"Top Ten Reasons to Bury a Building" (see Article Archives) outlined some typical, pragmatic reasons to construct a building underground. Some architects and owners have chosen the subterranean option for more novel, though often practical, reasons. Consider the following examples:

Exhibit A: Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA.

Beginning in 1955, the city of San Francisco began preparing an 11.5-acre tract for urban development. Selection of this site pushed development past Market Street, expanding the area that was being covered with massive new buildings. Active opposition developed, seeking in part to limit the encroachment of view-blocking structures that seemed to overpower the area in larger-than-human scale.

After 20 years of controversy, in a characteristically California fashion, the issue was decided by a referendum. Voters approved the construction of a large convention center on the site, provided it be built underground if the cost was not prohibitive. In effect, they said "yes" to needed development, but "no" to allowing hulks of buildings to cover all the available space.

When it was completed in 1981, the Moscone Convention Center offered the largest column-free exhibit space in the United States. Its 650,000 square feet of space, including large and small rooms, sat underground except for an aboveground entrance pavilion. An area of 275,000 square feet above its roof remained available for development as a park or low-rise public space.

The facility was so successful that in 1991 a second underground wing was completed, nearly doubling the building's area. Surface development now includes an amusement area with an ice-skating rink, a carousel, theaters, shops, and a beautifully landscaped park.

Exhibit B: University of Illinois Undergraduate Library, Urbana-Champaign, IL.

Thirty years ago, the University of Illinois administration decided to build a new library to better serve its undergraduate students. The site chosen was a convenient campus location, but it presented a significant limitation. It was situated immediately west of the Morrow Plot, the oldest continuously operated agricultural experiment field in the United States. Erecting a building there would cast unacceptable shadows on the test crops.

The problem was solved by building the two-story library underground. The square structure surrounds a recessed, open courtyard, and floor-to-ceiling windows allow patrons to look out onto the attractively landscaped, 72-foot-square plaza. Only a small entrance pavilion rises above ground level to mark the location of the 98,000-square-foot library.

Exhibit C: Various facilities, Park University, Parkville, MO.

Twenty years ago, Park College needed to provide more space for a library, administrative offices, and classrooms. But the small college lacked the financial resources to undertake an ambitious building campaign. Its new president looked around and realized that the campus sat on a virtual gold mine. More precisely, the bluff under the campus could be turned into a commercial limestone quarry.

Revenues from the quarry represented only part of the benefit, however. In addition, the college could construct the new buildings it needed in the caverns created by the excavation. A decade later, the college had extensive new facilities in operation, including an art gallery, a computer lab, and a health clinic. But the mining didn't stop there. Selling the limestone continues to generate some income for the college, and the additional underground space is being developed into an industrial park. Leasing space for warehouses, distribution centers, and offices is expected to be even more lucrative.

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