SAN FRANCISCO, CA - This vertical showroom for Audi of San Francisco subverts the standard auto mall paradigm of an architectural island surrounded by a sea of parking. By contrast, this vitrine for the celebration of the automobile packs a tiny lot in the center of the city's bustling Mission District. Display showrooms on the upper floors sit level with an adjacent elevated freeway, celebrating the few opportunities in which cars fly above the urban streets below. As such, it's far more than a display case for the merchandise: it offers a new way to see the city through the lens of the automobile.

Throughout the construction process we provided a close support role for all the detailing and quality control, working as liason between the general contractor and Audi's corporate design oversight team. Given the demanding site constraints there was even less margin for error than usual, meaning tight tolerances had to be maintained. To compound matters, a complex fast-track schedule and inflexible completion deadlines made for a frenetic pace. These difficult circumstances made it particularly critical for us to sustain tight internal quality control procedures and exceptionally-fast turnaround times.

A curving "roadway wall" evokes the banked asphalt of the autobahn and test track.

A curving "roadway wall" evokes the banked asphalt of the autobahn and test track. All photos by David Wakely, Copyright 2016