San Francisco AmeniPODS

February 4, 2024

The award-winning design for San Francisco AmeniPODS in San Francisco meets a basic human need with dignity and sustainability, serving diverse community demographics and bolstering the local economy.

Small Project Award
An attendant from San Francisco Public Works’ Pit Stop Program is present during operating hours at select locations to ensure the toilets are kept safe, clean and operational for their intended use.
Kyle Jeffers
  • An attendant from San Francisco Public Works’ Pit Stop Program is present during operating hours at select locations to ensure the toilets are kept safe, clean and operational for their intended use.
    Kyle Jeffers
    An attendant from San Francisco Public Works’ Pit Stop Program is present during operating hours at select locations to ensure the toilets are kept safe, clean and operational for their intended use.
  • The AmeniPODS are ADA accessible, with wayfinding and instructions for restroom access and use while an attendant is not present.
    Kyle Jeffers
    The AmeniPODS are ADA accessible, with wayfinding and instructions for restroom access and use while an attendant is not present.
  • The mottled stainless-steel shell serves as a functional exterior, creating a dynamic appearance that transforms over the course of the day and year with the evolving climate and solar access of its surroundings. The reflective stainless-steel exterior creates an illuminated glow from city and traffic lights and the surrounding palm trees.
    Kyle Jeffers
    The mottled stainless-steel shell serves as a functional exterior, creating a dynamic appearance that transforms over the course of the day and year with the evolving climate and solar access of its surroundings. The reflective stainless-steel exterior creates an illuminated glow from city and traffic lights and the surrounding palm trees.
  • The new AmeniPODS replace the former restroom kiosks, using existing plumbing and electrical infrastructure, thus reducing costs and making installation easier and faster.
    Kyle Jeffers
    The new AmeniPODS replace the former restroom kiosks, using existing plumbing and electrical infrastructure, thus reducing costs and making installation easier and faster.
  • At the bustling junction of Embarcadero and Market Streets, the first AmeniPOD provides restroom services for residents and tourists alike and creates a new urban landmark in San Francisco.
    Kyle Jeffers
    At the bustling junction of Embarcadero and Market Streets, the first AmeniPOD provides restroom services for residents and tourists alike and creates a new urban landmark in San Francisco.
  • An attendant from San Francisco Public Works’ Pit Stop Program is present during operating hours at select locations to ensure the toilets are kept safe, clean and operational for their intended use.
  • The AmeniPODS are ADA accessible, with wayfinding and instructions for restroom access and use while an attendant is not present.
  • The mottled stainless-steel shell serves as a functional exterior, creating a dynamic appearance that transforms over the course of the day and year with the evolving climate and solar access of its surroundings. The reflective stainless-steel exterior creates an illuminated glow from city and traffic lights and the surrounding palm trees.
  • The new AmeniPODS replace the former restroom kiosks, using existing plumbing and electrical infrastructure, thus reducing costs and making installation easier and faster.
  • At the bustling junction of Embarcadero and Market Streets, the first AmeniPOD provides restroom services for residents and tourists alike and creates a new urban landmark in San Francisco.

Project highlights: San Francisco AmeniPODS

  • Architecture firm: SmithGroup
  • Location:  San Francisco
  • Category: Three
  • Project site: Previously developed
  • Building program type(s):  Not applicable

  • Blending sculpture with modern technology and universal access, the San Francisco AmeniPODS represent an answer for cleaner, safer, and more durable public amenities that meet the needs of a 21st-century urban environment. The project is unique to the city, and its mottled stainless-steel surfaces literally reflect its diverse neighborhoods while providing critical infrastructure improvements.

    Since 1995, San Francisco Public Works and street furniture company JCDecaux have provided 25 public toilets and more than 100 micro-retail and advertising kiosks, largely concentrated downtown along Market Street and in popular tourist destinations. The uniquely modern design for the AmeniPODS was selected for development and implementation following an invitation-only design competition in 2018. To update the aging existing Art Nouveau-style amenities, the team carefully considered an approach that would serve everyone, including unhoused persons, construction and gig workers, and parents with small children. 

“This inclusive project is aimed at everyday pedestrians but also compassionately serves the city’s unhoused population. Even with a small footprint, it has had a really big impact on the community. For a very complicated project, it was really well executed.”
Jury Comment

The new design harnesses sculptural simplicity as a guide for design and engineering decisions. The exterior cladding creates a connected family of amenities, including restrooms and multifunction kiosks, that assume different appearances depending on their surroundings. Their shaping nimbly navigates accessibility requirements, breaks down kiosk massing to maximize their artistic reflections, and provides illumination throughout the day and night as the light shifts. 

The re-envisioned restrooms greatly improve the user experience, and interior skylights, low-flow fixtures, and rainwater collection for washing the exterior shell are sustainability enhancements. The installed toilets self-clean after every use, and the hand-washing system boasts greater strength and efficiency. In addition to the restrooms, the AmeniPODS micro-retail units provide opportunities for small incubator businesses to thrive in a city where costs and regulations can be prohibitive. 

Since the first AmeniPOD installation at Embarcadero Plaza, the project has been a great success with more than 5,000 flushes to date. Despite a small footprint, the project demonstrates the ways in which architecture can make a big social impact. 

Framework for Design Excellence

Was there a design charrette? Yes 


 

Level of community engagement:

Collaborate: A partnership is formed with stakeholders to share in the decision-making process including development of alternatives and identification of the preferred solution. 

Site area that supported vegetation (landscape or green roof) pre-development: Not applicable

Site area that supports vegetation post-development: Not applicable

Site area covered by native plants supporting native or migratory species and pollinators: Not applicable

Strategies used to promote Design for Ecosystems:  Dark skies, Bird safety

Is potable water used for irrigation? Not applicable

Is potable water used for cooling? No

Is grey/blackwater reused on-site? No

Is rainwater collected on-site?  Yes

Stormwater managed on-site:  100%

2030 Commitment baseline EUI:  55  kBtu/sf/yr

Predicted net EUI including on-site renewables: 17 kBtu/sf/yr

Reduction from the benchmark:  70%

Is the project all-electric? Yes

Level of air filters installed: Unknown

Was a “chemicals of concern” list used to inform material selection?  Yes

Do greater than 90% of occupied spaces have a direct view to the outdoors?  No

Were embodied carbon emissions estimated for this project? No 


 

Estimated service life:  30 years

Floor area, if any, representing adapting existing buildings:  0%

Ability to survive without utility power:  Not habitable without power

Risk assessment and resilience services provided:  Hazard identification, Climate change risk, Building vulnerability assessment

Has a post-occupancy evaluation been conducted? No, but a POE will be conducted.

Building performance transparency steps taken:

Present the design, outcomes, and/or lessons learned to the office.

Publish lessons learned from design, construction, and/or occupancy.

Project Team and Jury

Year of substantial project completion: 2022

Gross conditioned floor area: 90 sq. ft.

Architect: SmithGroup 

General Contractor: JC Decaux

Andre Johnson, AIA, Chair, AJA, Raleigh, N.C. 

Mindy Aust, AIA, MA Architecture, Des Moines, Iowa

Joy Cunningham, Assoc. AIA, MG2, McLean, Va.

Lisa Sauve, AIA, Synecdoche, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Matt Seltzer, AIA, archimania, Memphis, Tenn.

Small Project Award

AIA and its Small Project Design (SPD) Knowledge Community present the annual Small Project Award Program to raise public awareness of the value and design excellence that architects provide regardless of the limits of size and budget. 

Learn more
Winners: Small Project Award 2024

Nine projects showcase the best small project design and the big impact small projects can have on people and communities.

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