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by Robert Shurell

As an architect, I’ve found working on historic buildings to be one of the great pleasures in my career. When approaching a reuse scheme for a building, I’ve found through analysis and observation that those buildings that survive to old age (“old age” being a relative term–in some parts of the world a building may not come into maturity for 500 years, while in America if a building escapes the wrecking ball for 100 years it is doing well) usually contain three basic qualities: they are well sited, well constructed and adaptable. These three elements working in tandem assure a long, useful life for any building.

A building that is well sited is located in an area that has lasting growth potential, well-developed and constructed infrastructure, and is easily accessible. Siting is not just geographic location, but also location and orientation on the property. Buildings located to take advantage of (or mitigate the effects of) solar orientation, prevailing winds, and overall access and usability are the buildings that endure.

Quality of construction is the second key issue in longevity. It almost goes without saying that a building constructed with high-quality materials holds an advantage over those with inferior materials. This becomes critical, however, when one considers that those higher quality materials will be able to bridge extended gaps in maintenance if the building is ever unused or suffers neglect. Materials like masonry and concrete are better suited to withstand the effects of time than wood and plaster. Another key element of high-quality construction is the pride in workmanship of the original constructors. This becomes apparent in the details of the building, and the care that was taken to execute them properly and thoroughly. For many buildings, this is what assures them recognition on a historic register.

Finally, and most importantly, the building must be adaptable. Without adaptability, even the best-sited and constructed building may not find new uses as old ones pass away. Almost every edifice is originally designed based on a program (an analysis of the use that will occupy it). This program drives the final interior and exterior design of the building. Sometimes a building can be designed too specifically, and when its use undergoes metamorphosis, the building can do nothing but stay the same. In another scenario, the building’s original use could end and the specialized, rigid layout leaves a parade of prospective users frustrated and disinterested. It is virtually guaranteed that a building will house several uses over its lifetime, and a good designer carefully considers this when conceptualizing the project.

Adaptability is crucial even for multifamily housing construction that will most likely remain housing for the duration of its life. The units, if they cannot adapt to changing technology, demographics and lifestyle needs, will become obsolete and may face demolition or abandonment.

The NorthPoint shopping center–bounded by Bay and Northpoint streets, and Powell and Mason streets–is a long, flat building, popping up from one to five stories at its east (Powell Street) elevation. The tower, a full story taller than any building surrounding it, now houses the NorthPoint Vistas apartments: 72 new housing units on the three upper floors. A mix of studios, junior one-bedroom, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, these units were brought to market in a competitive leasing environment, and in less than one year they are all leased on 12-month leases, except the model unit. This building hasn’t always been what it is today, however. It took some visionary planning combined with the key elements of siting, construction and adaptability to maintain its usefulness throughout the years.

Originally built around 1919 as the Simmons Mattress Factory, this utilitarian industrial building was constructed of reinforced concrete and served the same purpose for over 30 years. During that time, laborers built mattresses and furniture on the bottom level, and the upper stories housed offices for the company. It wasn’t until after World War II, when the mattress manufacturer moved operations, that the first real opportunity to test the adaptability of the building arose. Visionary real-estate developer Gerson Baker saw the potential in changing the use of the building to align with the demographics of the neighborhood; Fisherman’s Wharf was becoming increasingly a residential neighborhood and tourist destination. He planned, entitled and constructed a Planned Unit Development centered on this factory building, adapting it to become a mixed-use mall with offices in the upper floors, and constructing a pair of four-story apartment blocks to the east and a theatre across the intersection to the southeast. This conversion, completed in 1967, provided the necessary amenities to support the neighborhood. Today, the ground-floor mall contains a grocery store, pharmacy, bank, electronics store, restaurant, telescope shop, shoe repair, beauty shop, nutrition store and the offices of a professional engineer. It also contains a two-level parking garage and a second-floor gymnasium. Until recently, the upper three floors contained the offices of a major airline. When the company downsized, the building owner released them from the requirements of their lease, and suddenly the owner was able to step back and contemplate the best use of the upper stories of the building.

It was decided that the Pier 39-Fisherman’s Wharf market was more suited for a conversion to residential units than office space. Several challenges presented themselves throughout the project, such as the management of a very large and diverse team of professionals, working with a structure that was built in concrete to “industrial” tolerances (which turned out to be fairly loose), and ensuring that the new use met current code requirements.

Structurally, the challenge for the design team was to carve from the concrete slabs the multiple chase runs necessary for residential occupancies. The need for virtually every structural bay to have water and air supply, along with waste piping, is a challenge; office space has almost no vertical chase requirements. (This reuse challenge will be magnified in the future, as most of today’s concrete office buildings are designed with post-tensioned slabs to minimize the amount of material used and curing time, and these types of slabs are extremely difficult to modify after placing). Also, the original designers could have considered future uses more carefully when designing the layout of the structural concrete columns. To be more adaptive, the columns should have been located between window bays, to facilitate future compartmentalization, rather than the present placement that disregards the fenestration. Because of this flaw, designers had to work with columns in the units–always a challenge since every part of the valuable unit should be useful, with no dead space. Also, at the time the structure was built, the construction tolerances were less stringent, both because of the type of use and the more lenient code requirements of the era. In some places, the slab had to be leveled with a leveling compound up to six inches thick!

The buildings that are still standing today are those that are well sited (NorthPoint is located in a busy, picturesque neighborhood within walking distance of downtown, and is taller than most other buildings in the area, giving residents a unique view of the bay), well constructed (NorthPoint is built of reinforced concrete, a material that has an almost unlimited lifespan if well cared for), and adaptable (NorthPoint, although it presented several challenges in its newest conversion from office to residential, has proven to have the inherent flexibility to change with the times, making it an invaluable resource to the community). Although it is difficult to predict what the demographic shifts will be in 100 years, chances are that this building will remain to serve the neighborhood for a long time to come.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or SF Apartment Magazine. Robert Shurell is a licensed architect with Chong Partners Architecture, a firm specializing in architecture that serves the needs of our communities in the fields of education, healthcare, transportation, and civic and cultural facilities. Feel free to contact him with questions or comments at rshurell@chongpartners.com. Copyright © 2007 by SF Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.