Every city IRDC travels to has its share of inspiring retail design and architecture. So valuable is that inspiration, we build tours into each year’s program.
In the case of San Francisco, we had a tough time narrowing the choices.
First, we discovered Rick Evans, an architecture aficionado recently named one of the “World’s Greatest Tour Guides” by Travel + Leisure. His walking tour of San Francisco’s Financial District—covering the world’s first “glass curtain” building, rooftop gardens and other interesting spaces—is a hot ticket year round.
And we knew the iconic Westfield San Francisco Centre was a must. An extensive renovation and expansion was underway when IRDC last visited San Francisco in 2006, adding a West Coast flagship for Bloomingdale’s and restoring the Market Street façade. Westfield guides will discuss the design and construction of the Centre, including the historic (and gorgeous) rotunda and dome, a must-see.
We generally stick with just two tours, but the more we learned about the Ferry Building Marketplace—a foodie’s paradise of restaurants and specialty shops—it seemed remiss not to include it. Getting to know the folks at BCV Architects, who designed the retail portion of the building’s 2003 rehab, sealed the deal. They’ll give IRDCers a first-hand account of the design process, their sources of inspiration, and which locally grown morsels you absolutely must sample.
All three tours happen Friday afternoon, September 9, after the closing keynote.
