430 California

If you’ve been to San Francisco, you’ve likely seen the historic building at 430 California. The office tower was developed in 1965, while the bank branch was constructed in 1908 and is currently the 3rd building on San Francisco’s Designated Landmark List.

UEI worked closely with the designer to help realize their design intent.

The two main design drivers were to show how the building has changed and to give a sense of verticality inside the elevators. We used photo-interlayer glass on the back wall. Each of the eight elevators displays a different photo, providing a historical time-stamp as the building evolved throughout the years.

Mirrors in the corners and ceiling give a sense of verticality and create the illusion of extended height in the space. The textured side wall panels balance out the glass and also provide verticality.