by Brian Libby
SFMOMA commissioned a new sculpture garden for the top of its parking structure, with provisions to connect to the main San Francisco Museum of Modern Art building — a late-20th-century classic that prefigured the wave of museums constructed following the Guggenheim Bilbao in 1997. Jensen & Macy Architects conceived of the garden, which was completed by successor firm Jensen Architects, as a gallery without a ceiling.
Awarded as a top project in the AIA San Francisco 2010 design awards, the overall commission comprises an outdoor sculpture garden, a glass-enclosed garden pavilion and bridge, and an addition to the museum's fifth-floor galleries. The 3,000-square-foot (280-square-meter) gallery extension cantilevers over the garden, providing an elevated view through a panoramic window.
The pavilion structure stands between two garden areas, equipped with full-height sliding glass doors to allow a continuous indoor-outdoor space. The main garden features walls clad with porous, gray lava stone, alongside white concrete planters and FSC-certified machiche wood benches. The white-oak casework and paneling within the pavilion is also FSC-certified. Eighty photovoltaic panels were also installed, able to generate about 30 percent of the energy used by the project daily.
In their 2010 design awards, the AIA San Francisco chapter sets a high bar on architectural quality by requiring every award entry to indicate whether sustainability was a consideration in the design, and to detail green features as applicable. The awards program also includes a dedicated category for "energy and sustainability," as well as categories recognizing excellence in architecture, interiors, historic preservation, integrated project delivery, and other areas.
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