On December 4th, 2015, the renovation project team for The Strand reunited at the Community Alliance Awards Breakfast sponsored by the American Institute of Architects’ San Francisco Chapter. The event celebrated the mission-driven accomplishments of the award recipients and the nonprofit community to make San Francisco a beautiful, affordable, and resilient city for everyone.
American Conservatory Theater was honored with the Revitalization Award for the positive impact that The Strand—A.C.T.’s new theater venue and education facility designed by SOM—has had on the surrounding Central Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods. John King, Urban Design Critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, read the jury’s comments during the ceremony:
“As mid-Market Street goes through tumultuous change—?welcome and worrisome both—?this is the one project so far to add something to these long-troubled blocks with a genuinely public feel. The design respects the original structure while amplifying its connection to the street, creating an aspirational, intriguing dimension to the UN Plaza scene.”
In attendance were Michael Duncan, Design Director, Gayle Tsern Strang, Project Manager, and Aaron Jensen, Senior Design Architect, from SOM; Don-Scott Cooper, General Manager, from American Conservatory Theater; Jeff Gherardini, Construction Manager and Vice President, from general contractor Plant Construction Company; Carolyn Kiernat, Principal, Erin Ouburg, Designer and Architectural Conservator, and Christina Dikas, Senior Architectural Historian, from historic preservation consultant Page and Turnbull; and Kristin Peck, Principal, from lighting design consultant PritchardPeck Lighting.