Urban Eco-tecture

Written by Eric Corey Freed • Photographed by Matthew Millman
Produced By Susan Tyree Victoria and Diane Dorrans Saeks

Photo: Matthew Millman

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Dreaming of a large, clutter-free home and adjacent office, Jason Shelton, a tech entrepreneur, and Amy Shimer, who is in banking, purchased an 8,500-square-foot warehouse in San Francisco’s now-trendy, formerly industrially unchic, South of Market (SoMA) district. The space, they thought, would give them enough room to live comfortably without clutter, despite the presence of a young daughter and an even younger infant. Their challenge was to turn the former photography studio into a modern and elegant home that celebrated the city. “We loved the big, industrial open space,” says Shelton, “and wanted to preserve that integrity.”

To accomplish their vision, the couple approached noted San Francisco architect Anne Fougeron. Since establishing her office in 1986, Fougeron has built a reputation for meticulous craftsmanship and for favoring a simple palette of glass, steel and wood. She seemed like a perfect fit to convert the underutilized warehouse into a green mixed-use building. One of her biggest gestures was to connect the first-floor office to the main-floor living area (and a new master-suite penthouse above it) with a unique staircase fabricated by longtime collaborators Dennis Luedeman, a metal artisan, and Paul Endres, a structural engineer.

To showcase the renovation, Fougeron decided to distinguish between the old and new but bring them together in harmony. “In Europe,” the Amsterdam-born, Paris-bred architect has said, “there are many instances where you feel old and new can work together. You can infuse an old building with life by adding things it needs.”

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