A lively tempo of alternating bands of opaque and transparent glass mark the edge of San Francisco’s vibrant performing arts district, where the SFJAZZ Center joins a constellation of established cultural institutions. The Center offers a contemporary counterpoint to its neighbors that are dressed in neoclassical columns, with rotundas rounding out their peaks, announcing its arrival as the first freestanding jazz venue in the United States, as well as SFJAZZ its first permanent home in its long, thirty-year history. The SF JAZZ Center’s 35,000 square feet unite the organization’s multifaceted mission to showcase world-class jazz artists, as well as nurture young musicians, and promote jazz education and experimentation.

The Center balances openness and intimacy, which begins on the ground floor where an all-glass, acoustically-isolated ensemble room— the Joe Henderson Lab — abuts the bustling sidewalk and brings together the daily rhythms of practicing musicians and passersby. Up above, the alternating bands of opaque and clear glass mark subtly framed views: an intuitive invitation for intimate gathering. The views look out on the neighboring architecture’s playful response to the SFJAZZ Center: a rotating set of iconic jazz portraits framed by the brickwork of the building across the way. These exterior and peripheral spaces offer a sleek neutral palette marked by the staccato of quick runs of lighting knitted through the ceiling.

On the upper two stories, a rhythmic façade of opaque and clear glass and street-facing balconies underscore the Center’s civic spirit. While the public spaces open to the city, the central Robert N. Miner auditorium is intimate and focused. This flexible, state-of-the-art room accommodates audiences from 350 to 700, and provides a range of experiences including views from behind the stage. A reconfigurable stage supports a wide variety of acts while raked seating establishes an intimacy that makes the audience itself part of the performance.

Underpinning all of the spatial and visual design priorities is the most important goal: to create performance spaces with the highest quality acoustics throughout.