ARC 503 - Tall Building Design goes to San Francisco!!

Professor Wayne Place has allowed his students to spread their wings...all the way to San Francisco! On September 10th, 10 graduate students, along with Wayne, ventured west visiting the many sites of the iconic California city. This semester for the Tall Building Design Studio includes working with the renound firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). SOM is one of the largest and most influential architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world. Founded in 1936, they have completed more than 10,000 projects in over 50 countries. SOM are renowned for their iconic buildings and their commitment to design excellence, innovation, and sustainability. One of the perks of working with SOM Architecture (www.som.com) on their studio project is visiting SOM's office and many buildings around the San Francisco area that have influenced the urban fabric and skyline of the city. They also visited The Golden Gate Bridge, The Embarcadero Center, the Ferry Terminal, a Tall Building Tour hitting many of the tall buildings in the Financial District, the California Academy of Sciences, DeYoung Museum, China Town, and ate a ton of amazing food including Persian, Chinese and Cantonese.

 
The Great Rocky Mountains...

 

 No matter what city, Kelsey needs her coffee..."This was a trip of a lifetime! Getting to take a class trip with a group of students so diverse, all bringing something different to the table, was incredible. Thankfully we also had our trusty tour guide/professor, Wayne Place, to explain the city in a way we would have never understood before. Our day spent with SOM was also amazing, we all look forward to their help and guidance this semester."

Jeromy with the TransAmerica Building in the background. "It was a whirlwind tour of skyscrapers and Asian cuisine. We had a blast and if I learned one thing, it's this: If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair!"

Yujie at the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. "This trip made us grow, not only as an architect -- of course we learned a lot about the urban environment, architecture, and structure -- but also as a group of people. We understand each other better even though we are totally different from each other, there are now strong bonds between us."

Jeromy and Zeyad pose from the deck with the city in the background.

Wayne, Giti, Kelsey and Yujie enjoying the view.

Matus in deep thought while Sam and Sara laugh it up.

               

350 Mission - Recently completed by SOM.                Model of the city for a project at SOM's office.

We can't wait to check back in on these guys in studio to see what amazing things they are designing!