It’s no ScrapHouse, but then again, it’s permanent. The Chronicle profiles the “recycled” new office of Intero Real Estate in Walnut Creek (designed by Holey Associates of San Francisco and built by Doug Allinger):
High design it ain’t. But this conversion of a drive-through bank offers something that today is all too rare: tactile delight. In a world where office towers are clad in wafer-thin granite and shopping centers wear columns of stucco-covered Styrofoam, it’s great to see the arrival of a downtown building that wants to make an enduring mark on the landscape.
And the fact that 1700 North Main is a triumph of recycling makes the show better still.
“Except for the windows and doors, I’d say close to 95 percent of what you see was salvaged,” guesses Primo Facchini, 42, the easygoing construction manager. “I’m not an environmentalist by any means. But I hate to see good materials being discarded. Nobody makes stuff like this anymore.”
Actually, we’re guessing that they do. And we’re hoping that our tipsters might send us proof.
∙ San Francisco ScrapHouse Nearly Complete [SocketSite]
∙ A commercial space that’s fit for a fantasy [SFGate]