The Most Beautiful Contemporary Buildings In San Francisco

Ever stare at a building and try to guess its age? Some may appear to be quite obviously from a certain decade, while others take a little more analyzing. Just so you don’t have to keep guessing, here is a guide to San Francisco’s most beautiful contemporary buildings.

1. JPMorgan Chase Building

Building

The JPMorgan Chase Building was designed by Cesar Pelli, from the firm Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, in 2002. The firm puts into play a combination of both modern and classical elements to make this beautiful office building. At 31 stories, the boxy building is 420 feet high and has 655,000 square feet of office space. There is also a large POPOS plaza at the base of the building, and two levels of underground parking.

2. La Cocina

Building, Museum

Since 2005, the community kitchen La Cocina has been dedicated to helping people, especially immigrant women, start their own restaurant or food business. The idea behind this non-profit is for La Cocina to provide the tools and the resources for low-income food entrepreneurs. Located in the Mission, La Cocina’s building is beautiful, but does not take away from the other buildings and culture surrounding it. Along with La Cocina, the three townhouses behind the kitchen incubator are also designed by Paulett Taggart Architects, opening to a small courtyard.

3. De Young Museum

Building, Museum, Park

Although the De Young Museum was originally built in 1894 for the California Midwinter International Exposition, the building was deemed unsafe in 1929 and was subsequently demolished in the 1940s. From there on, the art that was displayed at the De Young Museum was transported and could be viewed at several locations throughout the year, eventually necessitating a more permanent solution: the current building now in Golden Gate Park. The De Young Museum was designed by Swiss architects Herzon & de Meuron and was built in 2005. Blending art, architecture, and nature, the De Young Museum’s copper building is the sixth most visited art museum in North America and the 35th most visited in the world.

5. Plaza Apartments

Building, Theater

In 2006, the nine-story Plaza Apartments were built in SOMA and designed by Paulett Taggart Architects. The apartment complex is a mixed-use building, providing not only 106 small studio apartments each with their own bathroom, but also a laundry room, community rooms, a rooftop patio, retail stores, a community theater, and support services. The playful yellow and red plywood façade sits in the framework created by the building’s concrete structure.

6. California Academy of Sciences

Museum, Park

The Long-necked Apatosaurus - Welcome to the California Academy of Sciences During COVID-19

Right across from the De Young Museum is the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum which takes a different approach to how it fits into its environment — Golden Gate Park. While the De Young Museum emerges from the greenery surrounding it with its copper-clad structure standing tall, the California Academy of Sciences blends in with its environment, hidden under its green rooftop. In 2008, the California Academy of sciences was redesigned by Renzo Piano, giving the museum its infamous green roof.

7. The Infinity

Building, Theater

Completed in 2009, The Infinity is a combination of two high-rise towers and two eight-story plazas. Bernardo Fort-Crescia of the firm Arquitectonica designed the apartment skyscrapers with a modern approach that still feels warm and inviting on the inside. It goes without saying that the views from the top are absolutely breathtaking and are highlighted by the building’s curving shape. There is also a two story club lounge, a theater, a rooftop terrace, a fitness center, and a large pool.

8. SFMOMA Expansion

Museum, Store, Building

Set to open on May 14, 2016, SFMOMA’s Expansion is stunning to look at; we can only imagine how great it will be inside. To meet the demand for more space, the new building was designed by Snøhetta and will have free galleries on the ground-level for the public, better visitor circulation, and a rooftop sculpture garden.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.