ACLU Headquarters

San Francisco,  2006

For some 20 years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had been functioning in a warehouse-like office that provided little comfort and few amenities. Its inhabitants had grown weary of its particular style of non-profit aesthetic.

After developing a preliminary program with the ACLU, Trachtenberg Architects assisted the ACLU in evaluating a number of possible buildings for sale in San Francisco.

A fine old four-story building at 39 Drumm Street was purchased, largely gutted and transformed into new offices, meeting rooms and a media center outfitted with technology to allow for live TV news conferences.

The 18,000 sf build-out utilizes state of the art lighting and energy controls and provides a lively home for its 50 employees and many volunteers and board of directors.

Cutsheet for this project

Owner:  ACLU of Northern California; Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director
Architect:  Robert Nishimori, David Trachtenberg, Alexandra Vondeling
Engineer: Ingraham DeJesse
Builder:  Oliver & Company
ACLU Historical Collage: Mitzi Trachtenberg