355 11th Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Originally built in 1912, the renovated 3-story building at 11th Street in San Francisco has achieved LEED Gold Certification in the category of New Construction. The building is owned by Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders- a company specializing in green buildings, which bought 355 Eleventh and served as general contractor for the renovation project.

Gross floor area of the mixed-use project is 1300 square meters (or 14,000 square feet). The main characteristic feature of the building is its metal skin with small holes, the function of which is to bring fresh air into the building. Aidlin Darling Design created this “breathable” envelope. The designing team put the main accent on perforations of different sizes and use of panels where there aren’t any windows. The east and west walls are perforated and create a second skin which solves the problem of ventilation and reduces the solar heat at the same time. The renovation of the building was completed in September 2008, and Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders moved its offices to the building’s second floor.

By Astghik Atabekyan, www.building.am

Photos: www.aiatopten.org