Hesselbrand revitalizes a loft in a historic clocktower

In San Francisco’s iconic Clocktower Building in South Beach, Hesselbrand has inserted a unique loft residence into the landmarked architecture. In the 1990s the structure was converted to live-work lofts by David Baker, but after 30 years the London-based Hesselbrand was invited to put a European spin on one elevated and spacious residence.

Hesselbrand's loft in the clocktower — The historic clocktower is located in downtown San Francisco (Adam Rouse)

Millwork at clocktower flat — Oak inserts delineate new spaces in the industrial shell (Adam Rouse)

Clocktower flat living room — The new design prioritizes social spaces along the glazed perimeter (Adam Rouse)

Hesselbrand first focused on the problem of natural light. Approaching the project as a work of adaptive reuse, designers recirculated access to and within the apartment by placing living and working spaces around the glazed perimeter. Previously, the industrial use of the building placed circulation on the outside, cutting off interior rooms from the sun.

Hesselbrand uses glass block in bathroom — Glass block is used in the bathroom to separate the shower and line the walls (Adam Rouse)

Hesselbrand design a bathroom in a flat — A neutral color palette and glass helps bring sunlight into the core of the space (Adam Rouse)

An upper loft designed by Hesselbrand — Private areas are recirculated to the inner core and upper loft (Adam Rouse)

Hesselbrand renovate a clocktower — The new layout revolves around the solid oak core which divides the space into five zones (Adam Rouse)

In a similar vein, the design revolves around a solid oak core at the center of the loft. Dividing the apartment into five areas, this intervention centralizes services and frees the corners of the home to be open and social, while still offering privacy near the core.

Hesselbrand revitalizes an industrial loft in San Francisco with a European touch

Keeping Time

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