John King reviews OMA's Avery Tower in San Francisco

As much as any single new building downtown, the tower dubbed the Avery embodies the grand, often clashing ambitions of today’s San Francisco. — The San Francisco Chronicle

John King, urban design critic for The San Francisco Chronicle, has weighed in on the recently-completed Avery tower complex, a 55-story high-rise block designed by Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) for the city's bustling Transbay neighborhood. 

King writes, "What sets the Avery apart is the extent to which its creators try to fill a blank slate with nuanced urbanism—modern in looks but with an old-school desire to make passersby feel at home." The project, created for developer Related California, includes a mid-rise affordable housing complex designed by Fougeron Architecture that "helps frame the courtyard and passage that slices through the block" to positive, "cozy" effect, according to King. 

King praises the materiality of Fougeron's contextual apartment blocks, referring to their brick-clad articulation as "a satisfying gesture of deference to the modest structures that remain from the area’s blue-collar past."

"As for the architecture and its icy sheen" of OMA's tower, King adds, "you can’t help but wonder whether the high-rise was designed to fit a marketing niche or an actual location. What’s clear is that the Avery doesn’t want to be just another glass box—and that’s a very good thing."

King further praises the staggered, serrated geometries of the tower, adding, "this isn’t the first tower in San Francisco to have such serrations, but it’s by far the most subtle. Depending on the perspective and the position of the sun, the Avery can seem jagged or sleek, an aloof shaft or an eye-catching dissection of form."

Source: Archinect.com

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