SF New Developments

from SF Business Times - J.K. Dineen

With all but a handful of units spoken for in phase one of the 656-unit Infinity, developer Tishman Speyer has started building the second tower.

The sales office for it will be in the first tower and will include two full-blown model units. After a design competition sponsored by Dwell magazine, Tishman has tapped two architecture teams to design the interiors of the model units.

The jury picked San Francisco architects Edmonds + Lee, along with Cupertino-based Tammy Tran, Jessica Lui, and Kelly Lin, to design the model units.

Contestants, who worked within a budget of $75,000, were asked to submit a design proposal for one of three varied floor plans, with the challenge of bringing to life the vision expressed by architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica in collaboration with local firm HellerManus.

The two winners had similar themes: Edmonds + Lee called their design “Urban Retreat”; the other was dubbed “City Escape.” For the two-story, three-bedroom “Urban Retreat,” husband and wife team Robert Edmonds and Vivian Lee used dark oak floors and a palette of natural materials and colors to intensify the feeling of distance from the city.

“We were trying to intensify the experience of being in the city but also separated from it,” said Edmonds. “You’re on the 28th floor in a quiet, serene place in the middle of the city.”

Tishman Speyer Managing Partner Carl Shannon called the competition, “great for designers and great for the building.

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