Carmel Partners has unveiled Ever Green, a new permanent public art installation by Bay Area artist Taraneh Hemami. The 24-foot tall sculpture coincides with Carmel and Greystar announcing Atlas is 70% leased. Located at 385 14th Street in Downtown Oakland, the 40-story residential tower has added 633 rental units to the city.
Ever Green sculpture at the Atlas Tower, image courtesy Carmel Partners
The 400-foot tall building, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is the tallest residential tower in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco. The structure contains 901,500 square feet of floor area, with 692,000 square feet for residential use, 190,000 square feet for a 594-car garage, parking for 161 bicycles, and 17,350 square feet of street-level retail. Over 26,500 square feet of private open space is included, with balconies on almost every floor. Two-thirds of the 633 rental apartments will be in the tower and a third inside the 95-foot podium. Home sizes range from studios to two bedrooms spanning 493 to 1,230 square feet.
Atlas residential unit, rendering courtesy Carmel Partners
Sunset Lounge during golden hour in the Atlas at 385 14th Street, architecture by SCB
Ever Green marks one of the first major public art pieces contributed from a building in Oakland through the Public Art Ordinance, authorizing the investment of 1.5% of municipal capital improvement project costs into public art. Taraneh Hemami was selected by Carmel Partners and representatives from Oakland’s Chinatown and Black Arts Movement and Business District, excited to see the oak tree as a unifying symbol representing Oakland’s cultural and historic districts.
Ever Green sculpture, image courtesy Carmel Partners
Taraneh Hemami is an American Iranian based in the Bay Area for several decades. She even received her MFA from the California College of the Arts in Oakland. While describing what attracted her to the Ever Green concept, she writes that “it stands in for acres of oak groves in Oakland’s past and its namesake, honoring the native land it is grounded in as well as the many attributes of the oak tree and its parallels with the city of Oakland; an emblem of strength, endurance and survival, oak is seen as a witness to history and changing times, offering shelter and protection, symbolizing knowledge, and wisdom.”
Ever Green sculpture underneath its canopy, image courtesy Carmel Partners
Built by Gizmo, the structure is composed of brush finish and polished stain steel with transparent iridescent green glass. It stands 24 feet tall, 24 feet wide, and 14 feet deep, providing a shade under the reflective canopy.
Tribune Tower viewed from the Atlas at 385 14th Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Unit prices range from $2,808 per month for a studio to $8,279 for a top-floor two-bedroom residence. Greystar is even offering two months free with new leases. For more information about Atlas, visit the building website here.
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