Architectural trends

Construction has slowed to a trickle, design firms are laying off employees and the Big Plans of a few years back - iconic museums! stratospheric towers! - are gathering the digital equivalent of dust on the ************f.

Instead of gravity-defying drama, think empty lots.

It was an era when architecture became hotter and hipper than ever, yet too often was treated as a three-dimensional marketing tool. In fact, it's the art form that shapes the world in which we live, with long-term implications for the environment and our civic culture.

Ten trends capture this tension. I'll start with the one that matters the most.

1. Sustainability

Once a fringe movement, the quest to be environmentally friendly has been embraced by the design profession. And with each high-profile move - such as the California Academy of Sciences' living roof - rival architects are pushed to follow suit. There's hype in this, to be sure. But it's the wave of the future, and it comes not a moment too soon.

2. Tall-tall towers

After the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center, architectural pundits proclaimed the end of the skyscraper era - whereupon the high-rise craze kicked into truly high gear. The most excessive example is the 2,683-foot Burj Dubai, which opens next month; whether or not San Francisco gets its 1,000-foot obelisk at the Transbay Terminal will be decided by the economy.

3. "Icon"

Speaking of our iffy-obelisk, during the 2007 competition for development rights to build the tower, the call went out for "an iconic presence that will redefine the City's skyline." This was right in line with a decade where every structure snazzier than a Kohl's laid claim to icon status. Let's hope that when architectural ambitions come back, the I-word doesn't.

4. Glass

In the latest crop of towers, granite was passe - glass was the fashion statement for architects and developers wanting to be au courant. It's a trend that already looks dated, even with technology that allows more variations than ever, from ultra-clear to lurid blue, both of which can be seen on our very own skyline.

5. Starchitecture

The trend entered mainstream culture after Daniel Libeskind became a celebrity by winning the competition to design the World Trade Center's replacement. It peaked with Frank Gehry's 2005 appearance on "The Simpsons." By the end of the decade, every big city had its own hyped building by a star architect - often with results that weren't "iconic," just odd.

6. Libraries

Whatever the reason - obsolete older facilities, civic pride or both - new libraries continue to rise in cities large and small, often with community space attached. The Bay Area's crop includes a snug delight in Belmont, a user-friendly centerpiece to downtown San Jose, an expanded landmark in Berkeley and a new one in Lafayette, with more on the way.

7. Artificial urbanism

What does a city do if it lacks a downtown? Simple: build a fake one with housing or offices atop storefronts and a multiplex at one end. Anyone who's gaped at downtown Windsor or San Jose's Santana Row knows what I mean; an even more surreal example is the Town Center in El Dorado Hills, off Highway 50 east of Folsom.

8. Nostalgia for modern architecture

Historic preservation became a force in America in the 1960s because people were horrified at the destruction of cherished older buildings for proudly "modern" replacements. Now, fans of modernism use preservation laws to ward off attacks on the very buildings erected without regard for history. It's a strange world indeed.

9. Smart growth

As opposed to ... and now you know why the term gained favor as a rallying cry for anyone in favor of something besides auto-dependent suburban sprawl. All sides agree it includes dense development near mass transit, and regional planning that protects valued farmlands and open space. Beyond that, one advocate's "smart" is an opponent's "not in my backyard."

10. Affordable housing as high design

Again and again, the sharpest new buildings in San Francisco are ones built for low-income residents. The reason: The city is blessed with architects and nonprofit developers who not only want to do the right thing, but do it with style and with an eye to strengthening the larger urban fabric. This is one trend with no downside at all.

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