Good Architecture Doesn't Mean Good Urban Design

John King looks at SoMa's 'half-baked' masterpiece of design.

1 minute read

June 7, 2003, 11:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"All four corners are owned by one development firm that persuaded the city to approve an in-town office park. Four 10-story buildings would frame a glass- walled outdoor "room" encompassing the entire intersection. Then, the economic boom went bust... Which leaves a project that may never be finished, two buildings that deserve a better fate -- and a lesson that city planners should never have forgotten in the first place. Growth works best one piece at a time. And those pieces should connect to what's around them, rather than try to create worlds of their own."

Thanks to Congress for New Urbanism listserv

Friday, June 6, 2003 in The San Francisco Chronicle

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