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

"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

FULL STORY: SoMa's half-baked masterpiece of design

Friday, June 6, 2003 in The San Francisco Chronicle

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