Restoration of the Lightcourt
Flood Building
San Francisco, CA

The Flood building is a 12-story, 300,000-square-foot office building located in the heart of San Francisco at the intersection of Market and Powell Streets. It was one of the few buildings to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, and remains an important landmark along San Francisco’s most famous commercial artery. One of the many appealing aspects of the structure is its handsome terra cotta and brick lightcourt, which affords natural lighting to the center of the building.

ARG/CS was retained to function in a design-build capacity as the general conservation contractor for the restoration of the lightcourt. The lightcourt’s glazed brick and terra cotta cladding required cleaning and repair, including replacement of missing features, repair of glazed surfaces, and repointing of open masonry joints. The project also included new flashing for the terra cotta cornices and restoration of wood, double-hung windows. ARG/CS prepared detailed construction documents for this project and handled all aspects of project management.