The Main Campus building design is an elegant, forward thinking civic presence for the City of South San Francisco. The signature glass-enclosed three-level structure unifies three important program functions into a single building: Library, Parks & Recreation, and the City Council Chamber.
At the February 26, 2020 City Council Meeting, the Project’s Architect SmithGroup, presented the continued design advancement of the exterior skin of the building. The presentation included explanation of how the clean and minimal façade of mullionless sheets of glass, is butt-glazed to provide a crisp modern solution. Through careful solar heat gain studies and analysis, ceramic frit in different intensities is employed on the glazing to control the effects of direct sunlight as well as views into the building and views out of the building.
The approximately 80,000 square foot building accommodates a larger Main Library, and expanded Parks & Recreation facility, and a dynamic City Council Chamber, that can also serve as a community performance venue. The design development of the City Council Chamber was also presented and reviewed. The combined program, with shared civic amenities, will create an inviting atmosphere for the City’s residents. The Campus will also include an approximately 1.3-acre public park that will be programmed for use by visitors of all ages. The project offers visitors an experience that is engaging and memorable. There will also be access improvements, including surface and structured parking, bicycle parking, and Centennial Trail to encourage a variety of transportation modes.
The project’s design and character reinforce South San Francisco’s values of connectivity, transparency and inclusion. The honest expression of the building’s steel structure nods to its past, as "The Industrial City". The building’s airy, translucent facade reveals the building’s many opportunities for discovery, learning and play, and gives patrons beautiful views to Sign Hill and the San Bruno Mountains. At the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue, the sculptural form revealed within the three-story glass enclosure, is an iconic presence, emphasizing the vision of South San Francisco’s future as a nexus of innovation.