San Francisco General Hospital, Entry Pavillion [While at Chong Partners]

This project was part of a competition’s entry for SFGH master plan, in partnership with SmithGroup, San Francisco office. After a preliminary team space planning, I began the design of the entry pavillion, to be nested between the brutalist modern hospital to the East, the new replacement tower (unbuilt) to the West, and the neo-romanesque, red brick and terracotta building to the South-West. For the competition, most effort was spent on the main waiting lobby and the front desk areas, which were to provide a welcoming entry point from two distinct directions: South (from the garage and vehicular drop-off) and West (the pedestrian entry from Potrero Ave.).
After the submission of the competition I focused on the design of the entry pavillion. With its dramatic double height slanted glazed wall, this space provides an ample seating area, a cafe’, a corner for a large art piece, and the West entrance to the hospital. Below the interior glazing of the community room on the second floor, a dropped cloud ceiling helps to define the circulation toward the front desk. Materials include exposed aggregate sand blasted concrete for the columns, glossy two-colors terrazzo for the pavements, wood veneer paneling for the custom cabinetry, painted steel cable bracings and tube columns for the curtain wall, and horizontal terracotta tiles for accent walls.