In San Francisco, the mixed-use St. Regis tower rises 42 stories in one of California’s most prestigious urban real estate venues. The St. Regis is home to an elegant five-star hotel, luxury condominiums, and the new Museum for the African Diaspora. With distinctive geometries and multitextured, multicolored, precast concrete skin, this graceful tower was completed in 2005 and offers four levels of subterranean parking with a total enclosed area of 677,658 f2t (62,954 )m2. In this article, the authors discuss the design solution, the unusual and challenging aspects of producing and erecting the precast concrete and glass skin that cloaks the tower, and the integration of a historic 1907 building for this important San Francisco landmark structure. The details of creating multiple colors, textures, and intermeshed planes for the precast, preglazed concrete wall panels are revealed; in particular, the authors articulate the development of the “woven cloth�? pattern and translucent appearance of this vibrant cultural center, now the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the United States in Seismic Zone 4.
