The Bay Area’s 10 most important buildings of the past decade

by Leilani Marie Labong 

While the matte-black facade and sawtooth roof of the Minnesota Street Project have become symbols of a vibrant contemporary arts scene in San Francisco, they also signal an innovative model of cultural preservation: Rising rents, attributed to a dearth of affordable housing thanks, in part, to the Invasion of the Tech Workers, have resulted in an exodus of artists. Philanthropists and art collectors, Andy and Deborah Rappoport, co-founded MSP, a Dogpatch complex of affordable art studios and galleries, plus workspaces for cultural nonprofits—the reduced rates are subsidized by a lucrative art-storage business.

SF-based Jensen Architects turned an existing warehouse, located at 1275 Minnesota (unmistakably emblazoned in large white sans-serif on the black facade), into an impressive accomplishment of adaptive reuse. As the complex’s anchoring unit, the arts center features a sunlit double-height central atrium; cantilevered perimeter walkways and floating glass-walled bridges that lead to a network of permanent galleries on the upper floor (there are more galleries around the corner at 1150 25th Street); a stand of bleacher seats for events; and enough original steel truss and concrete to honor the former warehouse’s industrial past.