2. Design & aesthetics, SCALE & DENSITY
CCA’s website states that “(t)he designs for CCA’s campus expansion in San Francisco reflect a model of environmental sustainability…” and “show(s) a connection to CCA’s long and rich history, as architects drew inspiration from materials used on the Oakland campus, its connection to the outdoors, its greenery, and its sense of community.” Further, they are envisioning a “state-of-the-art design by (a) renowned architectural firm…” In contrast, this is not what UBA saw in CCA’s plans for their Oakland campus. Here is an image from their original proposal:
UBA thought that Oakland could do better than what was originally proposed for the development of the California College of the Arts Oakland site. Why settle for something that replicates an anonymous 19-story glass and steel business park or downtown? Because Oakland has already met its goal for market rate housing, let’s make the CCA site a cornerstone of our affordability strategy in one of the City’s most walkable neighborhoods. Isn’t a beautiful, dense, and affordable residential neighborhood what Oakland wants?
UBA advocates for a design that is congruent with the historic fabric - older architectural styles, largely Arts & Crafts in design, and the highest buildings on larger boulevards at a maximum of 6 stories (75’.) The example of the new residential towers at the MacArthur BART station illustrates how discordant featureless Modernist architecture appears in a neighborhood of mixed older styles; vast areas of highly reflective glass and grey, featureless planes of steel create a ‘dialectic between the old and the new’ that is more argument than conversation. With a few dissenters, the community consensus that UBA has heard is that it is an eyesore. Nineteen stories at Broadway near the top of College Avenue will be another eyesore. We believed that Oakland deserves better.
There is no imperative for new structures to lack architectural interest or to totally ignore surrounding aesthetics; new structures need not have craftsman wooden brackets to be appropriate for Rockridge - but should have a comparable level of fine detailing and interest. There is no reason that the new buildings can’t be modern, larger, and more imposing than surrounding buildings while also being respectful of and harmonious with surrounding building styles.
“The quality of an urban environment depends on the design quality of individual buildings and how buildings relate to one another. A successful building is distinctive and contributes to the best qualities of the existing urban environment. ..guidelines regarding the elements of a good design: composition, high quality construction, and durable and visually interesting materials as well as relating to the existing context.”
