GRAND OPENING: Good Tidings Foundation, Pier 9, San Francisco
Alameda, CA - Good Tidings Foundation has opened their corporate headquarters, designed by MBH Architects, in a space on Pier 9 on San Francisco’s bustling and beautiful Embarcadero.
Fourteen months ago, Bill Barulich, a member of the Board of Directors of the Good Tidings Foundation, approached MBH about interviewing for this project. He explained that although it was a relatively small project, this would be a very important step for an organization that did some really great work in the Bay Area.
MBH then met with Executive Director, Larry Harper to view the space and to hear the vision of Good Tidings for their new headquarters. The building was relatively small, 1,500 square feet, in a potential filled plot on Pier 9. MBH was so impressed with the organization and their philanthropic endeavors that they proposed to design the project pro-bono.
The space itself is almost a perfect cube so the volumetric aspect was something MBH wanted to take advantage of. Good Tidings wanted to have a space for the kids to paint as the backbone of the space. MBH created an entry foyer that also acted as a gallery, space for a private offices and a conference room along with the necessities (storage, small kitchen and a toilet room). The volume was utilized by placing the office and the conferences above in a mezzanine and the back of house functions were located directly below. The main workspace / gallery opens up with large storefront doors onto an existing wood deck and the San Francisco Bay beyond. Slick industrial light fixtures were chosen to hang in the workplace and a powerful sound system was integrated to give the area terrific kinetic energy. The final product is bright, straightforward and functional.
Initially the work of Good Tidings was focused on the needs of “underprivileged children at Christmas” and has since blossomed to include efforts on behalf of youth in education, recreation and the arts. Good Tidings Foundations is a 501-©-3 children’s charity that creates original projects and works in partnership with professional sports franchises, businesses and agencies throughout the Greater Bay Area, leveraging resources in order to increase access to enriching opportunities for deserving youth.
They design, fund and build all of their own projects which are maintained and programmed in perpetuity by school districts, recreation departments or city governments. Their general boundaries include the cities of Monterey; Salinas; Holliser; Los Banos to the south, Turlock; Modesto; Lodi; Davis to the east, and Bodega Bay; Santa Rosa; Calistoga to the north. Good Tidings believes that every child deserves to have the means to achieve his or her dreams regardless of financial status, ethnic background, religion, or region of living. It is the spirit of the Holiday Season that we look to emulate all year long. The Good Tidings Foundation was founded in January of 1995. For more information please see www.goodtidings.org
MBH Architects, is a diversified and multi-faceted practice, established in 1989 and employing 175 professionals with offices in Alameda and Newport Beach, California. As a comprehensive and service-oriented architectural firm, MBH embodies Design Excellence from the inception of the project through to its successful completion. The firm has designed and completed a wide range of diverse projects in the housing, hospitality, retail, restaurant, mixed use and planning industries. “It’s our people who make great places.” ®