John King

John King is a contributing editor to RECORD and former urban-design critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of Portal: San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities.

Studio Gang’s twisting new 39-story Mira residential tower.

The Future of San Francisco's Transbay District

John King

October 2, 2020

2 Comments

Tech offices are dark and storefronts are empty. But, as residential towers by Studio Gang and OMA show, the future of San Francisco’s new mixed-use district is planned for diversity and affordability.

Review of 'Ruin and Redemption in Architecture'

by Dan Barasch

John King

October 7, 2019

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This collection of architectural treasures lost and salvaged illustrates the possibilities of how older buildings can be repurposed.

St. Mary's Student Chapel by Mark Cavagnero Associates

Albany, California

John King

June 5, 2019

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A serene, meditative sanctuary beckons to young people on the campus of a private Catholic high school in California.

The Housing Crisis in Oakland

John King

October 1, 2018

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Despite a wide range of initiatives, this diverse city in the booming Bay Area still struggles to preserve its affordability.

Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

San Francisco

John King

March 7, 2018

One Comment

An art school in San Francisco carves a new space for itself from the shell of an army warehouse.

Welcome to My House: Multifamily Housing

From superblocks to revamped office and industrial spaces to new structures that combine supportive and market-rate housing, home takes on a whole new meaning in the 21st century.

John King

September 1, 2016

No Comments

Visit any prosperous city these days, particularly in the U.S., and here’s what you’ll see: an abundance of housing on the rise.

Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston

At once history lesson and labor of love, this book explores how 1960s Boston came to be a showcase of unapologetic, often superscaled masonry modernism.

John King

March 1, 2016

No Comments

At once history lesson and labor of love, this book explores how 1960s Boston came to be a showcase of unapologetic, often superscaled masonry modernism.

Commentary: Criticism Needs Time, as a Second Look at Thom Mayne's San Francisco Federal Building Shows

John King

January 1, 2015

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During any given week, I’m told, 100 or more design buffs take self-guided tours of the San Francisco Federal Building (SFFB) by Pritzker Prize'winning architect Thom Mayne.

Technology and the City: San Francisco

John King

October 16, 2013

No Comments

Nerd Alert: A new wave of developments in San Francisco show the danger of betting the urban future on high-tech. Every decade or so, an economic boom roils San Francisco. Self-appointed arbiters of cultural taste in this progressive and parochial city declare that gentrification is the most insidious urban danger of all. News flash! Our City will be trampled by newcomers who don't share Our Values. Photo © Shae Rocco San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (foreground, center), Forest City Vice President Jack Sylvan (foreground, right), and others bike through Pier 70. Plans for the site call for food trucks, farmers'

San Francisco Design Forum Features "Ocean's Eleven" of Urban Experts

John King

January 17, 2013

No Comments

At a time when the notion of omniscient master architects is seen by many critics as passé, a day-long design conference in San Francisco suggested that the concept remains in vogue with the wider public.

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 ICC CEU; 1 PDH

Explore façade retrofit strategies and award-winning design concepts that can transform aging office buildings into healthier, higher-performing workplaces for today’s hybrid workforce.

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 ICC CEU; 1 IIBEC CEH

Evaluate advanced PVC solutions that improve fire resistance, support WUI compliance, and enhance resilience in residential and commercial building design.