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Hellfire, Brimstone: Warning Delivered to SF's Tall Buildings

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Busted! (Like, literally.) The structural stability of One Rincon Hill San Francisco's new high rise buildings— and their developers' building practices— has fallen under fire again: "I don't like that 'finger' in front of the bridge" snipes structural engineer Patrick Buscovic in today's SF Weekly expose, a diatribe that claims the "city's tallest downtown skyscrapers are not built to a higher survivability standard than a bungalow in the Sunset." Muscle-baring city developers, code-dodging SF Department of Building Inspection Director Isam Haseni, SPUR, Berkeley's Tall Building Initiative: all are players in a drama that posits good against evil in the fight for survival. Because The Big One will come, people. Spoiler:

As of Jan. 1, new San Francisco high-rises taller than 200 feet will be mandated to have fire-resistant elevators designed to transport firefighters to the top floors. None of the current high-rises has one: Without an elevator specifically designed to withstand the heat of a towering inferno, ascending a 60-story building such as One Rincon could take a fully laden firefighter more than two hours. Nervous, buyers?
· Developments in Shaky Town [SF Weekly]
· Cautionary Tale: "The Big One" En Route [Curbed SF]

One Rincon Hill

425 1st Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Visit Website