Tishman Speyer, the San Francisco Giants, and MVRDV have just completed a new residential building in San Francisco called "The Canyon."
The first phase of the larger Mission Rock masterplan (which also includes a project by Studio Gang), the complex got its name because of a walkway that cuts through the plinth of the building and that, well, looks like a canyon. You can see it in the above image if you look closely. There are even stairs that take you up as you walk through it.
But what is most interesting about this walkway is not its geological reference. It would be how it performs at the ground floor and for the homes that face into it. It's a way of creating a narrow mid-block connection (and we like narrow streets), while at the same time allowing more light into the center of the block.
So I'd be curious to see/experience what it's like in the middle of this canyon. Hopefully it's interesting.
Photo: Jason O'Rear
The WSJ announced today that smart-lock company Latch is getting SPAC'ed (i.e. going public). The deal, which is sponsored by commercial real estate firm Tishman Speyer, values the company at about $1.56 billion.
One of the things that is attractive about Latch is that they're a lot more than just a smart-lock company. They really bill themselves as being a "full-building operating system." Their platform, called LatchOS, offers everything from access door solutions to guest/delivery management.
If you operate a multi-family apartment building, one of the first things that you would like to do away with is all of your suite entry keys. They are a pain to manage. So smart entry locks are a huge value-add. I guess that's why 1 in 10 apartments in the US are now being built with LatchOS, according to the company.
Another thing that is attractive about Latch is that they operate as a SaaS/subscription service. So reoccurring revenue and (probably) a higher multiple. Given that changing all of the locks in a big apartment building is no simple task, there are also some natural barriers to churn.
To learn more about today's announcement, you can check out the WSJ or TechCrunch.
I have said this before on the blog, but one of my favorite tall buildings is the Mira tower in San Francisco by Tishman Speyer (developer) and Studio Gang (architect). Now that it's pretty much complete and residents have started to move in, John King, urban design critic for the SF Chronicle, has published this review of the building. It's behind a paywall, but you should be able to at least see all of the photos, and below is an introductory excerpt.
Even with today’s grim need for social isolation, San Francisco’s most eye-catching residential tower wants to pull you close.
From the Bay Bridge or the Embarcadero, the 39-story Mira at the corner of Folsom and Spear streets is a flowing stack of tightly wound white metal bays, frozen in motion. Fragmentary glimpses from nearby blocks defy expectations, whipsawed slivers amid the stodgy norm.
Finally, there’s the view straight up from the sidewalk — a crisp commotion of stacked angles, precisely arranged but seemingly ready to fly out in a dozen directions at once.
Though Mira has been in the works since 2014, the architectural show still feels fresh as the first residents begin to unpack. But this 392-unit residential complex was also conceived as a celebration of triumphant urbanism — a far cry from the mood of this troubled summer.