Project Name: 555 Mission
Firm: Hargreaves Jones
Credit: ©Kyle Jeffers, courtesy of Hargreaves Jones 
Credit: ©Kyle Jeffers, courtesy of Hargreaves Jones
The one-acre plaza’s genesis was tied to the development of the office building by Tishman Speyer Properties, as San Francisco mandates that new downtown buildings must include publicly accessible space.
The idea for the plaza in collaboration with KPF Architects was that it would be an extension of the building’s lobby and a generous civic gesture – with gardens, a green wall, seating grove, and public art. And, as a through-block plaza, it had the opportunity to promote daily activity as well as downtown culture. The entire plaza is over a garage and was designed for both day and night use with accent lighting throughout, including lighting panels in the plaza paving that glow at night and function as skylights during the day.
It is also home to three art installations including the popular ‘Moonrise Sculptures’ created by Ugo Rondinone set against the 30-foot green wall. The sculptural faces are from a series of twelve sculptures, each named after a month of the year. The three sculptures in the plaza are March, October, and December. The green wall is built entirely independently of the adjacent building podium wall and due to its series of planters, quickly matured into a lush vertical landscape.