With its undulating façade and pops of color, the DLR Group/Kwan Henmi-designed Vida 8-story mixed-use building in San Francisco blends style and sustainable design. To support the design’s large openings with deep wall cavities, the architects specified Winco Windows’ 1450 Series 4-in. unitized window wall. In addition, 3.25-in. zero sightline vents provide natural ventilation and clean sightlines. Taken together, the façade reflects the color and texture of the neighborhood’s Latin-influenced murals, craft and culture, and is scaled with respect to the adjacent buildings’ varied heights and setbacks.

As the urban cores of Silicon Valley’s technology hub cities become denser, start-ups and established high-tech developers alike have made it a habit to resurrect historically significant buildings, and add richness and a sense of place to the surrounding community.Along with several other tenants, Uber Advanced Technologies Group occupies San Francisco’s historic Pier 70, Buildings 115 and 116. According to Berkeley-based Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects, the buildings were all in urgent need of repair. The design team developed a building-within-a-building concept that preserved the historic perimeter brick walls, reduced the cost of temporary shoring and retained the open volu

The decades old skylights on the roof of Sibley Hall had frosted over and faded with time, greatly reducing the amount of natural daylight coming into the building. The exterior steel frame of the building was in extremely poor condition and leaked. And, after many years of housing the weight of the Fine Arts Library, the top of the building had begun to spread apart and the exterior walls were cracking.