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San Francisco Facts

Population 825,111 (2013)
Area 232 km² • 90 mi²
150m+ Buildings 26 Completed • 1 Under Constr.
300m+ Buildings 1 Completed
Tallest Building Salesforce Tower (326 m)
Global Ranking #45 in the world by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
Regional Ranking #7 in North America by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
Country Ranking #6 in USA by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
First 150m+ Building 44 Montgomery (1967)
Average Building Age 31 years
Most Common Function Office , 63%
Most Common Material Steel , 73%

All building-related facts are for 150m+ buildings.

Buildings See All Buildings in City

1   Salesforce Tower 2018 326 m
2   Oceanwide Center Tower 1 2021 277 m
3   Transamerica Pyramid Center 1972 260 m
4   181 Fremont 2018 247 m
5   555 California Street 1969 237 m
6   345 California Center 1986 212 m
7   Millennium Tower 2009 197 m
8   The Avery 2019 188 m
9   Park Tower at Transbay 2018 185 m
10   One Rincon Hill South Tower 2008 184 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Completed   Arch. Topped Out   Struct. Topped Out   Under Constr.
1   542-550 Howard Street - 246 m
2   5M Development - N1 Tower - 143 m
3   5M Development - H1 Tower - 133 m
4   1481 Post Street - 127 m
5   555 Howard - 127 m
6   One Oak - 122 m
7   655 4th Street - 122 m
8   Central SOMA Tower - 107 m
9   Mission Rock Building A - 77 m
10   33 Gough St. - 77 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Proposed
1   Salesforce Tower 2018 326 m
2   Oceanwide Center Tower 1 2021 277 m
3   Transamerica Pyramid Center 1972 260 m
4   181 Fremont 2018 247 m
5   542-550 Howard Street - 246 m
6   555 California Street 1969 237 m
7   345 California Center 1986 212 m
8   Millennium Tower 2009 197 m
9   The Avery 2019 188 m
10   Park Tower at Transbay 2018 185 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Completed   Under Constr.   Proposed

Building Function More Charts

Based on 27 Buildings Over 150m Height

 

Structural Material More Charts

Based on 26 Buildings Over 150m Height

 

Building Completions Timeline (Last 50 Years, 100 m+) Create Your Own Timeline

 
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CTBUH Initiatives

2019 Tall Building Predictions for the Year to Come
22 Jan 2019 – CTBUH News

2018 Tall Building Predictions
17 Jan 2018 – CTBUH News

CTBUH Beijing Hosts Innovative Building-Making Presentations
20 Sep 2017 – Event Report

More Initiatives

CTBUH Initiatives Related to San Francisco

2019 Tall Building Predictions for the Year to Come
22 Jan 2019, Chicago – CTBUH News
Check out our monthly predictions based on our industry intelligence to see what trends and milestones will shape the industry in the year to come!
2018 Tall Building Predictions
17 Jan 2018, Chicago – CTBUH News
Check out all of our 2018 Tall Building Predictions, and dive into the full 2017 Tall Building Year in Review data report.
CTBUH Beijing Hosts Innovative Building-Making Presentations
20 Sep 2017, Beijing – Event Report
CTBUH Beijing hosted the Innovative Building-Making presentation at Arup’s Beijing office, where industry experts discussed the design of some of their most innovative projects.
Top 12 Happenings of 2016, Month-by-Month
19 Dec 2016, Chicago – CTBUH News
Check out the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's top stories of 2016 for each month and take a look ahead with the Council’s monthly predictions for 2017.
San Francisco Regional Tour
29-30 Oct 2015, San Francisco – Tour Report
CTBUH 2015 delegates toured San Francisco and its architectural marvels, from new construction to old historic buildings.
CTBUH San Francisco Hosts Capacity Crowd for Transbay Discussion
3 Jun 2014, San Francisco – Event Report
A panel discussion featuring the two tallest buildings in San Francisco, Salesforce Tower and 181 Fremont Street, was attended by approximately 125 people.
CTBUH S.F. Holds Panel On Livability/Walkability in Urban Design
24 Oct 2013, San Francisco – Event Report
A panel comprised of experts from the public and private sectors lead a discussion on issues within the changing landscape of living and working in San Francisco.
S.F. Dir. of Planning Moderates Panel Discussion on Densification
14 May 2013, San Francisco – Event Report
More than 100 guests attended a panel discussion focusing on densification, specifically the challenges affecting San Francisco, the second densest city in the US.

Videos

Interview: Maria Ciprazo & Eui-Sung Yi | San Francisco Federal Building
31 May 2018 – Maria Ciprazo, General Services Administration; Eui-Sung Yi, Morphosis

A Towering, Bold Statement About Government’s Relationship with its People and the Environment
30 May 2018 – Maria Ciprazo, General Services Administration; Eui-Sung Yi, Morphosis

Interview: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
31 Oct 2017 – Fred Clarke, Aïcha Woods & Mark Shoemaker, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

More Videos

Videos Related to San Francisco

Interview: Maria Ciprazo & Eui-Sung Yi | San Francisco Federal Building
31 May 2018 – 2018 Chicago Tall + Urban Conference Interviews; Maria Ciprazo, General Services Administration; Eui-Sung Yi, Morphosis
Maria Ciprazo, Director of Design and Construction of the General Services Administration, and Eui-Sung Yi, Principal pf Morphosis, are interviewed by Chris Bentley…
A Towering, Bold Statement About Government’s Relationship with its People and the Environment
30 May 2018 – Presentation at CTBUH 2018 Chicago Tall + Urban Conference; Maria Ciprazo, General Services Administration; Eui-Sung Yi, Morphosis
To support the GSA’s commitment to incorporating energy efficiency and sustainability, the team proposed a design based largely on energy reduction through natural…
Interview: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
31 Oct 2017 – 2017 Australia Conference Interviews; Fred Clarke, Aïcha Woods & Mark Shoemaker, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Fred Clarke, Aïcha Woods & Mark Shoemaker of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects are interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2017 CTBUH Australia Conference.
Innovations in Building Performance and Resiliency: Pin-Fuse Seismic Systems
3 Nov 2016 – CTBUH "15th Annual Awards"; Mark Sarkisian, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Rupa Garai, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Throughout history, it has been proven time and again that the simplest innovations can often offer the greatest and widest ranging impact. This is certainly the case of…
The Largest Megacity in the World: Assessing the Urbanization of the Pearl River Delta
17 Oct 2016 – Presentation at CTBUH 2016 China Conference; Peter Kindel, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
With the world’s urban population expected to increase by roughly 2.5 billion people by 2050, developing an understanding of megalopolises is critical to understanding…
Urban Open Space - A Tower in the Park and a Park in the Tower
26 Oct 2015 – Presentation at CTBUH 2015 New York Conference; James Goettsch, Goettsch Partners
In urban centers dominated by tall buildings, access to outdoor space is important. We will explain how two urban office building developments provide valuable outdoor…
Life Cycle Analysis: Are We There Yet?
16 Sep 2014 – Presentation at CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference; Donald Davies, Magnusson Klemencic Associates
To help advance Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for building systems, this presentation reviews the history and state of LCA practice in the U.S. from a structural engineering…
Embodied Carbon in Our Future Cities
16 Sep 2014 – Presentation at CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference; Mark Sarkisian, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Innovative planning for cities of the future is essential. Cities are the solution to responsible habitation as issues of the environment gain increasing importance. Even…
San Francisco: Promoting Tall Buildings Through Sustainable Incentives
3 Mar 2008 – Presentation at CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress, Dubai; Jeffrey Heller, Clark Manus & Craig Nikitas, Heller Manus
Jeffrey Heller & Clark Manus, of Heller Manus, talked about San Francisco as an interesting and prototypical example of what is and will be happening to important second…

Browse hundreds of other videos from Council events including conferences and interviews with prominent tall building professionals in the Video Library

Research Papers

How to Reduce Bird Strikes on High-Rises?
Jan 2020 – CTBUH Journal 2020 Issue I

The Global Tall Building Picture: Impact of 2018
Jan 2019 – CTBUH Journal 2019 Issue I

Debating Tall: Landscrapers vs. Skyscrapers
Apr 2018 – CTBUH Journal 2018 Issue II

More Papers

Papers Related to San Francisco

How to Reduce Bird Strikes on High-Rises?
Jan 2020 – CTBUH Journal 2020 Issue I; Dan Piselli, FXCollaborative
In cities across North America, collisions with glass buildings result in up to one billion bird deaths each year. In New York City alone, it’s estimated that between 90…
The Global Tall Building Picture: Impact of 2018
Jan 2019 – CTBUH Journal 2019 Issue I; CTBUH Research
In 2018, 143 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed. This is a slight decrease from 2017’s record-breaking total of 147, and it brings the total…
Debating Tall: Landscrapers vs. Skyscrapers
Apr 2018 – CTBUH Journal 2018 Issue II; Amy Webb, New York University; Julian Chen, Henning Larsen Architects
What does the office of the future look like? The leading tech industry giants all seem to agree the main goal is “connectivity” that forges collaboration and ideation.…
A Tall Building Ethos of Integration
Mar 2018 – International Journal of High-Rise Buildings Volume 7 Number 1; Brian Lee, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
The last decade has seen great design opportunities for tall building construction around the globe. The best designs represent a new generation of skyscrapers that go…
Empirically Evaluating the Livability Of Local Neighborhoods and Global Cities
30 Oct 2017 – CTBUH Journal, 2017 Issue IV; Christian Derix, Lucy Helme, Fabio Galicia & Alexander Kachkaev, Woods Bagot
CIVITAS is a search engine for urban conditions, developed to allow stakeholders to identify qualities of livability and urban experiences that suit their tacit desires…
Birds, Planes and Bio-Blitzes
8 Aug 2017 – CTBUH Journal, 2017 Issue III; Jeanne Gang, Studio Gang Architects
Having designed the 262-meter Aqua in Chicago, which completed in 2009, Jeanne Gang, principal and founder of Studio Gang Architects, received considerable attention for…
The Largest Megalopolis in the World: Assessing the Urbanization of the Pearl River Delta
17 Oct 2016 – Cities to Megacities: Shaping Dense Vertical Urbanism; Peter Kindel, Ellen Lou & Lingyue Anne Chen, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
With the world’s urban population expected to increase by roughly 2.5 billion people by 2050, developing an understanding of megalopolises is critical to understanding…
The Inevitability of Global Adaptation: Eastern and Western Developers Practicing Internationally
26 Oct 2015 – Asia & Australasia: A Selection of Written Works on the World's Tall Building Forefront; Samuel Luckino & Peter Brannan, Arquitectonica
For architecture and engineering firms serving development clients who build large-scale urban projects in various corners of the world, the effort is often facilitated…
Urban Open Space - A Tower in the Park and a Park in the Tower
26 Oct 2015 – Global Interchanges: Resurgence of the Skyscraper City; James Goettsch, Goettsch Partners
In urban centers dominated by tall buildings, access to outdoor space is important. We will explain how two urban office building developments provide valuable outdoor…
Sustaining a Historic High-Rise Structure
Feb 2015 – CTBUH Journal, 2015 Issue I; Nina A. Mahjoub, Megan Stringer & Bill Tremayne, Holmes Culley
One of the tallest seismic retrofits in North America was undertaken in the heart of San Francisco. The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company headquarters was an…
A LEED Platinum Global Model for Vertical Urbanism
16 Sep 2014 – CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference Proceedings; Jeffrey Heller, Heller Manus Architects
Every key aspect of sustainable urbanism is incorporated and integrated into the tallest mixed use, LEED Platinum tower on the west coast of North America, 181 Fremont.…
Sustainability with a View
16 Sep 2014 – CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference Proceedings; Susanna See, WSP
All truly great outcomes are the result of collaboration. In a building’s life cycle, collaboration between designers, owners, builders and users can result in improved…
Evolving Technology for Design and Construction of Tall Concrete Structures
Mar 2008 – CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress, Dubai; Hanns U. Baumann, Baumann Research and Development
With the placement of over 2000 metric tons of single piece Welded Reinforcement Grid confinement reinforcement in a sixty-story building in San Francisco, California USA…
San Francisco: Promoting Tall Buildings Through Sustainable Incentives
Mar 2008 – CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress, Dubai; Jeffrey Heller, Clark Manus & Craig Nikitas, Heller Manus Architects
The past decades have shown some major changes in our urban settlements. The globalization of our societies and economies has brought change to cities. This inevitable…
The South of Market Area (SOMA) San Francisco: From Dross to Gloss
Feb 2001 – CTBUH Journal, Spring 2000; Carol C. Georges, International Architectural Consultant
A large area of downtown San Francisco adjacent to the Financial District, usually called SOMA (the South of Market Area) is undergoing a transformation that appears to…

Browse hundreds of other papers published by CTBUH members on a range of multi-disciplinary subjects in the Research Papers Library