Foster + Partners has been chosen to design a $250m refurbishment of San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica Pyramid, beating an invited shortlist that included Bjarke Ingels Group and David Chipperfield Architects.
Foster will renew the tower’s interiors and remodel its surroundings, including an expansion of Redwood Park and a doubling of the size of two neighbouring office buildings.
The tower’s ground floors will be opened to the public to integrate it into the life of the city.
The architect comments that the refurb will reimagine the tower as a living space, “with a sophisticated emphasis placed on comfort, hospitality and flexibility for tenants and guests”.
It says the design will incentivise staff to choose the office over home working with a gym, bar, lounge and conferencing facilities, “all with panoramic city views”.
The work on Transamerica itself is expected to take a year to complete; work on the nearby offices is pending while planning approval is sought.
The 48-storey, 260m tower, the second tallest in the city, was designed by architect William Pereira and completed in 1972 by Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction. It was acquired by New York developer Shvo in 2020.
