Project Description
Solaire, a 423,000-square-foot, 32-story apartment tower, embodies an approach to urbanism that embraces both social inclusion and sustainability. Located in San Francisco’s South of Market – SoMa District, the tower is part of the two-block Transbay Block 6 and 7 residential development composed of both market rate and affordable housing. The building creates a vertical community by providing access to eight large, public balconies on every third floor in lieu of private balconies. The LEED Gold building establishes a new benchmark for sustainable building strategies by leveraging San Francisco’s mild winters and dry summers. Each living unit contains operable windows and an occupant-controlled, fan-forced outside air ventilation system. For the system to be effective, the design minimized solar and internal heat gains by utilizing a high-performance enclosure system that combines high-performance glass with integrated shading devices and an efficient interior and lighting package.