US firm Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects is renowned for their iconic and sustainable designs, having won numerous awards, including the AIA’s Firm Award. They currently have several projects under construction, ranging from a transit center in San Francisco to an office and retail tower in Seville, Spain. Read on after the break for an overview of three of their current projects, all in various states of completion.
Transbay Transit Center/San Francisco, California
Area: 140,000m2
Height: 23m
Opening: December 2017
The Transbay Transit Center will be a point of intersection between 11 transit systems, connecting downtown San Francisco to its surrounding state and country. The design includes a 2.2 hectare rooftop park meant to catalyze the growth of a mixed-use neighborhood, complete with bridges to surrounding buildings, a 1,000-person amphitheater, cafes, playgrounds and quiet areas for reading, picnicking and leisure.
The undulating façade, floating above the street on steel columns will welcome visitors to the station, the park, and to shops and cafes at street level. Sustainable features of the design include geothermal heat exchange, greywater recycling facilities, natural ventilation controlled by sensors, energy-efficient lighting and exposure to, as well as shading from, natural light.
Area: 173,300m2
Height: 178m
Opening: 2015
The Torre Sevilla is a 37-story multi-tenant office tower and retail podium on the site of the 1992 World’s Fair. Reacting to the site’s proximity to Seville’s historic district where tall buildings are forbidden, the design is sensitive to its social and urban contexts, balancing both with Spain’s national commitment to sustainability.
With consideration toward the way the tower will be seen from the city, the Torre Sevilla has a gently tapering elliptical form, giving it an attractive profile from any viewpoint. The tapered form of the building is such that when viewed from the Giralda – a significant bell tower that is part of the Seville Cathedral -- the thinnest profile is seen.
The sun-shading program of the tower is generated according to the path of the sun. Each fin in a carefully integrated system is calibrated according to the angle and intensity of the sun at the time its light hits a particular area. Along with the passive shading, the top of the building is angled toward the south and covered with photo-voltaic cells. Other sustainable features include a grey-water recycling system and an extra-large fresh air intake system.
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Area: 17,438m2
Opening: March 2016
The Hancher Institute will be newly housed in this project, located on a hilltop overlooking the Iowa River, on the main route into Iowa City. The venue features a proscenium theater with 1,800 seats, as well as rehearsal and teaching spaces, offices, a scene shop and a costume shop. The form uses the building’s natural surroundings, echoing the landscape and river with its sweeping horizontal axes. Lobbies and terraces sit in cantilevers at the south end, while floor-to-ceiling glass walls below offer views to the campus and river.
Complementing the adjacent Levitt Center for University Advancement, the building will be clad in stainless-steel shingles with a brushed satin finish. The two buildings together will frame Park Road, creating a new main entrance to the theater lobby.
Its predecessor, the original Hancher, was damaged by flooding in 2008, and the new Hancher will have a 500-year-flood criteria. Other sustainable features will include a high-efficiency envelope, site-related strategies and building systems and controls.
Learn more and view more projects on Pelli Clarke Pelli's website.
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