As the FiDi's twisty cylinder at 555 Washington continues to get heat for all the usual (height, shadows, though for once, not its "character" or beastliness), architecture critic John King calls for a "reimagined, focused" update to the 1985 downtown plan, which now looks either out of date, or gets skirted by so many developers that it may as well be out of date. The proposed 400-foot tower's going to cast shadows— sort of and/or barely— on neighboring parks, meaning Rec & Park's going to have to give it an OK too, but the issue is mainly this: that it's roughly double the height of what's allowed in the city's downtown plan. So what does King suggest a new plan should do, in so many words? Loosen up. "Realistically, the traditional core is all but done. Vertical growth will happen in the Transbay and Rincon Hill districts." One new tower in the FiDi probably won't herald a cascade of shadow-casting monoliths. Or so the thinking goes, anyway.
· Signs of tarnish as Downtown Plan nears 25 [SF Gate]
· FiDi's Shadow Drama: Free Park to Make Up for the Trouble [Curbed SF]
· Twisty Cylinder to Play Sidekick to Transamerica's Pyramid [Curbed SF]
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