One block from AT&T Park, 101 Townsend lies at the edge of two San Francisco neighborhoods, the SOMA (South of Market) and the city's Port district. Emerging from an area largely and historically associated with sailing, port and warehouse activity, the re-assignment of the land use designation from Production/Distribution/Repair (PDR) to Office use was the first of many steps in navigating this complex renovation project.
Due to its historic district location, the building required significant upgrades to meet current building codes including a seismic retrofit, full ADA compliance, system upgrades, and cosmetic renovations. The basement was excavated and lowered an additional two feet in order to provide more leasable office space to this three-story warehouse.
Mandated by the city, the building exterior was restored to its original aesthetic even down to the size and pattern of the 9"x15" window panes wrapping three of the four sides of the building. To help save costs and meet Title 24 standards, DAHLIN designed custom window extrusions with 3D printed samples to demonstrate the genuine replication of the building's original windows to city staff as part of the architectural review process. In keeping with the authentic warehouse character, the interiors also took on a "raw-thentic" aesthetic with exposed mechanical and electrical systems, pipes and air ducts. Roll-up metal windows on the ground floor adjacent to the street and the building’s small alleyway deck, were also replaced. A 3,300-square-foot rooftop deck was added for the building tenant; it captures great surrounding views of the city and beyond.
Today, 101 Townsend is the headquarters of technology company Cloudfare and home to the neighborhood corner coffee shop, Café Lambretta.
