News

AIASF Selects BCCI Builders as General Contractor—Dream Team to Envision New Center for Architecture + Design

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alicia Arroyo, AIASF Marketing + Communications Manager
PH: +1 415 874 2624
EMAIL: aarroyo@aiasf.org

San Francisco, CA | July 28, 2020 – AIA San Francisco (AIASF) has selected BCCI Builders as the general contractor—to join Aidlin Darling Design as the project leads—for the new Center for Architecture + Design headquarters located in the historic landmark Hallidie Building storefront at 140 Sutter Street.

The new Center for Architecture + Design will be a demonstration of sustainability and inclusion, as well as technical innovation. The 10,000 SF facility will showcase donated building systems and products that help AIASF advance its critically essential sustainability and equity goals. The storefront headquarters will serve as a beacon for AIA members and allied professionals and will greet passersby—locals, visitors, and design enthusiasts—in this vibrant downtown San Francisco neighborhood.

To round out the project team in the Spring of 2020, invitations were sent to a cohort of general contractors to submit qualifications to construct the Center for Architecture + Design. The Architectural Advisory Committee (AAC) and Relocation Task Force (RTF) selected three finalists. The AAC and RTF members included architecture and design leaders and experts with experience developing public collaborative spaces and workspace interiors across the country. After careful consideration of the proposals, each of the short-listed contractors presented their project approach, teams, and vision for the headquarters, and BCCI Builders was awarded to become the general contractor for the construction of the new Center.

"While it was a very competitive selection process, BCCI's depth of experience with non-profit organizations, team enthusiasm, and team diversity aligned with the Center's goals and aspirations to serve our chapter and the greater community," said David Hecht, AIA, Principal, TANNERHECHT Architecture and Chair, AIASF Relocation Advisory Committee.

BCCI embraces the partnership and collaboration with AIASF and Aidlin Darling Design. This is an exciting opportunity to fulfill AIASF’s vision to make the Center for Architecture + Design serve as a visibly accessible, high-profile facility showcasing the vital role of architects and designers, and as a dynamic hub to engage professionals, students, and the public. Their project approach and vision meet the goals of AIASF’s membership to create a hub that represents the forefront of design thinking and to build a model for sustainable and equitable design practices.

"AIASF and the Center for Architecture + Design are pleased to partner with BCCI on our future headquarters. The space that they built 15 years ago has served the Chapter well," said AIASF Executive Director, Stacy Williams. "It is exciting to be working with a dream team of architects and design consultants. We are thrilled to finally have a ground-floor presence promising greater connection to the community. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for AIASF and the Center!"

AIA Francisco will be relocating its headquarters on the sixth floor of the Hallidie Building to the Center for Architecture + Design storefront in early 2021. The Hallidie Building, named in honor of San Francisco cable car pioneer Andrew Smith Hallidie, is a historic landmark designed by architect Willis Polk between 1917-1918 and is notable as one of the first glass curtain façades in the United States.

AIASF and the Center are working with an acclaimed group of artists to document and complement the relocation project. Stay tuned to learn about the featured artist projects in the weeks to come.

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The Center for Design + Architecture's leading project team includes:

Aidlin Darling Design is a multidisciplinary San Francisco-based design firm. Established in 1997, by Joshua Aidlin and David Darling, the studio has a broad focus, including institutional, commercial, and residential architecture as well as furniture and interior design. Their work explores their closely-held conviction that design can enlighten the human spirit by engaging all of the senses. 

BCCI Builders is a full-service builder with offices in San Francisco, Mountain View, and Los Angeles. As a West Coast partner for STO Building Group, a family of ten companies with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Ireland, they have the resources and expertise to assist clients with projects throughout California and beyond.

AR Green LEED Consulting is a sustainability consulting firm based in San Francisco that specializes in green building design and construction, third party certifications, carbon footprint reporting, strategic sustainability analysis, and education. 

Atelier Ten was founded in 1990 and has grown from a fledgling London practice to a global thought leader in environmental design.

BKF has over 100 years of engineering, surveying, and planning projects that produced some of the most recognized projects in California.

Murphy Burr Curry Inc. located in San Francisco, provides the full range of consulting structural engineering services, with an emphasis on historic renovation, seismic retrofit, and new building design.

PAE Engineers is a globally recognized leader in sustainable engineering design, founded over 50 years ago.

Salter, Inc. consults on over 900 projects each year in acoustics, audiovisual, telecommunications, and security, worldwide with headquarters in San Francisco and branch offices in San Jose, Honolulu, and Seattle.\

Tucci Lighting conceives timeless designs by channeling the spirit of collaboration within the firm and with their clients. Light as a medium allows us to support and enhance space in meaningful ways.

The Preview Group is an architectural consulting firm that specializes in building codes and regulatory issues affecting construction.

Solomon Cordwell Buez is an architecture, interior design, and planning firm that practices nationally from offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

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About AIA San Francisco | www.aiasf.org
Serving the Bay Area for over a century, AIA San Francisco (AIASF), is committed to enhancing the quality of life in the Bay Area by promoting excellence in architecture, design, and the built environment. AIASF represents members practicing architecture, as well as allied community professionals in San Francisco and Marin counties. As a resource for our members and the public, AIA San Francisco strives to improve the quality of life in the Bay Area through community involvement, education, advocacy, public outreach, and member services.

About Center for Architecture + Design | www.centersf.org
The Center for Architecture + Design (the Center) is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to creating a public- focused dialogue on architecture, design, and the built environment in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Established in 2005, the Center enhances public appreciation for architecture and design through exhibitions, lectures, tours, film series, and other programs, including the annual Architecture + the City festival and San Francisco Living: Home Tours.