Ghirardelli Gears Up for an Italian-Inspired Restaurant from Jonathan Waxman

The restaurant aims to appeal to tourists and a locals alike.

Ghirardelli Square is heating up, with an influx of new tenants designed to restore it to the vibrant destination it once was. Not only will it be the destination of a full-service restaurant from local favorite Le Marais, but it will be the location of Berkeley-native Jonathan Waxman's first foray into the San Francisco dining scene.

His new project, slated to arrive in fall of 2015, will focus on the Italian-influenced style that has made him one of the pioneers of "new California cuisine." According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the chef is planning a 110-seat dining room, with an accompanying 30-seat patio in the Mustard Building. There will also be an 80-seat self-service cafe, likely designed to cater to the busy stream of tourists passing through at any given time. However, Waxman wants to appeal to locals, as well as tourists, offering a menu he describes as "earthy, rustic and authentic," with plenty of fresh pasta, grilled and roasted meats and pizzas.

This is not the New York chef and restaurateur's first foray into the Bay Area dining scene, though it is his first San Francisco endeavor. In fact, Waxman took over the kitchen of Chez Panisse after the departure of Jeremiah Tower, before heading South to open the career-launching restaurant Michael's in Santa Monica. In the early '90s, he returned to open Napa's Table 29 (now Bistro Don Giovanni), followed by the now-shuttered West County Grill in Sebastopol in 2007. He is also still very present in New York, with the impending reopening of Jams in the fall, and his flagship restaurant, Barbuto.

It will be an interesting journey to revitalize Ghirardelli Square, which, though currently lacking in inspiring dining options, is home to some of the best views in the city. All parties involved seem confident that the historic landmark can bounce back as the worthwhile destination it once was. Stay tuned for more details they become available.

Article and images sourced from http://sf.eater.com/2015/6/23/8833839/ghirardelli-square-jonathan-waxman-san-francisco

Five New Gallery Shows To See This Summer

photo via Charity Cardiasmenos

From street art to fine art, here are five upcoming exhibits you just can't miss.
The Axylum Gallery: The Art Social
The new Axylum Gallery in Oakland opened its doors only two short months ago with the mission of showcasing the East Bay's up-and-coming illustrators, photographers, artists, and everything in between. So far, the incubator space has hosted two exhibits, including works from illustrator Nam MacNguyen, photographer Charity Cardiasmenos, and graffiti artist PRIDE. Next month, the gallery will host an Art Social, its third installment, on July 10 at 5pm. Stop by to meet some of the freshest faces of the East Bay art world.  //  3071D International Blvd., Oakland, theaxylum.com

Hashimoto Contemporary: John Wentz "Imprints"
Located in the heart of downtown San Francisco, the Hashimoto Contemporary gallery is a hub for large-scale interactive art, and the space never fails to impress the legion of fans who flock to Sutter Street every month. Currently, Hashimoto is hosting John Wentz' Imprints. A reflection on process and abstraction, Wentz’s latest series of paintings pokes holes in the structure of the classic portrait by exploring a visual breakdown of information. The show is on display until June 27, so make sure to swing on by.  //  804 Sutter Street, SF, hashimotocontemporary.com

Christian Daniels Gallery: Urban Landscapes
High atop Russian Hill, Christian Daniels Gallery is revered as the foremost contemporary realism gallery in the city. The elegant gallery hosts only a select number of painters who have truly mastered their technique. Now showing, Urban Landscapes is a joint show of five different artists exposing the many views of day-to-day SF. The show will be up until July 25, in case you want to make it part of your day.  //  950 Leavenworth Street, SF, christiandanielsgallery.com

Paul Thiebaud Gallery: Eileen David "Recent Paintings"
With locations in both SF and New York, Paul Thiebaud is one to reckon with. Hosting regular talents such as David Fertig and Stephen Coyle, this gallery knows the best of the best. Showing June 16, Recent Paintings by Eileen David explores the artist's painting process, while showcasing everything SF, from the city streets to beautiful acrylic skylines. // 645 Chestnut St., SF, paulthiebaudgallery.com

The McLoughlin Gallery: Moving Images
The McLoughlin Gallery will be debuting their collective show, Moving Images, on June 18, at 6pm. The McLoughlin showcases art that speaks to social, mental, and physical issues regarding technology and the modern world. In Moving Images, the intersection of tech and art is explored through pieces that incorporate social and interactive media. // 49 Geary Street, Suite 200, SF, mgart.com

Article and images sourced from http://www.7x7.com/culture/5-new-gallery-shows-see-summer

How Julia Morgan Gave California Women Space for Leisure

[The Roman Pool at Hearst Castle, designed by Julia Morgan. Photo via Getty Images.]

For much of her professional life, California architect Julia Morgan was on the move, scaling the scaffolding of her projects, traveling up and down the state each week to visit construction sites. Responsible for over 700 buildings, she worked long hours at her firm's office in the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco. In her spare time, she enjoyed hiking the hills near her vacation home in Monterey, outpacing her niece and nephew well into her 70s. Ironically, many of Morgan's most inspired spaces are ones of great peace and leisure. Working with a group of socially conscious women, Morgan helped change the landscape of urban building. She would spend much of her career creating elegant, efficient communal living spaces for many people, from working class city girls to one of the richest men in the United States. Julia Morgan was born to a wealthy family in San Francisco in 1872 and grew up in a large Victorian home in nearby Oakland, graduating from Oakland High School in 1890. In an age when the vast majority of women did not go to college, Morgan enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley. Already set on becoming an architect, inspired in part by a relative who practiced in New York, she majored in civil engineering. Even more uncommonly for a woman of her time, she lived in her sorority house instead of at home. Here, she got her first taste of institutional living and the freedom and companionship that came with boarding with her contemporaries. "Living at the sorority house helped cut the apron strings," explains Morgan scholar and historian Karen McNeill. "She could focus just on her schoolwork and not have to go home and have domestic responsibilities."

Encouraged by her instructor, the architect Bernard Maybeck, Julia moved to Paris after graduation to study at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where she was the first woman ever admitted. For her first year in Paris, she lived at the strict American Club for Girls, a home dedicated to "vulnerable"(i.e. young and single) American female artists. "It was perfect for the first year because it helped her transition into this foreign place," says McNeill. But soon "she realized she wanted to entertain and break away from the rules and constraints of such an environment." In 1902, Morgan received her certificate of completion from the Ecole. In 1904, she became the first woman licensed to practice architecture in California.
Morgan came on the scene as wealthy women were asserting their power through social welfare projects all around the country, and in Morgan they found the perfect partner. In the 19th century, women's groups had mostly repurposed existing buildings for social institutions. At the beginning of the 20th century, their industrial-capitalist husbands began dying, leaving the women the money for new buildings. These widows also took a much more active role in public life, working on the front lines of campaigns to raise additional funds. "Morgan had that fire and that spark and determination of her own," McNeill says. "That was then fostered by this confluence of women, institutions, and money all coming together in urban building to make that really the core of her career."
California women in general, and Julia Morgan in particular, had no bigger champion than the socialite Phoebe Hearst. Now known mainly as the mother of William Randolph Hearst, she was a tireless benefactress to not only UC Berkeley, where she gave Morgan one of her first commissions, but of the Young Women's Christian Association. The YWCA, which originated in Britain, came to the U.S. in 1858. Local YWCAs worked to provide safe housing, training, and recreational opportunities for the thousands of women flooding American cities during the first half of the 20th century. With her experience as a young woman in the big city and her ability to build elegant, complex structures relatively cheaply and in a variety of styles, Morgan would work happily on various YWCA projects for two decades.

[Merrill Hall at Asilomar. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.]

Julia's first big commission for the YWCA was Asilomar, the organization's national conference center. Phoebe Hearst donated 30 acres of beachfront property in Pacific Grove, California. Over 16 years beginning in 1913, Morgan designed 16 rustic buildings on the property. Done in a minimal Arts and Crafts style and utilizing California woods and rocks, the "buildings really blend into the landscape, and you really get that sensibility of a love for the environment," McNeill says. According to biographer Ginger Wadsworth, Julia strived to "make the center a retreat where members could rest and renew their spirits." Here, women—who many still believed should remain sedentary and indoors—slept in Morgan's ingenious tent houses and laughed together around floor-to-ceiling fireplaces in spacious common rooms. Today, Asilomar is California's second most popular state park, after another Morgan creation, Hearst Castle.
In 1913, Morgan also began the Oakland YWCA, the first of numerous local YWCA chapters she was to build, including ones in Pasadena, Riverside, Fresno, Hollywood, San Francisco, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and her personal favorite, Honolulu, Hawaii. She also designed many non-YWCA women's clubs and residences, including the exquisite Berkeley Women's City Club, the Phoebe Hearst Memorial Gymnasium for Women, and two versions of her old sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. She drew on her own experiences living in a sorority and boarding house, as well as input from young women. Women who boarded with her at her home in San Francisco in later years would remember her coming into their rooms and making polite inquiries about their design choices and needs.

[Two views inside the Berkeley City Club. Photos by Hadley Meares.]

Morgan's belief that women paying nominal fees to live in these residences should have more than just a bed and basin often put her at odds with the powers that be. Women on the boards of the organizations for which Morgan built "were very much entrenched in the class system," McNeill says, "so they didn't feel the need to create entertainment opportunities—that's just fostering sin. But Morgan had been there" as a young woman and respected the residents' requests for kitchen and entertaining spaces. So she put in cheap, reliable Pullman kitchens, normally used on trains.
A board member on one project recalled that Morgan "wanted…to have a room where the girls could do sewing…and have a little beauty parlor, and could do their laundry…the next time we were together she planned these rooms…She just quietly did what she wanted to do." When members of the YWCA in Chinatown asked for a gym where they and their children could exercise and play sports safely, Morgan built them a beautiful gym that doubled as an auditorium. And although she probably never learned to swim due to inner ear problems, she became a master builder of innovative, elegant pools that were expressions of women's expanding freedom. In 1934, Morgan would tell a correspondent, "I have 22 pools now in operation and have come to some quite definite conclusions." Among those conclusions, McNeill says, is that the pools and recreational spaces were among the most important aspects of the YWCAs. The women "wanted to be free. And the clothes they had to wear—think about how freeing a pool would be even in those heavy, hot bathing costumes."

[The Neptune pool at Hearst Castle. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.]

Julia Morgan would design grand recreational areas for a totally different kind of client through her work with William Randolph Hearst. If Phoebe Hearst was Morgan's fairy godmother, then W.R. was her scheming, dreaming little brother. The two shared a great love of the natural wonders of California and adventurous natures. Throughout the 1920s, Morgan worked on Hearst's San Simeon and various YWCA projects concurrently—and the two complemented each other. Both generally required changing rooms, lockers, and spaces that comfortably fit large, boisterous groups. With Hearst, Morgan constantly had to contend with a new piece of ancient Greek sculpture or an entire medieval European room that he had bought. Rather than being exhausted by Hearst's never-ending acquisitions and ideas, she was inspired by them. At San Simeon's Hearst Castle, Morgan created two of the most breathtaking pools in America. The massive "Neptune pool," considered by many architects to be "the most sumptuous swimming pool on earth," was built with Vermont marble around an ancient Roman temple facade. The exquisite indoor "Roman pool," inspired by the Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy, is covered in exquisite smalti glass tiles of deep blue, orange, and fused gold.

[The pool at the Berkeley City Club. Photo by Hadley Meares.]

Morgan closed her practice in 1951. She died in 1957. In December, the American Institute of Architects posthumously awarded her its 2014 Gold Medal, making her the first woman to receive the award. Morgan herself would probably take pride in the fact that many of her structures are still used for a variation of their original purpose. On a recent visit to the Berkeley City Club, members swam in the beautiful lap pool, read in the peaceful library, and conversed in the center courtyard. Julia Morgan increased the quality of life for thousands of people, from the working class to the country's elite. But every night, she went to sleep in a spare room on a plain cot. In Dr. McNeill's words, "She wasn't really in it for herself."
—Special thanks to Dr. Karen McNeill

Article and images sourced from http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/20/how_julia_morgan_gave_california_women_space_for_leisure.php

Developer Commits to Funding a New Home for the Mission Arts Space He's Displacing

When a proposal for 274 new rental apartments along Bryant Street in the Mission was announced last year, it looked nearly certain that the current tenant, the arts space Inner Mission SF, would shut its doors forever. Instead, Inner Mission SF—formerly known as CELLspace—worked with the site's developer, Nick Podell, to find a solution that would allow the arts hub to survive. Podell will "substantially subsidize" Inner Mission SF's move to a new space either in the Mission or a nearby neighborhood and will also financially support its operations for five years, according to an announcement by Inner Mission SF. The group says Podell has also agreed to increase the number of below-market-rate units in his Bryant Street project above the legal requirement and to provide retail space to galleries and artists within the building.

The proposed rental building at 2000-2070 Bryant Street. Renderings via BDE Architects.

Inner Mission SF currently provides studio and rehearsal space to 120 artists and musicians and also runs an art gallery and theater space. Faced with the loss of their storefront and the inability to pay rent at a new location, co-owners Eric Reid and Mike Gaines decided to get creative. First they discussed lobbying for legislation to require a "Cultural Impact Review" for new developments in San Francisco that would require developers to protect or replace space for businesses that are deemed "legacy arts and cultural centers." They realized that the legislation would take too long to save Inner Mission SF, so they approached Podell himself for help.

"Podell felt so strongly about our presentation that he and his partners decided to substantially invest in the future of Inner Mission SF and the preservation of the San Francisco art scene," Gaines said in a statement. Gaines and Reid say they are continuing to work on the legal language and parameters for a potential Cultural Impact Review measure, but do not have to rely on it to save Inner Mission SF.
A Planning Commission hearing is scheduled for July 2, and if the development is approved, the deal will move forward. Approvals would also mean that a new residential building designed by BDE Architects will take up nearly an entire block on Bryant bounded by Florida and 18th Street. It will bring new rentals, 151 parking spaces, and 4,300 square feet of retail.

Article and images sourced from http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/06/18/developer_commits_to_funding_a_new_home_for_the_mission_arts_space_hes_displacing.php

 

Smitten Ice Cream Now Offering Its Crazy Cool Treats in Pac Heights

It's the latest outpost of the rapidly expanding local chain.

Smitten Ice Cream has opened its fifth Bay Area location in Pacific Heights, delivering sweet, flash-frozen treats just in time for the first day of summer.

The petite 900 square-foot shop, which takes over the former CopyNet space directly next to Pizzeria Delfina, offers six of Smitten's patented Brrr^Tm machines to churn up creamy, fresh ice cream on demand. Designed by Brooklyn-based Hecho, the small space has a distinctly nostalgic theme, including lights made of old milk crates and benches crafted out of Radio Flyer® wagons (the same models that owner Robyn Sue Fisher used to sell her first scoops on the streets of San Francisco). 

And in a tribute to Smitten's origins, the ice cream bar is built of corrugated metal to evoke images of t company's first (and still wildly popular) shop in a shipping container in Hayes Valley.

For opening weekend, they're putting their churners to the test by offering free ice cream to fathers all day on Father's Day (June 21). And since it's also the first day of summer, the first 100 people to hit up the new store on Sunday will snag their own free cone, offspring not required.

Check out their menu of flavors for launch, which includes the seasonal strawberry white balsamic and old favorites Blue Bottle espresso, fresh mint chip, TCHO 60.5% chocolate and classic vanilla. The new store is open 12 p.m.-10 p.m. daily.

Smitten Ice Cream

2404 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

 

Images and article sourced from http://sf.eater.com/2015/6/18/8808313/smitten-ice-cream-san-francisco-pacific-heights-open 

Graham shines in S.F. Opera’s epic ‘Trojans’

There was an abundance of delights to savor in the huge production of Berlioz’s “The Trojans” that opened Sunday afternoon at the San Francisco Opera, with five hours’ worth of sumptuous music, elaborate spectacle and epic vision. But the one that will stay with me longest and most piercingly was the performance of mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Dido, the Carthaginian queen pulled back into love almost against her will and then betrayed by the demands of empire.
On a day that saw Graham receive the San Francisco Opera Medal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her debut with the company, she marked the occasion with one of the most powerful showings in her long history on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House — a tour de force of vibrant vocalism and searing theatricality.
Dido (or Didon, in Berlioz’s French libretto) comes into view only midway through the work’s five-hour epic sweep, after the Trojans have seen their city torched by the victorious Greeks and Aeneas has escaped to make his way to Italy and establish the Roman empire. The newly founded city of Carthage is just a way station on his path to glory.

Rage, resignation
But Dido asserts herself as a character with all the force of a queen and a lover, and Berlioz’s magnificently expressive writing tracks her course in inimitable strokes — from the inner conflict that informs her early scenes as a ruler, to the rapture of her all-too-brief romantic idyll with Aeneas, and finally to the combination of vindictive rage and tragic resignation of her abandonment.
All of that and more came through in Graham’s arresting performance. Her robust vocal tone sounded practically unweathered, and as rich in color as ever. In duets with the bright-toned, tireless tenor Bryan Hymel, making his company debut as Aeneas, and with the lustrous mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as her sister Anna, Graham provided lush and impeccable partnership.
And in the last act, when she has to hold the audience spellbound through the sheer emotional potency of her singing, Graham rose to the occasion with unbridled virtuosity. The tragic downfall of this regal character has rarely seemed so galvanic.
Under other circumstances, a performance like this would have been enough to carry an entire operatic production. Yet “The Trojans” — which has not been performed at the San Francisco Opera since 1968 — operates on such a monumental scale that Dido’s fate is only one part of a large and sprawling undertaking.
In adapting Virgil’s “Aeneid,” a work for which he maintained a lifelong passion, Berlioz took the opportunity to draw on everything he knew about music and theater. The score boasts a wealth of ingenious orchestral inventions, both subtle and grandiose, and an enormous cast. It includes ballet interludes and choruses, intricate polyphonic ensembles and exquisitely direct solo vocal writing. The music is rich in thunderous effects and detailed tone painting.
It is also, at least to this taste, a bit blocky in its dramaturgy; each episode comes with its own sonic proscenium, as it were. A listener simply takes that as a premise of the performance, and grants Berlioz the license to toss in a pair of lascivious sentries, say, for no other reason than that he feels like it.

Runnicles’ return
Sunday’s performance dodged that issue in large part because of the welcome return of former Music Director Donald Runnicles, whose work in the pit evoked wonderful memories of his command of expansive form. The orchestra sounded fantastic under his leadership, with surging, tumultuous string textures and impeccably pointed playing from the woodwinds (no one works the woodwinds like Berlioz). And the canny ebb and flow of individual scenes and entire acts served as a testament to Runnicles’ overarching mastery.
The afternoon’s other noteworthy return was that of soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci, whose performance as Cassandra marked the first of her two assignments with the company this summer. (She’ll return to the War Memorial on Saturday, June 13, to create the central role in the world premiere of Marco Tutino’s “Two Women,” ceding the part of Cassandra for two performances to Michaela Martens.)

Antonacci, who has not sung here since 1998, gave a riveting account of the character — the only one among the Trojans who foresees the doom that will come from the wooden horse the Greeks have left outside the city gates. If her repertoire of twitchy gestures and loony eye rolls seemed a bit outsize for their purpose, there was no denying the intensity and fervor with which she conveyed the character’s plight, or the vocal majesty she brought to the assignment.
In a work that is as much about the clash of nations as about individual personalities, the chorus carries much of the dramatic weight, and Ian Robertson's Opera Chorus, joining their voices in full-throated splendor, filled that role splendidly. From the besieged and increasingly terror-stricken Trojans of the first acts to the optimistic Carthaginians singing the praises of their queen, this was a vigorous and multi-faceted performance.
Scattered throughout the afternoon were other contributions of nobility and grace. Christian Van Horn gave a muscular performance as Dido’s minister Narbal, tenor René Barbera sang sweetly in his set piece as Dido’s court poet Iopas, and tenor Chong Wang, an Adler Fellow, brought down the house in Act 5 with a remarkably soulful and beautiful rendition of the homesick lament of a young sailor.

Vast panoramas
David McVicar’s production, a co-production with Covent Garden, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera directed here by Leah Hausman, captures the extravagance of Berlioz’s conception in vast scenic panoramas. Troy is a shadowy pile of metal and fortifications just waiting to be turned into rubble, Carthage an open, sun-drenched expanse that forms a pointed contrast. The Trojan horse itself — a sort of scary steampunk cousin to the title character in the Broadway hit “War Horse” — would be counted a small miracle of stagecraft if not for the fact that it’s enormous.

San Francisco Opera: “The Trojans,” through Wednesday, July 1, War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., S.F. $96-$384. (415) 864-3330. www.sfopera.com.

Article and images sourced from http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Graham-shines-in-S-F-Opera-s-epic-Trojans-6314477.php#photo-8088835

Cow Hollow Home with 'Ladies Who Lunch' Vibe Asks $9.995M

There are no white walls or flat fireplaces to be found within the big five-bedroom home at 2828 Divisadero Street in Cow Hollow. The house, which just came on the market asking $9.995 million, is instead filled with fancy wallpaper, molding painted in pastel hues, and carved fireplaces. The old-fashioned vibe isn't, however, the work of an owner who has had the place for decades, as is often the case in homes like this. The house just sold back in 2008 for $7 million, and it does have modern conveniences to go along with its fancy, old-fashioned feel.

The home's best features are the twisting, delicately ornate staircase through its center and fantastic views across the city and the bay. The are multiple terraces from which to take in those views and a lovely green backyard. The whole place has a bit of a "ladies who lunch" feel, but it mostly works. That said, given the propensity of high-end homes in San Francisco today to tend toward sleek and white, there's a good chance that these floral interiors will be on their way out when the home sells.

• Article and images sourced from http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/06/15/cow_hollow_home_with_ladies_who_lunch_vibe_asks_9995m.php?utm_campaign=issue-37773&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Curbed+SF

Randall Museum Closed For Renovation, Animals Moving To Mission Art Center

After 64 years of science, nature, and craft exhibits, the Randall Museum closed its doors to the general public on June 1st. It will return in fall 2016, after an extensive update and modernization. 

The Randall, perched adjacent to the the craggy peak of Corona Heights Park and run in a public/private partnership overseen by San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department, was awarded nearly $6 million for facilities upgrades through a 2011 Nature Education Facilities Program grant from the California Department of Parks. Non-profit Randall Museum Friends (RMF), which supports the Randall by "providing strategic private-sector leadership, fundraising, and administration for museum programs," is raising an additional $2.5 million, and is 85 percent towards its goal.

Founded in 1937 as “The Junior Museum,” and occupying a former city jailhouse on what is today the campus of San Francisco City College, the museum was spearheaded by Josephine Randall, who earned a master’s degree in zoology from Stanford University in 1910. With a lifelong passion for both animals and education, Randall became the first Superintendent of the Recreation Department for the City of San Francisco in 1926. She held the position for the next 25 years, increasing the department’s recreation facilities from 22 to over 100 and working to create educational opportunities and nature retreats for children.

The dramatic view of downtown SF from the museum’s 16-acre lot.

Randall also oversaw the 1947 campaign for a $12 million Recreation Bond, which authorized more than 50 projects citywide, including the museum. It opened in 1951, and was dedicated Josephine D. Randall Junior Museum by then-Mayor Elmer E. Robinson. Designed by architect William Merchant, the Randall is considered an influential precursor of modern museums, with ramped circulation that promotes inclusion. Its interdisciplinary youth programming made it the one of the first and most successful of the children’s museums in the Bay Area.

The Golden Gate Model Railroaders Club’s HO scale train set, which has over 600 feet of track and features scale depictions of regions visible from actual California Railroads.

These days, the museum features live animal exhibits (with over 50 species of rescued animals), a ceramics studio, a wood shop, a model railroad (housed at the museum since 1961 and managed by the Golden Gate Model Railroaders Club), and classrooms. In 2003, the Randall underwent a modest $2.3 million update to add new outdoor spaces, including, an art patio, an observation deck, gardens, and a small amphitheater for group gatherings.

In 2012, the museum also gained a new installation, “Windswept,” on its western facade. Designed by artist Charles Sowers, it's a mesmerizing array of alloy arrows that map the wind’s movement as it traverses the building’s exterior.

"Windswept" by Charles Sowers.

Now, 12 years after its first facelift, the Randall is ready for a more rigorous refresh of its facilities. In addition to structural and seismic upgrades, the museum's primary goals include ADA compliance and accessibility, as well as more dynamic spaces for interdisciplinary learning, making, and building. The live-animal exhibits will become more thematic and representative of the ecologies present in the Bay Area, and a more fluid connection between the museum and its 16-acre natural surroundings will be made possible by opening floor plates and reconfiguring the museum’s central courtyard. The renovation and reconfiguration will be a partnership between local architectural firms Pfau Long Architecture and Kuth Raineri Architects, who beat out seven other contenders for the bid. 

A Dionaea muscipula, or Venus Flytrap, on display as part of the Randall's live plants exhibits. While not native to California, the plants are fan favorites among the museum’s young visitors.

To complement its new look, the Randall also has ambitious new programming goals. "We want to add programs aimed at slightly older children (12- to 16-year-olds),” says Traci McCollister, the Development Director for the Randall Museum Friends. "[We want] to ramp up our STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] education programs; to double the number of students participating in field trips to the Randall [currently 10,000 visitors per year]; to add outdoor education to our mix of offerings. We are also considering the installation of an ‘Energy Garden,’ an outdoor exhibit that will showcase renewable energy opportunities.”

Many of the new spaces will be created through reconfiguration and reprogramming, rather than adding new ground-up construction. “The programmable space will increase by 30 percent within the existing footprint,” says McCollister. For a museum in a space-poor city, that is no small feat.

A current classroom at the Randall, which has limited natural light.

"The Randall has always set itself apart from other Bay Area science education institutions by emphasizing learning through ‘making’ or ‘building,'" says Randall Museum director Chris Boettcher. "Students are not taught to reach pre-determined answers, nor are they limited to manipulating fixed exhibits. 'Learning by Doing' is still alive and well at the Randall, and the same principles apply to adult programs as well as programs for younger visitors,” said Boettcher. “Many adults are engaged in jobs that have 'virtual' products, so they welcome the opportunity to work with natural raw materials or explore traditional crafts like ceramics or hand-tool woodworking.”

The grove, a sculptural tree wall, is a new space envisioned for the Randall. Rendering courtesy of Randall Museum Friends.

According to Boettcher, the new Randall will have eight major components:

1. The Main Lobby, which will be improved to welcome visitors and showcase changing exhibits
2. The Garage, a brand new STEM lab which will feature hands-on experimentation opportunities with state-of-the-art technological tools
3. The Natural Sciences Lab, an expanded and renovated space which will encourage visitors to look deeper into nature using the scientific method
4. The Buckley Redwood Room, which will host a variety of groups and special events (revenue will be re-invested in programming)
5. The Grove, a sculptural tree wall which will house raptors in its branches and showcase specimens and artifacts
6. The Randall Room, which will provide a revitalized space for large group classes, field trips and summer camps
7. Café Josephine, the Randall's first-ever food offering. The plan is to serve healthy, affordable fare, so that visitors can stay longer and have more enjoyable visits.
8. The Ceramics Lab, an enlarged and refurbished ceramics studio that will offer more varied classes in a more expansive environment

A rendering of the new science lab. Rendering courtesy of Randall Museum Friends.

The museum is also building with the future in mind. “Our goal is to update our project-based learning opportunities for the 21st century, by creating a dedicated STEM learning environment in The Garage," says Boettcher. “Programs in The Garage will bring our approach to direct learning experiences to the new digital domain, adding the power of computers and microprocessors while retaining the immediacy of hands-on learning. Once The Garage is established, we plan to include teacher-training workshops in our program menu.”

A Randall Museum employee tends to the museum’s barn owl, which was found with broken wings. All of the animals in their live animal exhibits have been rescued. 

Though the Randall Museum won't return until the fall of 2016, its staff will continue to offer programming in various other venues around the city. "We are currently in discussions to pilot The Garage programming at iHangar, a new incubator space in the Palace of Fine Arts," says Boettcher. However, the museum's biggest renovation project will be the move of its 100+ rescued animals to the Mission Art Center (745 Treat Ave.), with exhibits opening to the public on July 1st. The Randall will hold Saturday drop-in science and art classes at Mission Art Center during the summer, with a more robust schedule of classes and field trips set to debut in the fall.

The museum’s low-slung, mid-century modern buildings were designed by William Merchant in the 1940s.

“The move to the Mission Art Center was motivated by a desire to bring our programs and the live animal collection to an underserved community,” said Boettcher. “We expect to leave most of those programs at the Mission Art Center when we return to the Randall after the renovation.”

Article and images sourced from http://hoodline.com/2015/06/randall-museum-closed-for-renovation-animals-to-move-to-mission-art-center