As we suspected, Chicago's finest non-orthogonal starchitect is set to make her imprint on the San Francisco skyline with a snaky residential tower at Folsom and Spear streets, one block in from the Embarcadero. Standing at 40 stories and 400 feet, the proposed design—a venture with Tishman Speyer—offers a very abstract twist on the bay window. Instead of shooting straight up, the bays and balconies swerve diagonally in 11-story sequences. The project includes eight stories of affordable housing, also designed by Gang, on the same block. All told, 139 of the proposed 390 condos would go to lower-income buyers. There's retail, too, with plans for shops to go in along Folsom, Spear, and Main streets. One potential snag is the height, which extends 100 feet beyond the current limit and thus requires Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors approval. According to the Chronicle, a 300-foot version of the design also exists, and the citizen advisory commission for the Transbay district voted last night to keep both designs in play. If the project gets all its approvals, the construction cranes could roll in as early as 2016. It's far too soon for floor plans, but we're hoping they'll be fractals.
· Famed Chicago architect Jeanne Gang unveils rippled tower [SF Gate]
· Starchitect alert [Curbed SF]
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