San Francisco Federal Building
Morphosis / Thom Mayne · San Francisco, United States · 2007
The San Francisco Federal Building combines a slender office slab, a lower public component and a prominent external shading system. Morphosis used exposed concrete and perforated metal to give an institutional workplace an unusually expressive envelope. Completed in 2007, the design made natural light and ventilation important parts of its environmental strategy. From the street, the changing depth of the metal screen reveals how an office façade can mediate between climatic demands, internal use and the larger urban landscape. Visiting: Exterior viewing is free. Federal security rules control access to the working building.