San Francisco Architecture Impresses the Pros

David Wakely Photography

The national AIA Convention descended on San Francisco this past weekend, bringing tens of thousands of architects to the city by the Bay. And while any design-minded local can tell you exactly what’s wrong with architecture in San Francisco (Victorian worship, stifling conservatism, overly bureaucratic development policies), according to an article by John King in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday, visiting architects apparently didn’t get the memo. "San Francisco - what's not to like?" laughs Ed Feiner, former chief architect for the federal government's General Services Administration and now a principal with the national firm Perkins + Will. "You come here and you're so overwhelmed by the natural beauty and the sculpture of the man-made terrain."