California Construction News staff writer
Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco, now the Bay Area’s largest synagogue has chosen local firm Mark Cavagnero Associates to design a renovation that will highlight the 100-year-old buildings historic features ad create additional space.
The firm will add two glass stories and move the children’s playground to the rooftop, with direct access to the preschool incorporating bronze mullions to connect the addition to the existing building’s terra-cotta roof, plaster walls, and bronze gates.
Also, the design team plans to reopen the main entrance on Lake Street to restore the original flow from doorstep to the Main Sanctuary.
“The iconic Temple Emanu-El has been the center of Jewish life and worship for one of the oldest congregations in California, and it is humbling to be given the opportunity to re-envision the building,” Mark Cavagnero Associates’ founding principal Mark Cavagnero in a press release. “Our firm has completed historic renovations throughout the Bay Area, including the Legion of Honor Museum, the Oakland Museum of California, and the Wilsey Center for Opera at the War Memorial Veterans Building.
“Our work is deeply grounded in the belief that the best way to extend the life of buildings is to make changes necessary for them to remain useful and relevant for the current and future generations while respecting their past.”
Construction is expected to start this summer.
