The Pacific at 2155 Webster Street is a 250,000 sq. ft. (21,925 m2) adaptive re-use project in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Formerly a dentistry school, the project is being converted from its office use into a luxury residential development, including seventy-seven condo units and ten individual townhomes.
Handel Architects’ design approach maintains the façade grid of the original building, but lightens the structure by removing the existing pre-cast panels to make way for larger scale windows. This thinner, more delicate structure will be covered with a new champagne color stainless steel cladding system, which reflects the sunlight in gold and light brown hues. Puncturing the structure are floor-to-ceiling glass windows, offering expansive views. Additionally, a three-dimensional window bay has been designed to create moments where the occupants can gain views past the existing structure. These windows are dispersed throughout all four facades, with the density increasing towards the edges and the top of the building. The penthouse, formerly a mechanical shed, will be converted to four homes with private terraces, and a common lounge with communal terrace for the building’s residents.
At the ground level, townhomes on the adjacent surface parking lot have been designed to have a similar scale and form as single family homes in the neighborhood. The three story homes have access to individual private gardens and the amenities of the main building. Communal lawns and landscaping have been created in between the townhomes as open space for the use of all the residents of the development.