Image © SOM
Ultimately, my favorite part of this beguiling exhibition is the large model of the city done with digital modeling by the local office of the architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill. It extends from the bay to Van Ness Avenue, the Transamerica Pyramid almost to AT&T Park. Many of the individual buildings were generated with microscopic care, from the bay windows of the Bank of America tower at 555 California St. to the rippled facade of a proposed Folsom Street high-rise designed by Jeanne Gang.
There’s aspiration — projects in the works — and hints of proposals rumored but not yet seen. “This was the biggest draw at the opening party,” Arieff recalls. “People crowded around like it was the bar.