June 21, 2012 - San Francisco’s Moscone Center has emerged from a two-year, $56 million renovation of the North and South buildings with a combined 1.2 million square feet of function space.
The renovation was funded by a public/private partnership with the San Francisco Travel Assocation, the City and County of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Tourism Improvement District (SFTID).
“Our very first step was to ask our customers what changes they’d like to see. The point of this whole project was to meet their needs and exceed their expectations,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association (San Francisco Travel). “Those suggestions were our guideposts every step of the way.”
One of the key changes to Moscone Center brings San Francisco “inside” the buildings through branding, graphics and colors.
Showcasing Moscone Center’s prominent location in the heart of one of the world’s most iconic cities, these design elements create way-finding landmarks within the center and provide visual cues to visitors’ location within the city itself.
A $4.5 million wireless system has been installed, providing high speed service to as many as 60,000 devices at one time. Building users can use their smart phones, tablets, laptops and other devices simultaneously with peak performance.
“In its previous state, Moscone Center gave meeting attendees very little sense that they were in San Francisco,” said Dan Kelleher, chairman of the SFTID. “A major part of this renovation was incorporating recognizable colors like the Golden Gate Bridge’s ‘international orange’ and integrating the city’s iconic images into the buildings’ public spaces and meeting rooms.”
Meeting planners and groups will appreciate other upgrades such as new carpet, paint, lighting and ceilings; renovations to restrooms; upgraded lobbies and kitchens; and significant infrastructure projects including major upgrades to HVAC systems, elevators and escalators, and telecom/data cabling systems.
Bright, bold digital displays give a brilliant welcome to attendees and help them find their meetings and events.
Google has outfitted Moscone Center with indoor online maps for anyone using Google on an Android device. With Google Maps My Location feature, users can see their detailed location indoors via the familiar “blue dot” icon to more easily find their way to meeting rooms, food service, restrooms and more.
Portable information kiosks, staffed by knowledgeable San Francisco Travel staff, are available for groups meeting in Moscone South and West. These booths are flexible so the meeting customer can choose in which building to locate them.
The Moscone Center upgrades for the lobbies, meeting rooms, exhibit halls, ballrooms and public restrooms are influenced by a new environmentally responsible vision established by the project stakeholders.
“This center is designed to meet LEED Gold green building standards which will provide long-term benefits for patrons and residents of San Francisco.” John Noguchi, director of convention facilities for the City of San Francisco. “This is a natural extension of the Mayor’s vision of San Francisco as the most environmentally innovative city in the country.”
The “new” Moscone Center optimizes energy performance to exceed 20% of the former building usage, greatly reduces water consumption and incorporates a new Building Automation System for Chiller, HVAC, electrical and lighting controls. At least 50% of Moscone Center’s existing roof is covered by either PV panels or green scape and park area. The center has recently adopted new solid waste management, green cleaning and indoor integrated pest management policies, and sustainable purchasing policies and guidelines including green purchasing, organic or locally produced food and beverage from within 100 miles of the center, green vendor agreements, and Green Conference Attendee and Exhibitor Guidelines.
The renovation team included:
• Architects HOK
• Project Managers Jones Lang LaSalle
• General Contractor Webcor
• The Project Management team at the San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW)
“Under DPW’s project management, the Moscone Center renovation came in on time and within budget,” said DPW Director Mohammed Nuru. “We’re proud to deliver beautiful, sustainable and functional facilities for both visitors and San Franciscans to enjoy.”
The first group to experience the “new” Moscone Center was the 17,000 attendees of the American Thoracic Surgeons International Conference on May 18-23, 2012.
The San Francisco Travel Association is the official tourism marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco. With more than 1,500 partner businesses, San Francisco Travel is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion agencies in the country. Tourism, one of San Francisco's largest industries, generates in excess of $8.3 billion annually for the local economy.
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