Historical Adaptive Reuse Merges Modern Expression with Industrial Shell

T his existing historic, industrial-use building provided Dumican Mosey Architects a unique canvas and challenging opportunity for its adaptive reuse project in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco. In addition to the challenges that would be presented by the historic status of the building, the soil on-site—existing fill from a 1906 earthquake—was poor seismically and environmentally, which presented structural challenges.

The building’s historic status required the industrial exterior façade to remain unchanged. As a result, most historic elements of the façade were restored and refurbished rather than replaced during the renovation, while the architects added new modernist infill elements on the ground level. The design for the building merged clean modern expression with the building’s industrial shell, allowing a transition from old to new when moving from the exterior to the interior.

The clients’ goal was to create a strong interplay among art, sculpture, and the newly conceived architecture.

On the ground floor, the architects included a two-car garage, a residential guest unit, and a new artist gallery and studio.

The second floor of the building was transformed into a 4,500-square-foot, New York–style residential loft. The focus of the floor was on a new 20-foot-by-20-foot convertible courtyard carved into the existing floor plate with a motorized operable glass roof, and expansive upper-level deck. The central courtyard can be fully opened, allowing for passive ventilation throughout the major living spaces.