Foundry Square Building III
The Foundry Square Development in San Francisco’s Soma neighborhood comprises four mid-rise office buildings with large, open floorplates, expansive fenestration and groundfloor retail, one block from the new Salesforce Transit Center. WSP USA provided MEP engineering for all four buildings, and lighting design for Building III. Building II, home of WSP’s San Francisco office, currently holds the highest score in the country for a LEED EB O&M Platinum building.
The lighting design reinforces the connection to the building's exterior plaza by highlighting and nurturing a majestic green wall that occupies the entirety of the south and west elevations of the lobby. North and east elevations are framed with floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing pedestrians and vehicular traffic an unfettered view into this "green room."
Lighting provides an even wash of light on the plants and definition and focus to animate the depth of the plating material. At the same time, it provides illumination sufficient to promote growth of the plant life. This was achieved within the strict confines of a minimal ceiling and providing superior visual comfort.
The only other lighting in the lobby is dedicated to the lighting of the sculpture from dimmed LED sources. Balancing illumination with daylight was achieved through an addressable dimming control system to respond to photocell and time-clock functions. The control strategy also serves the flexibility of the space to function as a venue for special office functions and parties.
