Field Notes: Normandie Terrace | Crane Day: Setting the Steel Moment Frame

Crane day at Normandie Terrace. FORMA and Butler Armsden Architects are renovating a historic home in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights. This phase marks a structural milestone: a crane lifting the steel moment frame into place at the rear of the house.

The site

Normandie Terrace is a short cul-de-sac off Vallejo Street in Pacific Heights. Unlike much of the surrounding neighborhood, it was developed relatively late. In 1936, the City built a retaining wall and terrace stairs, which opened the hillside to development. As a result, the first houses went up between 1937 and 1941, and the rest were completed by 1950. Together, they form a small planned group of single-family homes within an older, established district. Today, FORMA and Butler Armsden Architects are renovating one of these houses.

Where the project stands

Work began with scaffolding around the building, enclosed in shrink wrap for exterior demolition and envelope work. Inside, crews stripped each level to a clean base, ready for structural adjustments and installation of new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.

A two-stage permitting approach kept the project moving: an initial demo permit to start work, followed by the full building permit. With the full permit in hand, the team began below-grade foundation work, including hand-dug shoring pits and excavation. That excavation will create additional usable square footage at the home’s lowest level. Foundation work wraps up over the next month, and rough framing and structural steel are now underway.

The moment frame

The steel moment frame at the rear of the house is one of the primary structural supports for the entire home. A moment frame resists lateral loads through rigid connections between its beams and columns, rather than relying on solid shear walls or diagonal bracing. That leaves the rear wall open for full-height glazing and, once the home is complete, offers stunning views over San Francisco.

Project team

Construction: FORMA Construction
Architecture: Butler Armsden Architects
Video and Photography: Saul Estrada Studio