Supertall San Francisco Winner Chosen

After a hard fought campaign, the winner has been chosen for the San Francisco Transbay Terminal.

Beating off heavy competition from Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and Rogers Stirk Harbour, the winning plans as voted by every member of the Transbay Authority's Board of Directors are by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects with Hines as the developer.

The competition which is being run to pay for a new transport terminal and the demolition of the existing one had been organised in such a way that a jury of leading architects and development bods would peruse the three top proposals and then recommend a winner to the Board of Directors.

After much thinking they picked the Cesar Pelli proposal, not on the basis of being the overwhelmingly best design, but mostly because Hines had offered, $350 million, an extra $200 million more than their rivals raising the question of why the jury didn't consist entirely of accountants.

Giving an idea of how profitable the Hines development can be, the direct costs will be a mere $279.88 million to build giving a healthy surplus despite being above the $255.656 million recommended build cost whilst both Rogers and SOM came in slightly below.

The Pelli proposal if realised in its current design will be 1,200 feet or 365.7 metres tall and have a 5.6 acre park standing atop of the new transport terminal. It's design is typically Pelli with a gradually tapering glass skinned skyscraper and facade overrun for a crown resembling a smoother version of Hong Kong's International Finance Centre.

The catch is that there are strict zoning laws in the area with height restrictions in place that state nothing should be built above the height of the Transamerica Pyramid which is 260 metres. There are also local concerns about the sheer size of a shadow that such a tall building could cast raising the spectre of the tower being reduced in height.

The poison pill of the Pelli proposal is that the more the tower is reduced in height, and therefore floor space, the less money Hines will actually pay so the local authorities will have to have to walk the tightrope of balancing the economics of the project with concerns from residents nearby.

The final zoning of the scheme should be in place by 2009 allowing Pelli and Hines to submit a revised proposal that can then receive planning approval which if granted would see almost immediate construction begin in time for a 2013 opening.

The project is part of a wider masterplan dreamed up by Skidmore Owings and Merrill that could transform the San Francisco skyline which despite being one of the most recognisable in the United States is dominated by buildings over 20 years old and desparately in need of more space.