible for alternate uses well into its next century of life—with a historic early 20th century industrial structure now sustainable for service into the 22nd century.

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Project Credits
Project: San Francisco Art Institute at Fort Mason, San Francisco
Client/Tenant: Fort Mason Center; San Francisco Art Institute
Master Tenant: Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture
Property Owner: Golden Gate National Parks, as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Architect: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, San Francisco . Marsha Maytum, FAIA (principal-in-charge); Ryan Jang, AIA (project manager); Christine Van Wagenen (project architect); Gwen Fuertes, AIA (architect)
Interior Designer: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
M/E/P/FP Engineer: Integral Group
Structural Engineer: Rutherford & Chekene
Civil Engineer: Moffatt & Nichol Engineers
Construction Manager: Mack5
General Contractor: Oliver and Co.
Lighting Designer: Architectural Lighting Design
Acoustic Consultant: Charles M. Salter Associates
Theater Design: Auerbach Pollock Friedlander
Size: 69,422 square feet
Cost: $26.5 million

Materials and Sources
Conveyance: ThyssenKrupp (elevators)
Energy: Sunpower (photovoltaics); Uponor (radiant heating)
Glazing: Vitro; Pilkington; Safti First
Hardware: Schlage (locksets, pulls, security devices); LCN (closers); Von Duprin (exit devices)
Interior Finishes: Tectum (acoustical ceilings, wallcoverings); Tamalpais Commercial Co., Oliver and Co. (custom millwork); Kelly-Moore, Minwax (paints and stains); Nevamar (plastic laminate); SSI Surfaces, Trespa (solid surfaces); Daltile (tile); Shaw Contract (carpet)
Lighting: Lumenpulse, Pinnacle, Insight Lighting, Ecosense Lighting, Bega, Aion LED, Betacalco (interior ambient); Lithonia Lighting, an Acuity Brands Co., Bartco Lighting, Wellmade Products, Philips, Peerless Lighting, Gotham (downlights); Soraa (gallery)
Lighting Controls: Wattstopper
Plumbing: Zurn (water closets); Elkay, Kohler (sinks); Guardian (eyewash); T&S, Chicago Faucets, Kohler (faucets)
Roofing: CertainTeed (built-up)
Structural System: Epic Metals (acoustic metal deck); Vulcraft (exposed trusses)
Windows/Doors: Arcadia (storefront, entrances); Curries (metal doors); Marshfield (wood doors); Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope (sliding doors); StileLine (fire-control doors, security grilles); Noise Barriers (acoustic doors)

Read expanded coverage of the winners of the 2018 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards.

From April 2018:

This project is a winner in the 2018 COTE Top Ten Green Projects Awards.

From the AIA:

Located at the edge of San Francisco Bay, an historic U.S. Army warehouse at Fort Mason has been transformed into a new campus for the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), creating a dynamic new hub for expanded arts education and public engagement. This historic adaptive reuse preserves the industrial integrity of the landmark structure, supports the school’s pedagogical goals, and integrates advanced sustainable building systems. The project integrates student studios, public exhibition galleries, flexible teaching spaces, a black box theater, and a workshop/maker space, while supporting SFAI’s commitment to positioning artists at the center of public life.

Metrics Snapshot:

Predicted consumed energy use intensity (EUI): 75.7 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Predicted Net EUI: 62.3 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Predicted Net carbon emissions: 14.3 lb/sq ft/yr

Predicted percent reduction from national average EUI for building type: 53 percent

Predicted lighting power density: 0.72 W/sq ft

Actual consumed EUI: 31.5 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Actual net EUI: 14.5 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Actual net carbon emissions: 2.67 lb/sq ft/yr

Actual percent reduction from national average EUI for building type: 83 percent

Percentage of floor area or percentage of occupant work stations with direct views of the outdoors: 72 percent

Percentage of floor area or percentage of occupant work stations within 30 feet of operable windows: 71 percent

Percentage of floor area or percentage of occupant work stations achieving adequate light levels without the use of artificial lighting: 100 percent >300 lux at 3pm March 21

Cost per square foot: $352

Comparable cost per square foot for other, similar buildings in the region: $500-700/sf

Life Cycle Analysis of the costs associated with measures taken to improve performance (e.g. energy cost payback, water savings, measured productivity gains): A lifecycle cost report for the PV array for the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy/US Department of Energy cited an annual savings of $45,000.