Contemporary Jewish Museum
San Francisco, CA
Completion


Photo by Bruce Damonte

The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s new home in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena cultural district involved adaptive reuse of the Jessie Street Power Substation. Designed by the architectural team of Daniel Libeskind and WRNS Studio, the museum features shapes of the Hebrew letters Chet and Yud from the toast, L’Chaim or “to life.” Combining old and new, the contemporary shapes join with the existing historic facade and roof trusses of the 1907 power station. SGH assisted WRNS Studio with the waterproofing design, including developing the exterior skin, below-grade, and plaza deck waterproofing details.