2024 Vitruvian Design Competition
Architect: SHoP Architects
Quezada Architects
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Façade Engineer: Heintges Consulting Architects & Engineers P.C.
Main Contractor: Truebeck Construction
Designed by SHoP Architects, Uber’s new global headquarters was built to accommodate up to 3,000 employees in San Francisco’s rapidly developing Mission Bay area. In addition to supporting responsible development by locating the project near public transportation, the project aimed to bring this developing area into step with the successful, human-scaled environments which characterize San Francisco but which were largely absent in Mission Bay.
The active “breathing” facades are part of a comprehensive approach to sustainability for the project, consisting of two buildings inked together with glass bridges spanning over a publicly accessible garden at street level. The key building design features relative to the facade are the multistory atria, referred to as “the Commons,” a striking network of vertical circulation and gathering spaces. The Commons bring the life of the building into view with the life of the street, and vice versa, and allow views of the living city to serve as a continual inspiration for the creative work taking place inside.