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Steel Arc
85 Natoma Street
Multifamily Residential
San Francisco
2001
To create a unique identity, the form of the building follows a gentle arc as the exterior wall becomes the roof.
An urban infill project of 9 modern residential lofts, Steel Arc is composed of a metal skin, cement-board panels on flat walls, and generous areas of glass. The lofts are separated vertically by windowless streamlined metal that curves back on the upper two floors — giving the building a rounded silhouette. The minimalist industrial interiors highlight acid-stained concrete floors, custom poured concrete countertops, bamboo flooring, and floating steel stairs.
Architect of Record: Jim Jennings Architecture
“The building so deftly infuses its street, and the outlying transitional neighborhood, with clarity and sophistication it hadn’t known before.”
Minimalist Architecture (Spain) 2003
“A metal-sheathed structure whose sweeping curves and irregular composition inject refinement into industrial aesthetics.”
Art-Sites, San Francisco 2003
“Say farewell to one of the region’s best residential buildings of the young century. Known informally as Steel Arc, it’s a modest joy of shiny steel with a rounded silhouette, nine modern units that always looked at home amid the workaday masonry neighbors.”
San Francisco Chronicle, June 8, 2011
*In 2010, Steel Arc was taken under eminent domain for the Salesforce Transit Center.
Gallery
Contemporary contextual architecture.
