Dakin Building

The Dakin Building is an architectural award winning class A office building on the San Francisco Bay in Brisbane, California. Serving as a corporate headquarters building for several companies of national prominence, it was built from the profits of the Garfield character whose licensed products of the R. Dakin Company soared in sales in the late 1980s. Located on Sierra Point, it became a landmark in the San Francisco Bay Area for its distinctive design and was nicknamed the Luke Skywalker building for its dramatic posture overlooking the bay, in contrast to its ominous looking neighbor office building that was nicknamed the Darth Vader building. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1800, 729 KB) Photograher took this photo in April 2006 and releases all rights I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1800, 729 KB) Photograher took this photo in April 2006 and releases all rights I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Office types Class A office space Back office Front office Mobile office Paperless office Serviced office Small office/home office Virtual office Class A Office Space describes the highest quality office space locally available. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... Brisbane is a small city located in the northern part of San Mateo County, California. ... Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis, featuring the cat Garfield, the pet dog Odie, and their socially inept owner Jon Arbuckle. ... Sierra Point is a small peninsula that extends outward into the San Francisco Bay, located in Brisbane, San Mateo County, California. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Luke Skywalker (born 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, portrayed by Mark Hamill. ... Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ...

Awards

Dakin Building viewed from the San Francisco Bay Shoreline Trail.

The Dakin building has won a number of architectural awards including an American Institute of Architects Design Excellence Award in the year 1992^[1]. According to the San Francisco Examiner the jury awarded this distinction to the Dakin building because "Its chief strength is the atrium, with its views of the San Francisco Bay and asymmetrical skylight". The same newspaper article noted that the building "houses executive offices, research and development facilities and product showrooms". Further in the same newspaper article, it is noted that the Dakin building was built over thick bay mud formations that are expected to subside up to ten feet by the year 2006; therefore, the main entrance ramp was built on a giant hinge to allow the earth to settle, while the building, resting on driven piles, remains stationary. The year 2006 has arrived, and indeed the flexibility in the ramp allowed the building to effectively "rise" above the land around it. However, the subsidence undermined the safety of the ramps causing structural damage to the concrete and opening up small crevice-like cracks in its connective fabric. Their angle eventually violated city regulations for disabled-person access and in October, 2006 the ramps were replaced with a composite design of stairs, disabled-access lift, and switchback ramps. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2808x1812, 954 KB) i took this photo in the spring of 2006 of the dakin bldg viewed from the sf bay shoreline trail, and i release all rights. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2808x1812, 954 KB) i took this photo in the spring of 2006 of the dakin bldg viewed from the sf bay shoreline trail, and i release all rights. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is the professional organization for architects in the United States. ... In Anatomy, atrium refers to a structure of the heart. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... The word skylight, when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language. ... The phrase research and development (also R and D or R&D) has a special commercial significance apart from its conventional coupling of scientific research and technological development. ... The word showroom has several distinct meanings including: A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, such as automobiles, furniture, carpet or apparel. ... Richardson Bay mudflats of are exposed layers of bay mud Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles. ...

In international design competition the Dakin building was awarded semi-finalist standing in the 1990 Quaternario Award, an international award for innovative technology in architecture^[2]. The American Institute of Architects 1990 article states that one of the bases for the international recognition is: “The two north facing atrium walls are faced entirely in glass... Due to the expanse of glass, the projecting atrium gives the impression of a greenhouse, creating the effect of extending the interior to an adjacent park and to the bay beyond”. In Anatomy, atrium refers to a structure of the heart. ...

The Quaternario judges focussed on the technological aspects of the fenestration design where window angles were calculated to minimize interior glare and reduce interior over-illumination, while at the same time reducing solar heat loading and subsequent demand for air conditioning as energy conservation techniques. The angled window projections effectively provide permanent sunscreens, obviating any need for interior blinds or shades. This cosmetics store has lighting levels over twice recommended levels and sufficient to trigger headaches and other health effects Over-illumination is the presence of lighting intensity (illuminance) beyond that required for a specified activity. ...

Ownership and history

The Dakin Building was constructed in 1986 under commission of the R. Dakin Company, one of the largest manufacturers of plush products (mainly teddy bears) in the United States at that time. Dakin was in a large upswing of sales and profits in the late 1980s fueled by success of its Garfield character licenses, and needed to accommodate its burgeoning staff of artists and designers. Not long after completion of the building, several of its company founding key executives were killed in a tragic small aircraft accident. Plush (from French peluche) is a textile fabric having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. ... Teddy bear Barrymans original cartoon A Teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear for children. ... Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis, featuring the cat Garfield, the pet dog Odie, and their socially inept owner Jon Arbuckle. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Designer is a broad term for a person who designs any of a variety of things. ...

In a financial and sales tailspin, the R. Dakin Company proceeded to sell this headquarters building to C. Michael Hogan, president of Earth Metrics Inc., an environmental research and consulting firm. Earth Metrics then moved into two floors of the building, as Dakin compressed its operations. At Dakin’s request , The Good Guys! were secured as a major tenant in 1992, and the new owner performed substantial tenant improvements of approximately $1,300,000, upgrading the computer room infrastructure and building an auditorium. Headquarters (HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are concentrated. ... A The Good Guys! retail store. ...

The Foster Company purchased the entire holding in 1995. The Foster Company is the successor entity of T. Jack Foster, a wealthy real estate magnate, for whom Foster City, California is named, since Foster owned and developed most of that San Francisco Peninsula city of population around 30,000.. Foster City is a planned city located in San Mateo County, California. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ...

Siting and physical design

The building is situated on a San Francisco Bay shoreline frontage parcel with almost one quarter of a mile of bay frontage. The eight acre parcel at Sierra Point has a commanding view of the central portion of the San Francisco Bay, the city of San Francisco, San Bruno Mountain and Candlestick Park. The Dakin Building is in proximity to the Sierra Point Marina and lies about four miles north of San Francisco International Airport. San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... Sierra Point is a small peninsula that extends outward into the San Francisco Bay, located in Brisbane, San Mateo County, California. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... San Bruno Mountain lies south of San Francisco, CA in San Mateo County. ... Monster Park (colloquially, The Stick or Candlestick, after its original name of Candlestick Park) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. ... FAA diagram of SFO SFO redirects here. ...

The underlying site was constructed from bay fill activities from 1965 to 1985, mostly consisting of construction debris from San Francisco. Aerial photographs prior to 1965 show this area to be tidelands of the San Francisco Bay. A clay cap was constructed over the debris prior to building approval^[3]. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Tideland is the third published book by author Mitch Cullin. ...

The building was designed by the well known architectural firm Munselle Brown Partnership Inc. of San Francisco as a Class A office building^[4]. The building was completed in the year 1986, commissioned by the Dakin Company, being constructed by the Koll company. It is entirely steel frame in construction supported by driven piles up to 140 feet in depth into the bay mud. A dedicated trail for hikers is established to conform to the San Francisco Bay perimeter master trail plan; large boulders and rip-rap are placed below the trail to prevent wave action erosion. The landscape architect for the original design was Royston, Hanamoto, Alley and Abey of San Francisco. Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An Ciara Danille Bowers is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Office types Class A office space Back office Front office Mobile office Paperless office Serviced office Small office/home office Virtual office Class A Office Space describes the highest quality office space locally available. ... Richardson Bay mudflats of are exposed layers of bay mud Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles. ... A country trail in Slovenia. ... A wave is a disturbance that propagates through space or spacetime, often transferring energy. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock and other particles) by the agents of wind, water or ice, by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms (in the case of... A landscape architect is a person, generally speaking, with an education, whether academic or practical, in landscape architecture and whose professional work conforms to the practice of the same name. ... Nickname: The City by the Bay; Fog City Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Area    - City 122 km²  (47 sq mi)  - Land 121. ...

The building itself is a five story design plus a penthouse, plus one subterranean parking level. The exterior features a skin that is an innovative all porcelain panel design, giving the appearance of shimmering in the sunlight or uplights by night; moreover most of the fenestration is slanted approximately 45 degrees from vertical, designed to reduce glare and enhance energy conservation, but also lending a futuristic effect. The gross floor area is approximately 119,000 square feet plus 21,000 square feet of underground parking and shipping /receiving rooms^[5]. Surface parking is provided for 266 vehicles. A penthouse apartment or penthouse is a special apartment on the top floor of a building. ... Subterranean can also refer to something below the Earths surface Subterranean was an album released by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames in 1995. ... It has been suggested that Porcelain tile be merged into this article or section. ... A window is an opening in an otherwise solid and opaque surface through which light and, sometimes, air can pass. ... Underground parking garage at the University of Minnesota. ... The Trikke is a Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) This article is about the means of transport. ...

The interior design features a soaring five story entrance atrium capped by massive skylight dome with forty foot wide laminated glass glazing panel, whose atrium footprint is almost 10,000 square feet. Other major interior elements are a state of the art auditorium and a large computer room capable of supporting a national corporation data center, both built by C. Michael Hogan, the second owner. Looking up inside the 32-story atrium of the Shanghai Grand Hyatt, part of the Jin Mao Building. ... An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ...

Role during Glasnost

During the Glasnost period, the Dakin building was a primary location central to development of relationships between Russians (then Soviet citizens) and Americans. Philanthropist Henry Dakin, chairman of the Dakin Company, was the catalyst in bringing numerous parties together from the Soviet Union and United States. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle^[6]: "During the late 1980s, as glasnost and perestroika led to the liquidation of the Soviet empire, the Dakin building was the location for a series of groups facilitating United States-Russian contacts. They included the Center for U.S.-U.S.S.R. Initiatives, which helped more than 1000 Americans visit the Soviet Union and more than 100 then-Soviet citizens visit the U.S." This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Poster showing Mikhail Gorbachev Perestroika ( , Russian: ) is the Russian word (which passed into English) for the economic reforms introduced in June 1987 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ...

The R. Dakin art collection

In the late 1980s the R. Dakin Company assembled a large collection of contemporary art from artists worldwide. The media included watercolor,oil painting, serigraph, lithograph, etching, collage, ceramic plate, sculpture and mixed media. These pieces were used to grace the interior of the Dakin Building, and were hung in literally all public areas, conference rooms, hallways and the atrium. The collection featured some well known artists and some rising artists, who were not well established at that time. Some of the artists featured are Jeff Glenn, tapistry artist; Barbe; Marachal; Heiliger; Marlatt; Frings; Dudley and Garber. When C. Michael Hogan purchased the building in 1990, he hung some of his art collection to add to the museum character of the building, including a well known suite of Roberto Matta. When Dakin left the building, Hogan purchased the bulk of the Dakin art collection. Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci La donna velata, painted in 1516, Oil on wood panel painting by Raphael Oil painting is done on surfaces with pigments that are ground and mixed into a medium of oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. ... Screen-printing, also known as silkscreening or serigraphy, is a printmaking technique that creates a sharp-edged single-color image using a stencil and a porous fabric. ... Lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface, as well as a method of manufacturing semiconductor and MEMS devices. ... Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos). ... why hello hello Sculptor redirects here. ... Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed. ... The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... Invasion of the Night, oil on canvas, 1940, SFMOMA. Roberto Sebastian Matta Echaurren (1911-2002), usually known as Matta, was one of Chiles best-known painters. ...

The Starwars saga

Darth Vader Building located near to Dakin Building

The Dakin building has been widely labelled^[7]the Luke Skywalker building due to its bold appearance of bright white porcelain panels and futuristic design, seeming to embody the concept of good. To complete the metaphor, the neighboring high-tech ominous looking building is dubbed the Darth Vader building, replete with its full reflective exterior of black smoke glass, emulating the inpenetrable visage of the evil counterpart. The April 17, 1986 San Francisco Chronicle article cited above notes: "Aesthetically [the Darth Vader building] is no match for Luke Skywalker’s happy white palace just a few hundred feet away, which has been an instant popular success. The newly completed building is headquarters for the R. Dakin cuddly toy company." Man and machine, Darth Vader was the most legendary of all Sith Lords. ... Man and machine, Darth Vader was the most legendary of all Sith Lords. ... Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ... Luke Skywalker (born 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, portrayed by Mark Hamill. ... It has been suggested that Porcelain tile be merged into this article or section. ... Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ... Aesthetics (or esthetics) (from the Greek word αισθητική) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... Headquarters (HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are concentrated. ...

According to the above San Francisco Chronicle article,: "The differences between the two buildings go far beyond ...architectural good versus evil. They show the choice between prepackaged architecture, in which individuals or even businesses are regarded as interchangeable, and a custom built home for a family controlled company that has been in the Bay Area for years." USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ...

Other trivia

Looking northwest over San Francisco Bay toward San Bruno Mountain. This arm of the bay is the location where Humphrey was rescued.

• Humphrey the whale is potentially the most famous humpback whale in history, having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice. This behavior is not normal for any Humpback whale, and Humphrey became well known on national television and press coverage for his misadventures in the years 1985 and 1989. In the 1989 misadventure of Humphrey, his dramatic estuarine rescue was conducted in the portion of San Francisco Bay directly in front of the Dakin building by The Marine Mammal Center. Humphrey is a member of the species Megaptera novaeangliae.

• In 1993 a Russian company, Vortex Development, entered into a purchase contract with Hogan to buy the vacant undeveloped parcel (The property contained a second sizable legal parcel, already subdivided under the R. Dakin ownership) to build a large Russian style hotel and conference center. Vortex completed the design of this edifice named “Russia House”, but Vortex defaulted on the purchase contract, and Russia House was never built.

• The front exterior entrance to the Dakin building originally featured a large stone sculpture of a teddy bear, hewn from natural stone. This bear became the hallmark of the high-tech building embodying the playful spirit of the R.Dakin designers and the avant-gard character of the building. The bear is designed in the manner of Benny Bufano by sculptor Judith Lord. When Hogan sold the Dakin Building in 1995, he retained ownership rights to the bear.

• At the Christmas season the building was historically topped with several illuminated stars approximately 70 square feet each in area, emulating a Brisbane annual tradition of lighted stars on buildings.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2808x1812, 729 KB) i took this photo in the spring of 2006 from dakin building looking northwest over a piece of sf bay and i release all rights to this photo I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2808x1812, 729 KB) i took this photo in the spring of 2006 from dakin building looking northwest over a piece of sf bay and i release all rights to this photo I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... San Bruno Mountain lies south of San Francisco, CA in San Mateo County. ... The open ocean is natural habitat to Humpback whales Humphrey the whale is arguably the most widely publicized humpback whale in history,[1][2] having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice, departing from his Mexico to Alaska migration. ... The open ocean is natural habitat to Humpback whales Humphrey the whale is arguably the most widely publicized humpback whale in history,[1][2] having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice, departing from his Mexico to Alaska migration. ... Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whale suborder. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... Release of rehabilitated pinnipeds into the Pacific Ocean The Marine Mammal Center is a private non-profit organization centered on rescue, rehabilitation, environmental research and education pertaining to certain species within the pinnipedia, carnivora and cetacea biological orders. ... Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whale suborder. ... The original Teddy bear (circa 1903). ... Statue of Sun Yat-sen by sculptor Benny Bufano in San Franciscos Chinatown St. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... Brisbane is a small city located in the northern part of San Mateo County, California. ...

References

Any piece of real estate can be the subject of a Phase I ESA. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is a report prepared for a real estate holding which identifies specific environmental contamination liabilities. ...

See also

• Porcelain
• Energy efficiency
• Solar design