Blu Dot (Valencia Street)
2013
Collaboration is the hallmark of Blu Dot’s design process: the design of the facade was joint effort drawing from the talent and expertise of our firm, Blu Dot’s own designers, and the metal fabricator. The perforated metal screen was an idea from the outset since the original building had a large “forehead” above a standard storefront below. The original structure had an entrance in the middle and a poorly conceived fire exit at one side.
The store fits both the scale and pulse of Valencia Street without drawing too much attention to its architecture. The idea was to create an honest building with a contemporary timestamp simply inserted into one of San Francisco’s oldest, but most eclectic neighborhoods.
STATUS:
Built
CLIENT:
Blu Dot
SIZE:
5,000 SF
LOCATION:
560 Valencia St, San Francisco
AWARDS:
2014 AIA SF Excellence in Architecture Citation
SPACER
The metal screen was fabricated from stainless steel sheet by a Bay Area fabricator, also an architect. Details were carefully worked out in consultation with the fabricator in order to ensure a crisp, well-tailored result. We provided the computer files used to fabricate the panels. Although a building is a bit larger than a typical furniture piece, the assembly of the facade was approached in a similar manner. The new butt-glazed storefront was intended to be a transparent plane allowing views into the interior and reflections back onto the street.
Copyright: Office of Charles F. Bloszies, 2024