To bring the community back to the former San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) and its beloved Diego Rivera fresco, Jensen Architects has been tapped by BMA-Institute—a new nonprofit founded by Laurene Powell Jobs—to reimagine the historic building. The 94,000-square-foot campus in Russian Hill will continue to provide arts education and serve as BMA’s headquarters, albeit under a new name.
The announcement comes not long after SFAI’s campus at 800 Chestnut Street was bought by BMA-Institute in bankruptcy court. The historic art school had fallen into dire straights because of dwindling enrollment and San Francisco’s white hot real estate market that’s hollowing out so much of its culture scene.
BMA-Institute, Jensen Architects, and other development partners will soon begin assessing the campus for defects, after years of deferred maintenance. This will happen while BMA-Institute builds out its staff and creates an advisory board. A new name for SFAI will be shared in winter 2024.
Reviving 800 Chestnut
Since 1925, SFAI has been headquartered inside a Spanish colonial style building by Bakewell & Brown. Diego Rivera famously painted a fresco there in 1931 where he “showed his hatred for the rich.” Then, in the 1960s, Paffard Keatinge-Clay designed a Brutalist addition for SFAI. The campus was landmarked in 1977.
By 2023, SFAI was $10 million in debt, and had only 40 students. SFAI declared bankruptcy last year, and its campus went up for auction in bankruptcy court. It seemed to be afflicted by the same market forces affecting so many historic art schools around the country like itself—University of the Arts in Philadelphia, for instance, closed in June due to similar circumstances.
Moving forward, BMA-Institute and Jensen Architects hope to bring the community back to 800 Chestnut and its preserved Rivera fresco. “Working with arts and cultural organizations has been a core focus and passion of our firm since inception,” Mark Jensen, founder of Jensen Architects, shared in a statement.
“As strong believers in the importance of a thriving arts ecosystem to a community,” Jensen continued, “we are thrilled to have the opportunity to help craft the next chapter for this historic and cherished site. There are traditions, accomplishments, and memories infused in this place that will inform the next layer of creative occupancy.”
The restoration will be a good addition to Jensen Architects’s California portfolio. To date, the San Francisco office completed the Rooftop Garden at SFMOMA, CounterPulse Theater off Market Street, the Minnesota Street Project, a performance venue in the Mission District, and signature spaces at California College of the Arts (CCA).
BMA-Institute and Jensen Architects estimate that the campus’s physical restoration will begin in 2025.
Construction will likely take two to four years.
