Cor-Ten No More

I just realized the Jim Jennings Architecture's Howard Street Residence in San Francisco -- completed in 2001 and published in Record Houses in 2002 -- no longer has its distinctive Cor-ten steel facade.

modern exterior design by san francisco general contractor RYAN ASSOCIATES GENERAL CONTRACTORS

As this Google Street View illustrates, the facade is now stainless steel, albeit the exact same design in terms of composition, perforations, and panel sizes.


[967 Howard Street | image source]

As the architect asserts on his web page (the project is labeled Soma House), "the heightened grittiness of the [South of Market] neighborhood -- ceaseless graffiti -- has necessitated a complete material transformation of the facade of the 4,500 sf courtyard house. A screen of stainless-steel panels is replacing the Cor-ten steel in a move to adapt to the new urban condition rather than fight it." According to his web page, this iteration was completed in 2008.

Update 04.13: Here's a photo I found on flickr that shows the intermediate condition, when the lower portion of the Cor-ten steel facade was painted to cover the graffiti.