Achieving his signature blend of space, light and color, architect Ricardo Legorreta, working with his son Victor, has designed a new symbol of community at UCSF Mission Bay.

Years in the making, plans for the Mission Bay Community Center have gone through myriad manifestations over the years, subject to changing circumstances, budget considerations, redesigns and programmatic priorities. The building even survived a small fire during construction. Yet the finished product — as those close to the project and those who first experienced it when it opened on October 1 unanimously agree — is worth the wait.

In the summer of 1998, Stella Hsu, associate vice chancellor of Campus Life Services, was among the participants of a group called by then interim Chancellor Haile Debas to brainstorm ideas about creating a community center at Mission Bay. Debas, now executive director of UCSF Global Health Sciences, wanted to build a place that would become the heart of campus life for all of UCSF.

"It is really exhilarating for me to walk through the door — some seven years later — to see it actually operating," Hsu says. "It's wonderful and it is already making a difference in elevating the quality of life for the campus and the community."

Indeed, on opening day, folks were lined up at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday waiting to get memberships, while those already signed up headed straight for the Bakar Fitness & Recreation Center. The excitement and anticipation about the grand opening were so palpable that even UCSF staffers showed up that weekend to work out.

Jon Pierruci, a UCSF employee since 1987, made his first trip as a new member of the Bakar Fitness & Recreation Center the day after it opened. Since then, he's used the facilities several more times.

"I've been a loyal and enthusiastic member of the Millberry Union Fitness Center for over a decade and view the Bakar Fitness & Recreation Center as a wonderful evolution of what was started at Millberry. The new building itself is spectacular and the fitness center is beautiful — especially the rooftop pool. I couldn't wait to work out."

Jeanne Darrah, whose husband David Robinson works for the UC Office of the President in Oakland, had been waiting for a family-friendly fitness center to open close to their Bernal Heights home for quite a while. She took her son Guard, 9, and daughter Darrah, 7, to the fitness center the day after it opened, as well. "I think it's beautiful," she said one warm autumn day while swimming laps with her kids in the rooftop pool.

Campus architect Steve Wiesenthal, associate vice chancellor for Capital Projects & Facilities Management, says the response to the Mexican-inspired architecture by the father-and-son team of Legorreta + Legorreta has been extremely positive.

"The big inspiration for their work is color," Wiesenthal explains. "The way that they've designed our community center, as well as other buildings, is based on identifying the emotions they want to evoke in a project, and then developing the right color palette. In truth, the building and its surfaces become just the vessel for bold, bright color.

"When we think of a community center and what its purpose is, it's to bring people together, it's to bring the community of UCSF faculty, students and staff together," Wiesenthal says. "It's to bring people from Mission Bay together with those who are primarily based at Parnassus, Mount Zion or Laurel Heights. It's also to bridge people connected directly to UCSF with those in our surrounding neighborhoods. We really see this as our civic contribution to the city of San Francisco. This is a chance to create a landmark that will be open to all residents of San Francisco."

Source: Lisa Cisneros

First posted October 26, 2005

Last updated October 26, 2005

Mission Bay neighborhood

Jeanne Darrah, center, swims with her children, Guard and Darrah, in the rooftop pool. Photo by Lisa Cisneros.