-By AnnMarie Marano, Photography by Tim Griffith

The 45-year-old Charlie Sava Pool was tired, falling apart, and overtaken by rust and rot. And the city of San Francisco had no money for maintenance, leaving public buildings such as this one beat up from heavy use. A new building was in order, and this time, San Francisco-based architects Mark Cavagnero Associates decided to take advantage of all the area had to offer.

"The salt air and wind are really harsh," Mark Cavagnero says of the new building site, which is very close to the ocean. "My goal was to make the building really durable. The inner and outer air is hostile, and the city didn't have the money to maintain it. So we wanted a concrete building."

And concrete it was, although some areas had to be value engineered out of the project. "The architectural grade concrete is very specialized work. It has to be done right or it doesn't look good," explains Toks Ajike, project manager for the city of San Francisco. A subcontractor with a great deal of experience in working with the material was brought in. Change orders were kept low and on schedule, allowing everyone to work seamlessly together. "We did our design work well, but in the public sector you have to have the contractor be a partner in that commitment, and they really stepped up," says Cavagnero.

As the eight-lane pool serves a number of groups, including two high schools, recreation programs, and training for the fire department, it was imperative that it be maintained and "last us another 50 years," says Ajike.

According to Paulett Taggart of San Francisco-based Paulett Taggart Architects, who was responsible for the interior architecture and systems, "lasting" meant simple interiors that could withstand the chlorine exposure in the natatorium (pool area) space. Cedar wood slats cover acoustical material, and handcrafted blue ceramic tiles create an enclosure for the pool equipment. Roof panels allow for air ventilation and can monitor natural daylight. The design team wanted the natatorium to feel like an indoor/outdoor space, so most of the detailing served to try to make it more inviting.

The new building faces south, allowing the large glass wall in the natatorium to provide swimmers with views of Stern Grove. The wall's vertical metal mullions are irregularly placed, which is deliberate, according to Cavagnero, so that it did not feel like bars on a prison. The former building faced 19th Avenue, an arterial road that was almost hostile for pedestrians. "We wanted to get away from the highway and take advantage of views to the south and the beautiful landscape," Cavagnero says. "The building is very specifically designed for that site."

According to Ajike, the height of the building also fits in well architecturally with the surrounding one-story homes. "This is a simple yet elegant building," he says. And with a number of requirements to fulfill, and vendors and contractors that often don't work together, simple seems to be the way to go in the public sector, particularly in the city of San Francisco. But Cavagnero says he lucked out. Although the city had been left short funded, they were still able to value engineer the project so the architecture wasn't terribly compromised. "Sometimes, you don't get people who really believe in the project," he says. "But when you do have those people, it makes all the difference."



who
Project: Charlie Sava Pool. Client: City and County of San Francisco. Architect, interior designer: Mark Cavagnero Associates & Paulett Taggart Architects. Structural engineer: Bello and Associates. Mechanical engineer: SJ Engineers. Electrical engineer: FW Associates. General contractor: West Bay Builders. Lighting designer: Auerbach Glasow French. Acoustician: Charles Salter Associates. Photographer: Tim Griffith.

what
Paint: ICI Paints. Flooring: Bomanite. Ceiling: Stretched French Ceiling. Lighting: Insight, Kenall. Dry wall: Durock Cement Board. Doors: Solid Core. Door hardware: Von Duprin, Schlage. Window frames/wall systems: US-ALUM. Window treatments: MechoShade. Reception desk: custom with Corian countertops. Architectural woodworking, cabinetmaking: Port Orford Cedar wood slats, custom cabinets by Y+D cabinet shop Signage: custom designs by Davis Sign Company. Lockers: Columbia Lockers. Acoustic materials: Noise STOP. Tile: Dal Tile, Heath Ceramic Tile.

where
Location: San Francisco, Calif. Total floor area: 16,400 sq. ft. No. of floors: 2. Average floor size: basement= 1,800 sq. ft.; 1st floor= 14,600 sq. ft. Total staff size: 3.