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The Dakin Building is an architectural award-winning class A office building on the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...
in
Brisbane, California Brisbane (pron. , unlike Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) is a small city located in California in the northern part of San Mateo County on the lower slopes of San Bruno Mountain. It is located on the southern border of San Francisco, on t ...
. Serving as a corporate headquarters building for several companies of national prominence, it was built from the profits of the
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the t ...
character whose licensed products of the R. Dakin Company division of Applause Toys soared in sales in the late 1980s. Located on Sierra Point, it became a landmark in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
for its distinctive design and was nicknamed the
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
building for its dramatic posture overlooking the bay, in contrast to a neighboring office building with a dark, ominous appearance that was nicknamed the
Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
building.


Ownership and history

The Dakin Building was constructed in 1986 under commission of the R. Dakin Company, one of the largest manufacturers of
plush Plush (from French ) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or ...
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
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...
s and
designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
s. Not long after completion of the building, several of the company founding key executives were killed in a light aircraft accident. In a financial and sales tailspin, the R. Dakin Company proceeded to sell this
headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
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. Foster Enterprises purchased the entire holding in 1995. Foster Enterprises 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 The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Al ...
city of population around 30,000. The Dakin Building and an adjoining building at 5000 Marina were sold in December 2005. The current tenant is Sangamo Therapeutics, who announced they would move to the site in 2017. Prior to Sangamo, the building served as the headquarters of Walmart Global eCommerce from approximately 2000 until 2010, when the eCommerce headquarters moved to San Bruno. The property is owned by Westport Capital Partners, managed by
CBRE Group CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reve ...
, and marketed as Marina Landing alongside the neighboring building at 5000 Marina Blvd. 5000 Marina is leased to
Ultragenyx Ultragenyx is an American biopharmaceutical company involved in the Research and Development of novel products for treatment of rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases for which there are typically no approved treatments and high unmet medical need. ...
.


Role during Glasnost

During the
Glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
period, the Dakin building was a primary location central to development of relationships between
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
(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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. As reported by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'': "During the late 1980s, as glasnost and
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
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 400 then-Soviet citizens visit the U.S."


Siting and physical design

The building is situated on a San Francisco Bay shoreline frontage parcel with almost of bay frontage. From above, the building plan resembles an isosceles right triangle; the base of the triangle faces the bayfront to the north and has the large glass atrium protruding from its center, and the equal-length sides face to the southwest and southeast. The circular penthouse is near the apex formed by the two equal-length sides. The parcel at Sierra Point has a commanding view of the central portion of the San Francisco Bay, the city of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
San Bruno Mountain San Bruno Mountain is horst fault block mountain located in northern San Mateo County, California; with some northern slopes crossing over into southern San Francisco, it is also surrounded by San Francisco Bay and the cities of Brisbane, Colma ...
and
Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco, San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point, Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Gi ...
. The Dakin Building is close to the Sierra Point Marina and lies about north of
San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middl ...
. 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. The Dakin building was built over thick
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 gla ...
formations that were expected to subside up to by 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 arrived, and 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.


Architecture

The building was designed by the well-known architectural firm Munselle Brown Partnership Inc. of San Francisco (now Costa Brown Architecture), who were selected after winning an invited design competition, and Architects of Record DES Architects + Engineers, Inc. as a Class A office building. Peter Munselle of the Munselle Brown Partnership prepared the winning architectural design concept. Theodore Brown served as Partner in Charge for Munselle/Brown, and Bob Giannini was the principal architect for DES. The building was completed in 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 deep 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. The building itself is a five-story design plus a penthouse, with one
subterranean Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to: * Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made Literature * ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins * '' Subterranean Magazine'', an American f ...
parking level. The exterior features a skin that is an innovative all-
porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mai ...
panel design, giving the building a shimmering appearance in the sunlight or uplights by night; moreover, most of the
fenestration Fenestration may refer to: * Fenestration (architecture), the design, construction, or presence of openings in a building * Used in relation to fenestra in anatomy, medicine and biology * Fenestration, holes in the rudder of a ship to reduce the w ...
was slanted approximately 45 degrees from vertical, designed to reduce glare and enhance energy conservation, but also lending a futuristic effect. In 2014, Westport Capital, the owner of the site (including 5000 Marina and the Dakin Building at 7000 Marina), applied for a permit to redesign the Dakin, presenting their preliminary plans in April 2014. The remodeling of 5000 and 7000 Marina was handled by Design Blitz SF. At the time, both buildings had been vacant for more than four years. Design Permit DP-2-14 was approved by the City of Brisbane Planning Commission on August 7, 2014 by a vote of 3–1; it was intended to link the two buildings together with a cohesive design. Key elements of the redesign of the Dakin included removing the signature angled window/awning system, replacing them with vertical glass, and to square-off the glass entry at the building's southern corner. Two members of the Brisbane City Council filed an appeal of the approval two weeks later. According to the appeal, " ither the Planning Staff nor the Planning Commission demonstrated an awareness of the historical and architectural significance of what was originally known as the Dakin Building. The Brisbane City Council commissioned NicholsBooth Architects to review the proposed design, who concluded that "if we subscribe to the belief that form follows function, then we recommend changing this form to create the desired function" in recommending the proposed modification to the window/awning system be approved. It was also noted the existing window/awning system blocked views for most building occupants and were leaky. At a subsequent special public meeting, Theodore Brown, the original architect, shared his vision for the building and suggested alternatives to the proposed redesign, but the Council affirmed the Planning Commission's decision 3–2. The remodel was completed in 2016. The gross floor area is approximately plus of underground
parking Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...
and shipping /receiving rooms.Dale H. Duffy and Kendall W. Rice, ''Level One Environmental Site Assessment, 7000 Marina Boulevard, Brisbane, California'', prepared by E2C Inc., Sunnyvale, California for C.M. Hogan, November 28, 1990 Surface parking is provided for 266
vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wat ...
s. In 2018, Marina Boulevard Property (the corporate entity spun off from Westport Capital) applied to reduce the number of parking spots to 245 to upgrade the utility service to the building, required by the building's new role as a research & development center. Due to its proximity to landfill, the Dakin relies on specially engineered recovery systems below its basements to actively capture fugitive methane off-gas and vent it away from the building.


Interior

The interior design features a soaring five-story entrance atrium capped by a massive skylight dome with a laminated glass glazing panel, whose atrium footprint is almost . Other major interior elements are a state-of-the-art
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
and a large computer room capable of supporting a national corporation data center, both built by C. Michael Hogan, the second owner. At the Christmas season the building was historically topped with several illuminated stars approximately each in area, emulating a Brisbane annual tradition of lighted stars on buildings.


Artworks

In the late 1980s the R. Dakin Company assembled a large collection of contemporary art from artists worldwide. The media included
watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
,
oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...
,
serigraph Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mes ...
,
lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone ( lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...
,
etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
,
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...
, ceramic plate,
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
and
mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...
. 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, tapestry 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 A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that Preservation (library and archival science), cares for and displays a collection (artwork), collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, culture, cultu ...
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. The front exterior entrance to the Dakin building originally featured a large stone sculpture of a
teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bea ...
, 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-garde character of the building. The bear is designed in the manner of Benny Bufano by
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
Judith Lord. When Hogan sold the Dakin Building in 1995, he retained ownership rights to the bear. In 2018, Sangamo presented plans to install a dichroic glass and stainless steel sculpture near the northern atrium. The sculpture, a sphere approximately in diameter, is entitled ''Eureka'' and was created by the artist Gordon Huether.


The Star Wars saga

The Dakin building has been nicknamed the '
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
' 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 nearby Hitachi Building is dubbed the '
Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
' building, replete with its full reflective exterior of black smoke glass, emulating the impenetrable visage of the evil counterpart. The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' stated "
Aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
ally he Darth Vader buildingis no match for Luke Skywalker's happy white
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
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." According to the ''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." Hitachi relocated from the dark glass building to a site on North First Street in San Jose in 2007. The property was acquired by Meridian Property Company from TA Associates in 2016 for $29 million and sold to Phase 3 Real Estate Partners in 2018 for $39.5 million.


Awards

The Dakin building has won a number of architectural awards including an
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to sup ...
Design Excellence Award in 1992. According to the ''San Francisco Examiner'', the jury awarded this distinction to the Dakin building because " s chief strength is the atrium, with its views of the San Francisco Bay and asymmetrical
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Open ...
". The same article noted the building "houses executive offices,
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
facilities and product
showroom A plumbing fixture showroom, Canada, 1921 A showroom, also referred to as a gallery, is a large space used to display products, entertainment or visual arts. Marketing location A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, suc ...
s". 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. 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”. The Quaternario judges focused on the technological aspects of the fenestration design where window angles were calculated to minimize interior glare and reduce interior
over-illumination Overillumination is the presence of lighting intensity higher than that which is appropriate for a specific activity. Overillumination was commonly ignored between 1950 and 1995, especially in office and retail environments.M.D. Simpson, ''A fl ...
, 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.


See also

*
Fourth and Blanchard Building The Fourth and Blanchard Building, also known as the Sedgwick James Building or the Darth Vader building, is a skyscraper located in the Belltown neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle. The high-rise style construction rises to 105 meters ...
*
Efficient energy use Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to ...
* Solar design


References

{{reflist Futurist architecture Office buildings completed in 1986 Buildings and structures in San Mateo County, California Brisbane, California Postmodern architecture in California 1986 establishments in California