The New People Center is a shrine to Japanese pop culture. Situated along the ‘spine’ of Japantown -- one of only three surviving in the country-- the goal is to help revitalize this important San Franciscan neighborhood with a new 140+ seat theatre, retail, and office complex that reflects contemporary Japanese culture and design. The theatre will showcase manga and live-action Japanese films not screened in mainstream cinemas. The retail and office tenants will be Japanese businesses aimed at introducing modern popular books, films, music and other cultural amenities to the American public.
One of the difficulties with the site is the limited linear face along Post Street (less than 40 feet), despite which we need to give the building a strong presence for the retail and theatre to work. To accomplish this we emphasized the verticality of the massing (50 ft) with structural glass fins that protrude through the all glass façade, and seemingly ‘float’ in front of recessed channels. The elevation is tied together with a white frame.
