Oakland, California, USA
Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the Telegraph Tower of TMG Partners is a 28-story, 750,000 square-foot creative office building in downtown Oakland.
The design concept was inspired by the uniqueness of Oakland as a place and at this
a moment in time, from the varying scales of the existing urban fabric to the rich materiality of its industrial past, to the vibrancy of its local arts scene.
This architectural project has been awarded a 2021 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The tower is broken down into discrete glass volumes that respond to the proportion and scale of the neighboring structures.
A perforated patinated metal seam welds the glass volumes together and visually connects the base with the tower.
This juxtaposition of the metal and glass in the tower’s façade reflects a balance between Oakland’s industrial past and the city’s future as a growing tech hub; expressing where the city currently stands in its history.
The building spans an underground BART tunnel that runs diagonally through the site, necessitating the inclusion of several long-span trusses in the base of the building.
This creates large column-free retail spaces on the ground floor.
These trusses also inform the stepped office profile above the building base.
Each glass façade contains a unique pattern of pleated curtain wall modules with exterior vertical fins optimized to reduce solar loads and glare. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.
The lobby and outdoor plaza incorporate several large, local art pieces including Oakland artist Karen Cusolito’s stunning steel sculpture of a figure that appears to be holding up the corner of the building.
Inspired by the notions of community, connection, and wellness, the
interior of the tower features virtually column-free, expansive floor plates with interconnected workspaces and high ceilings that provide panoramic views and maximize daylight.
The building incorporates the latest advances in smart and energy-efficient building design, including 100% outside air filtration systems.
Amenity offerings include a fitness and wellness center, a community theatre, and a maker/art gallery space with integrated retail on the ground floor.
The building’s shifting volumes create large roof terraces on the sixth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth floors.
These terraces combined with 33 balconies create 30,000-square-feet of combined outdoor access on every level and deliver unobstructed views of the Bay, San Francisco, and the East Bay.
Product: Telegraph Tower
Architects: Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB)
Client: TMG Partners
Photographers: Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA
