Status – Construction completed
Client – Tishman Speyer
Type – Residential
Size – 441,000 sqf/ 400 ft/ 392 units
Sustainability – LEED Gold Certified
MIRA: Twisting Tower ©Jason O’RearLocation – San Francisco, CA
Mira SF, also known as the ‘Twisting Tower’, is a new-age skyscraper which is located at 280 Spear Street in the city’s Transbay neighborhood in San Francisco. It constitutes a welcoming new community in the transforming Transbay district and lodges a broad range of units, with 40 percent deputed below market rate. It was designed by Studio Gang Architects for the developer Tishman Speyer. The design acknowledges the need for compact housing and suggests the latest models of sustainability, all while reinterpreting the architectural heritage of the city. This architectural coup stands 400-foot-high (122m high) and has 40 levels with a staggering silvery grey façade which is formed by twisting columns, large bay windows conserving the classic architectural tradition of San Francisco. Twisting gradually over the height of the tower, the bays provide copious views, natural light round the day, and fresh air, and also animates the building’s exclusive form and texture—the result of special attention to the building’s energy performance and how it is experienced. Extending the inhabitable spaces within and offering platforms from which to view the city at all angles, the bays make every residence a corner unit. The project has a footprint of about 50,000 square feet and traverses 700,000 square feet in total. It consists of 392 grandeur residences that incorporate two- and three-bedroom condos.
Each apartment offers an astounding view of the Bay Bridge which connects San Francisco Bay to Oakland. Some of the amenities offered by this property include valeted underground parking for almost 340 cars and 150 bikes, rooftop lounge areas, dog washing station, staffed lobby with lounge areas, conference room, children’s playroom, electric car charging stations, fitness center, etc. The property even has a retail space of 10,000 square feet (929 m2) on its ground floor. MIRA commends commodious access to the city’s wealth of enchanting activities including waterfront relaxation, the bumbling nightlife of the city, and its restaurants, iconic landmarks, splendor retailers and, local amusement and sports sites.
White curtain wall, a modular façade system comprising families of units that reiterate every 11 floors was created to comprehend the geometric complication of the dynamics of the project. An enlightened curtain wall facade system facilitates the bays to be adhered to a reiterative structural slab from inside the structure, minimizing the desire for an on-site tower crane and confining the consumption of energy and impact on the neighborhood during construction. The bays permit an exorbitant-performance facade which is almost 51 percent opaque without hindering nearly 180-degree-views in each unit. This high-performance facade, in association with a novel VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow2) cooling system, lets the building to overshoot zealous California Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. This, together with a state-of-the-art greywater recycling system, high-efficiency fixtures, and green roofs, accorded the project LEED Gold certification. The engineering process was accustomed to the aerospace industry to engineer the remarkably neat and flat view of Italian-made white panels of the curtain walls.
There exist ten varied bay geometries: each is a 14-feet wide isosceles triangle with contradicting spandrel and glazing proportions, and with a maximum depth of six-and-a-half feet. At each level, thirty bay window units can be found, consolidating up to, in total, about 1,000 over the tower. Initially, there were no directions of relocating the bay geometries of the project but later a discovery during the design stage that, by offsetting and reiterating a set of modifications every ten floors, a keen extent of detail could be constituted to the project irrespective of any complications in construction and fabrication.
MIRA proffers vivid, contemporary, and capacious one-, two- and three-bedroom condos and townhouses with substantial bay windows.
Located in the surfacing Transbay neighborhood where SoMa adjoins the Embarcadero, MIRA will provide expedient access to the waterfront, Transbay Transit Terminal, and the new Salesforce Park, and an extensive array of restaurants, retailers, transportation options, nightlife, and entertainment and sports venues.
The apartments have wood floors, white walls, dark wood kitchen cabinets, and bathroom vanities and white counters, boast open kitchens, a warm palette and luxurious materials like Volakas marble and Italian porcelain tile have been used.
Structural pillars have six or eight sides and are angular.
Jeff Schlarb Design Studio, which is located in San Francisco has embellished the model units at Mira and were collaborated by Esrawe and EWE, which are one of Mexico City’s best studios, on customized pieces to enhance the lounge and lobby.
Open kitchens have islands, high-end finishes, and stylish pantries.
The designs are contemporary and forthright, but warm colors make them seem more welcoming.
