AIA-San Francisco Hosts Sixth Annual Architecture and the City Festival

The American Institute of Architects, San Francisco chapter and Center for Architecture + Design will host the sixth annual Architecture and the City festival, which takes place Sept. 1-30.

As the nation’s largest architectural festival showcasing tours, films, exhibitions, lectures, dining by design, family programs and more, Architecture and the City reaches more than 20,000 people and provides an opportunity for individuals, design practices, companies, cultural institutions and the general public to celebrate San Francisco's unique built environment and their contribution towards it.

The 2009 festival theme “Everyday, Design” celebrates the many smart, ingenious and unexpected ways design impacts our daily lives, unveiling the unseen hand of the designer in everything from civic and institutional works to landscaping and residential design. Programming will also heavily explore the way architects or projects thoughtfully impact our communities and reflect issues of sustainability.

Once again, the festival will showcase everything from exhibitions and lectures to behind-the-scenes walking tours, hands-on workshops, dynamic new architecture and much, much more. Confirmed popular programs include the “San Francisco Living: Home Tours” weekend, which returns Sept. 12-13, giving participants the unique opportunity to see some of the city's latest residential projects from the inside out, meet design teams, explore housing trends, and discover design solutions that inspire unique San Francisco living. “Small Firms, Great Projects,” the central exhibition of the festival, will showcase innovative and award-winning work by local architecture and design professionals in a wide range of project types, including new residences and remodels, commercial and retail spaces, educational, civic, institutional and religious projects, historic preservation and more. Additionally, architectural programming for the whole family, tours of evolving San Francisco neighborhoods, and programming on everything from landscape design to home remodeling will be available.

The Architecture and the City festival has been engaging members of the public and design enthusiasts, as well as architects and designers, with a deeper appreciation for San Francisco’s rich architectural and design community since 2003. In honor of the festival, Mayor Gavin Newsom has officially proclaimed September "Architecture and the City" month.
Some highlights:

• San Francisco Living: Home Tours Weekend. This popular weekend offers an inside look into distinctive residences in San Francisco. Showcased projects range from state-of-the-art single-and multi-family residences to affordable housing developments. Participating firms currently include Boor Bridges Architecture, John Maniscalco Architecture, Sasaki Associates, SB Architects, and Studio Sarah Willmer Architecture. Visit www.aiasf.org/hometours for updates coming soon.
• Walking Tours – Victorian Tract Homes of the Mission, Sept. 1. Affordable housing was just as important in the 19th century as it is today. As a developing suburb during the Victorian era, San Francisco’s Mission District became a laboratory where architects and builders took advantage of mass-produced materials and assembly line construction techniques to produce an astonishing array of residential housing for middle-income and working-class residents. This tour will explore chronologically successive waves of development, ranging from mirrored single-family homes of the 1870s constructed by large real estate syndicates, to whole-block subdivisions of flats, cottages and row houses constructed by merchant builders in the 1880s and 1890s.
• Film Series. The series kicks off Sept. 2 with the documentary “The Bird’s Nest.” Built to accommodate over 92,000 spectators for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China’s National Stadium, also nicknamed the Bird’s Nest, was the result of much collaborative effort among many competing forces.
• Lectures. On Sept. 10, The Architect’s Forum features a panel discussing the design, construction and overall costs related to the homes showcased in the 2009 San Francisco Living: Home Tours weekend. The 2009 series features a wide variety of architectural styles, neighborhoods and residences, including state-of-the-art single-family homes in Glen Park, Cole Valley, Bernal Heights and the Mission District, among others. Participating architects currently include Malcolm Davis Architecture, Boor Bridges Architecture, Sasaki|Architect: Strachan Forgan, Studio Sarah Willmer Architecture, SB Architects|Architect: Bruce Wright, AIA, LEED AP and John Maniscalco Architecture.
• Exhibitions – Small Firms, Great Projects, Aug. 27-Oct. 23. The exhibition introduces viewers to architecture and design firms experienced in a wide range of work, including new residences and remodels, commercial and retail spaces, educational, civic, institutional and religious projects, historic preservation, and landscape and interior design. Included are looks at Karin Payson Architecture + Design work on the West Portal Public Library (civic project) and Ewald Tajbaksh Architecture’s interior design for a Marina Residence.

Complete programming details, including pricing and program locations, will be available in July. Tickets for all programs go on sale Aug. 1.
Information on the festival can be found at: www.aiasf.org/archandcity.

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