Javier Arizmendi, Francesca Oliveira, and John Kuchen presented “High-Performance Facades with a Sense of Place,” during the Architect’s Newspaper’s Facades+ San Francisco. The SOM team delved into two projects—one on the San Francisco waterfront, and the other in the heart of Redwood City—that demonstrate how form, materials, and careful detailing can maximize the connection between architecture and place. 

One Steuart Lane, a 120-residence tower, features a warm-hued stone exterior with precise, minimal details that bridge the gap between the historic buildings of the Embarcadero and the towers of the Financial District. San Mateo County Office Building 3, the nation’s first net-zero-energy mass-timber civic building, pays homage to Redwood City’s industrial history as a lumber industry and brick manufacturing center with exposed timber and anodized copper cladding.