mayor cuts small little pieces. [laughter] any way, happy birthday. >> thank you very much! wonderful! >> whoo, happy birthday to mayor ed lee! we have a party in the house! thank you. and we are all going to get to have a piece. thank you. we're going to remove the cake

so that it can be cut and you could each have a piece. meanwhile, we will have the finale, and we ask everybody to stand up and dance, ok? we would like to ask the elected officials, the dignitaries, commissioners, come up to the stage! we're going to ask the mayor to stay on the stage so we can watch him boogie. everyone, come on up. hi, dean, , not. all right, party in the house! come up! ♪

[dance music plays] ♪

♪

[applause] >> great. whoo! ok, , like to ask our cultural profession folks to gather around the mayor for a group photo. please gather around, thank you. and we need to back up a little bit, thank you. all right. is the mayor a great dancer or what? we need to get him to boogie down at his campaign. a reminder, pick up your ticket, please, as you had upstairs to the green room, at the reception, and i will see you at

7:00 p.m. weeknights on channel 5. have a great time tonight. thank you. enjoy, mental, eat. -- enjoy, mingle, eat. >> there are kids and families ever were. it is really an extraordinary playground. it has got a little something for everyone. it is aesthetically billion. it is completely accessible.

you can see how excited people are for this playground. it is very special. >> on opening day in the brand- new helen diller playground at north park, children can be seen swinging, gliding, swinging, exploring, digging, hanging, jumping, and even making drumming sounds. this major renovation was possible with the generous donation of more than $1.5 million from the mercer fund in honor of san francisco bay area philanthropist helen diller. together with the clean and safe neighborhood parks fund and the city's general fund. >> 4. 3. 2. 1. [applause] >> the playground is broken into three general areas. one for the preschool set, another for older children, and a sand area designed for kids of

all ages. unlike the old playground, the new one is accessible to people with disabilities. this brand-new playground has several unique and exciting features. two slides, including one 45- foot super slide with an elevation change of nearly 30 feet. climbing ropes and walls, including one made of granite. 88 suspension bridge. recycling, traditional swing, plus a therapeutics win for children with disabilities, and even a sand garden with chines and drums. >> it is a visionary $3.5 million world class playground in the heart of san francisco. this is just really a big, community win and a celebration for us all. >> to learn more about the helen diller playground in dolores park, go to sfrecpark.org.

>> thank you for being here. i want to thank the young people for being here, because you are the future. there are going to be things in this building and you are going to see that are not normal in those buildings yet. they are cutting edge, but by the time it you are my age, everybody is going to have this stuff, and you will be some of the first to see it. it is great to have you here. really quickly, this is a building we are proud of, because this is really who epitomizes the value in san francisco. it uses a third less power than a normal office building. it saves money.

i want to kick it off by introducing the mayor over his career he has have so many different figures on this building from being the administrator to being the mayor, so this is a welcome thing. phyfe good morning, everybody -- >> good morning, everybody. i have got the same eyes as you today. this is the first time i have stepped into this building as well. everything you see is going to be the same as for me. i am going to last questions, -- to ask questions, and i am going to try to figure out where this water comes from. i am going to have the same

questions as you have because i am excited about this building, and i am thankful to the public utilities commission, to the wonderful staff, and the others on the team. i am thankful to the commission as well that they have been guiding this process. some years ago when i was an attorney, i was working on this side. this used to be the site of the workers' comp hearing room, and i had to go to court to represent workers who were injured, and over the years the state abandoned it. it became an abandoned site. and we were a little embarrassed because we did not know how to deal with it for years, and the idea came from others. after so much effort, why don't we stop paying rent for all the

offices? why don't we consolidate but of the same time use our devolved intelligence about building the greenest building weekend, -- we can? we are one of the green is buildings in the country. this is the only building that is going to reuse its waste water. it is creating energy by wind and by solar on the roof in very large amounts that will have the design and now working with the contractors. good i want to thank n d for his wonderful construction capabilities, and because they house accepted a design and all the challenges that go with it

to build if the right way. they use special concrete. they were to make sure air flow can reduce the amount of air conditioning we see in many of buildings, and it is terrain high use of energy for the system to work, but the air flow so that 20 or 30 years down the road when we are redoing these floors, we will be able to do it in a much more efficient manner. in fact, this building saves the puc and the city's $500 million over the next 100 years. that is great because the puc exists because of ratepayers. they want to see the smartest technology. gerd they want to see a building that not only houses

900,000 employees but also those that are smart handling a strong interest in making sure we continue maintaining a water system. not only is it a great building. this is for you. this is a building that educates you and your families for generations to come. how we take care of our water system and how we maintain the system not just for san francisco insert but for the people who depend upon a national water system and maintain it and spent a lot of money making sure it is earthquake safe. this building is also going to be the safest building to be in in case there ever is an earthquake event, and we are

doing that with our libraries, our civic buildings, and we will build new buildings, and we want to make sure it will withstand. if you are in buildings, it is going to rock a little bit, but it will be saved. i was here over a year-and-a- half ago, and we were across the street and putting on the last dream, and we were already excited to see how this would come out, and every floor has special things, and it is using all of our artwork, so you can see the ninth art work. they are displayed to make it a good working environment. the other part and we are so proud of is working with all the

subcontractors, 40% of all the work force until this building and designed its are san francisco residents commo, so we honoring our critical goal for the jobs we want. we have honored the union and labour to make sure it happened the right way, so this represents so much of the good things we have always wanted out of our public buildings and construction company, and i want to congratulate dpw, our public utilities commission and staff, contractors, community of arts programs, other agencies working in with this, and our vendors, whether they are contractors or the other businesses that help

with the video and electronics and this building to make it not only modern but technologically updated so four years you're going to be able to see the whole hetch hetchy water system displayed for our kids and future families but also to use it in every day technology for communications. this is more than just a building. it is a demonstration of what we can do when we work together to put the goals of the greenest and most modern and technology in blessing with what the public utilities commission does for a city, and that is to take care of our own water and infrastructure and waste water. congratulations for a wonderful effort, but congratulations for a building i know you were involved in every part of this, and it is a great way to really have a wonderful legacy you have

high. congratulations to you. [applause] >> thank you, merely. when you said you had not been inside this building, you could give the tour. one thing i would like to point out is david is back there. they are the designers of this building, so much of the credit also goes to david. there are two other people. we will mention a lot of names, but we have the project managers. [applause] to start the tour, you know where our water comes from? the answer is hetch hetchy. everybody who comes into our building will not be as smart, so we have done a teaching also about when children and parents

come into this tobin they can learn about the system through this teaching wall. i am asking you to turn on the walnul that shows you can see that it comes down to the central valley and produces energy on the way. it has a variety of customers in the southern part of the area. you'll notice it is interactive. you can learn as you walk around the ramp, the kind of things.

it goes from blue kite to purple plaid and that represents the waste water. we call this from snowfall to out all. do you know what happens when you flush a toilet? where does the water go? the water goes to the treatment plant. that will not be the case in this building. it would be a different experience because they would be reusing the water on site here.

>> welcome to culture wire. we will look at the latest and greatest public art project. recently, the airport unveiled the new state of the art terminal. let's take a look. the new terminal service and american airlines and virgin america was designed by a world-

renowned architecture's firm. originally built in 1954, the building underwent massive renovation to become the first registered terminal and one of the must modern and sustainable terminals and the united states. the public art program continues its 30-year legacy of integrating art into the airport environment with the addition of five new commissions that are as bold and dynamic as the new building. >> this project was completed in record time, and we were able to integrate the artist's early enough in the process that they could work with the architect said that the work that is completed is the work that really helps complement and instill the space as opposed to being tucked away in a corner. >> be experience begins with the glass facades that was designed

with over 120 laminated glass panels. it captures the experience of being under or over clouds when flying in a plane. depending on the distance or point of view, it can appear clear for more abstract and atmospheric. the subtle colors change gradually depending on the light and the time of day. >> i wanted to create an art work that looks over time as well as working on in the first glance. the first time you come here, you may not see a. but you may be able to see one side over the other. it features a couple of suspended sculptures. each was created out of a series of flat plains run parallel to each other and constructed of steel tubing. >> it is made up of these

strata. as the light starts to shift, there is a real sense that there is a dynamism. >> it gives the illusion that this cultures might be fragments of a larger, mysterious mass. >> the environmental artwork livens it with color, light, and the movement. three large woven soldiers are suspended. these are activated by custom air flow program. >> i channeled air flow into each of these forms that makes it move ever so slightly. and it is beating like a heart. if-0 when as of the forces of nature moving around us every

second. >> shadow patterns reflect the shapes of the hanging sculptures. the new terminal also features a children's play areas. both of the market the exploratory n.y. -- exploratorium. the offer travelers of all ages a playful oasis. using high quality plywood, they created henches shaped like a bird wings that double as musical instruments. serving as a backdrop is a mural featuring images of local birds and san francisco's famous skyline. >> in the line between that is so natural, you can see birds

and be in complete wilderness. i really like that about this. you could maybe get a little snapshot of what they are expecting. >> it is an interactive, keck sculpture that is interacted with by the visitor. >> they are a lot about and they fall down the belt. it moves the belt up, and if you turn that faster, the butterflies fall in the move of words. >> the art reflect the commission's commitment to acquiring the best work from the bay area and beyond. in addition to the five new commissions, 20 artworks that were already in the airport collection were reinstalled. some of which were historically cited in the terminal. it includes major sculptures by

the international artists. as a collection, these art works tell the story of the vibrant arts scene in the early 1960's through the mid-1980s's. the illustrate san francisco's cultural center and a place of innovation that is recognized and the love throughout the world. one of the highlights is a series of three left tapestries. they are on view after being in storage for 20 years. these tapestries representing various gardens. from his years of living in san francisco. hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and whilst dahlias in rich, deep shades as they make their way to the baggage area.

they can access behind-the- scenes information and interviews with the artist through an audio to work. it features archival audio as well as interviews with living artists. he can be accessed on site by dialing the telephone numbers located near the artwork or by visiting the commission's web site. the public art speaks volumes of san francisco as a world-class city with world-class art and culture. for more information, visit