140 New Montgomery

Completion/ 2014

Location/ San Francisco, California

Awards/ 2014 California Governor's Historic Preservation Award; 2014 California Preservation Award; 2015 AIASF Special Recognition Award for Historic Preservation

As part of the renovation for this 26-story Art Deco landmark designed by renowned architect Timothy Pflueger and built in 1927, GLS created a new courtyard and dining area.

Replacing a former service and utility court, the courtyard represents a vital addition to downtown San Francisco, especially given its adjacency to the extension of the Museum of Modern Art and the reimagined pedestrian passage running along Natoma Street. Bridging modern design with historic preservation, the new courtyard over a ground-level garage accommodates Yelp’s headquarters and two restaurants. The plantings, particularly the deciduous Gingko trees with their colorful leaves in the large main planter, provide a sense of the seasons, while fruit trees in the smaller planters provide fresh produce for use by the ground-floor restaurants. The stone pavers, benches and planter boxes offer casual seating and complement the courtyard’s urban setting. The Carrara marble walls provide a backdrop for the planting and hide mechanical equipment that forms part of the building’s modernized utilities.