288 Pacific
San Francisco
Best Project

Owner: Grosvenor Americas
Lead Design Firm: Handel Architects
General Contractor: Swinerton Builders
Civil Engineer: BKF Engineers
Structural Engineer: Nishkian Menninger
MEP Engineer: Bay City Mechanical Inc.
Waterproofing Consultant: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
Glazing Contractor: USGA


The $44.6-million 288 Pacific, a seven-story luxury condominium, incorporates thin-brick cladding that blends with surrounding masonry buildings. It includes the historic brick-veneered Old Ship Saloon, which the L-shaped 288 Pacific surrounds. In addition to systems designed for LEED Gold certification, the building offers 33 market-rate units with high-end finishes and balconies, at-grade and below-grade parking with car stackers and retail space at street level.

Challenges included a tight, historic project site and inflated construction and labor costs. The project team addressed cost issues with value engineering and prefabricated components, including metal framing and drywall corners that reduced material waste and labor costs. Extensive use of building information modeling served as the basis for refining plans and helped in designing precise onsite and offsite mock-ups that allowed the team to identify potential issues prior to construction. In one instance, crews conducted an 18-point test on an exterior mock-up that included water, air, negative pressure, wind-driven rain, upward and downward movement and deflection. The analysis uncovered a quality issue with the windows, prompting the manufacturer to modify the design.

Swinerton self-performed drywall, doors, frames and hardware, residential casework, finish carpentry and millwork. The project team completed 288 Pacific on time and on budget, with a near-zero punch list.


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