In San Francisco, developers who want to build big projects are required to make space available to the public as part of their planning permission. Some of the most beautiful spots in town are in these privately owned public spaces. But you’d be hard-pressed to discover their existence, as many of them are hidden away with tiny, obscure signs announcing them, and in some cases, you have to sign in with a guard to get to them. Writing on SFGate, John King lays out the problem and suggests some solutions:
The solution: pull back the addition’s 11th floor to tuck in a terrace that also maintains views from the west of the 1906 landmark’s regal mansard roof.
The result is unique, a vantage point of the sort that until now was available only to penthouse dwellers or corner-office executives. The space itself is amply outfitted with benches and planters.
The problem, again, is knowing that it exists.
The 1985 plan states that when public spaces are located within or on top of buildings, “their availability should be marked visibly at street level.” But because the guidelines are so vague, it’s easy to fulfill their letter but not their spirit.
That’s true of One Kearny’s hideaway. By placing the sign at knee level – and making it less than 5 inches wide – the likelihood of outsiders finding their way to the roof is almost nil.
At another recent space, the enclosed plaza included as part of the Millennium Tower, the exterior sign is brushed metal. But at 6 inches square, it’s too easy to miss.
Compare this with the signs required for similar private-but-public spaces in New York City. The city’s planning code requires signs to be “12 inches square in dimension and dark green or black in color with a highly contrasting background,” with “lettering at least two inches in height stating ‘OPEN TO PUBLIC.’ ”
Privately owned public spaces: Guidance needed
(via JWZ)