Plane thrilled by San Francisco

The dramatic geography of San Francisco which rises up and over hills at vertiginous angles calls for an appreciation or deconstruction of the city into its component planes and geometry.

45 degree street inclines
I kid you not. This is the city of burnt out clutches and rock solid thighs. Driving, walking, running, biking and riding the running board of the cable cars require nerve and stamina. At times the city streets feel like one long rollercoaster. Houses determinedly step up and up and up the hills, taking advantage of the sudden drop-aways to create several storeys of basements and verandas which zig zag down the rear of buildings. Height is prized and the "Victorians", a generic term applied to the houses built from mid c19th to early c20th often have false cornices heavily encrusted with ornamentation giving another metre or two of bulk. To the victors, the spoils. From hillier points, there are phenomenal views out to the bay, to both the Bay and Golden Gate bridges and across the city. April and Jerry's view below is an example although the fog does it a disservice here.

Round and angular window bays (can we call them hemi-hexagonal?) and turrets
The dominant Victorian vernacular adds candy and colour to the city. Painted in every shade of pastel with intricate detailing on rooflines, gables, eaves and doorlights, streets become a delightful froo-froo of forms. The facades are further embellished with a plethora of projecting bays of differing shapes giving further opportunities for those in and outside to admire or be admired in this most body conscious of cities. And to facilitate this observation, furniture makers have obliged by creating the sofa which cranks round the angles of the bay window. My evidence is based on a statistically accurate and rigorously controlled sample of April and Jerry's house but wouldn't it be great if form following function was widespread specifically so that citizens can check out in comfort who's strutting their stuff well.

Crossroads
San Francisco still adopts the pedestrian countdown timers on many streets (grhhh but only Allah is perfect) but in residential neighbourhoods the street intersections are usually free from signalisation and rely on 'Stop' signs. Right of way depends on eye contact and courtesy as the first to arrive is accorded priority. This makes hurtling done the inclines a perilous activity. Cars often cede to pedestrians and cyclists of which there are many. It's an example I think (though illustrating not inspired by) of the work of urban theorists like Hans Monderman who argue the extreme signage and engineering applied to streets infantalises drivers and encourages them to abnegate responsibility for their and other's safety. He advocated removing road markings and putting obvious risk and uncertainty back into the roads. His experiments suggested that drivers would respond by slowing down and becoming more observant. It has been successfully applied in the Netherlands and the politician behind Kensington High Street (see post "Lessons for Urban Living" below) is seeking to apply this to Exhibition Road. All power to his de-cluttering elbow.

Curves, lines and squares of the Golden Gate bridge
The bridge is a breathtaking sight from all angles. Painted a red which is actually called International Orange and running across the mouth of the Bay between the two undulating headlands of Marin county and Fort Point, it is elegant and muscular at once. From a distance you note the curve of the main suspension arcs which are sections of a huge circle which would top out in the heavens. Driving over under its huge supports you move towards and through the squares punched through the legs and then whisk by the taunt double bands of the suspension cables which mark out a regular rhythm in space. It is a wonderful piece of engineering and a great gift to the city and its people which is both practical and beautiful.

San Francisco Bay
Squashed sea-horse rather than perfect spheres is what comes to mind when trying to describe the form of this segmented bay which in places reaches 12 miles east-west and 60 miles north south. On one glorious day we cycled around it (the farmers market and bike theft day) hugging the shoreline where we could, making numerous pit-stops to capture what seemed to be ever more staggering views of the headlands which rise up from the water. The city is located on one of the jaws of the Bay and ripples down the various hillocks and mounds of the city in a concertina of towers, blocks and colours. The Ocean and the Bay never seem particularly proximate as one tackles the hills and enjoys the effervescence of city life but viewed together, the City and its blue lung form a perfect conjunction. Check out wikipedia's entry for a wonderful panorama of the bay.

Shape eraser
The world of planes, angles and intersections which the city inhabits needs to be found afresh each day from under the blanket of fog that rolls in off the Ocean each night and covers everything. "Layer up" is the advice when you arrive so you leave the house with coat, wrap, jumper and also sun hat and sun glasses. It can be chill under the mist and to my surprise the first time I have worn my feather puffer jacket is in what I imagined to be sun-baked California. Come late morning though the layers come off one by one until the sun is in full force early afternoon. The process then reverses in the evenings. It's not uniform across the city. The variety of elevations across the city means that one part can be in mist whilst another enjoys sun. You've just go to keep moving until you find the scene you want.