Working share link to your Forma project, view access for the teaching team.
https://app.autodeskforma.com/designmode/pro_4ex81qszi6/5129d797-331f-40dd-8cd4-e0cff98c6e32/
Comparison matrix, one page.
Design memo of 300 to 500 words: what you read in the site, the three strategies, what the analysis said, your recommendation, and the surprise.
1011 25th Street, Dogpatch, San Francisco
The 38,608 SF parcel sits in Dogpatch's arts district, steps from the Minnesota Street Project. Its neighbors are mostly low warehouses, so the site gets strong sun with little shading from context. That openness is also its main liability: with few tall buildings to break it, the prevailing west/northwest afternoon wind runs across the flat industrial blocks and down the street grid. Noise from I-280 adds a second exposure. My intention is to keep artists in the neighborhood they helped build: affordable artist housing above, and a ground floor where art is made and shown at street level.
Three strategies:
Proposal 1, Twin Bars + Courtyard (art residency + housing): two low parallel bars frame a long, sheltered courtyard that doubles as outdoor studio and exhibition space for the residency.
Proposal 2, Perimeter Block (maker warehouse + housing): a continuous street wall wraps a deep maker floor and a small inner court.
Proposal 3, Tower + L-Wings (brewery + housing): a residential tower rises above low wings holding a taproom, concentrating height to free up the ground.
Analysis Findings: P1 had the lowest carbon intensity (~20 kgCO2e/SF) and the most comfortable wind at grade. P2 had the best energy use intensity (42) but the worst carbon intensity (~32 kgCO2e/SF) and a large uncomfortable wind zone along its south side. P3 had low carbon intensity (~21) and a moderate EUI (50), but its tower pulled wind down to its base, producing the least comfortable ground plane and the least noise-shielded courtyard. Daylight favored the thinner forms; P2's deep plate produced the darkest interior faces.
My Recommendation: Proposal 1 moves forward, as suggested primarily by the wind analysis. In Dogpatch, height is a liability: the tower caught the wind and delivered it to the sidewalk. Low-rise, compact massing that stays near the scale of its warehouse neighbors lets the wind pass over, while the building itself becomes the windbreak. P1's bars enclose a calm, quiet courtyard where artists can work, install and gather outdoors on a typical windy afternoon, and it achieves this at the lowest carbon per square foot. Issues for Week 3: at 112,032 SF GFA and 84% coverage, P1 exceeds the ~110,000 SF target and leaves too little open ground, which opening the courtyard to grade should fix. P3's carbon run used wood walls versus concrete for the others, so that comparison needs a matched re-run.
The Surprise: I wanted a unique building that would stand out, and expected the P3 tower to be that statement. The analysis disagreed: the tower performed worst at grade, while the form closest to its low, compact warehouse neighbors performed best. Dogpatch's buildings look alike largely because of their industrial origins, but that shape also suits this windy, exposed site.
Three massing images, one per proposal, from the same viewpoint.
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Proposal 3
