>> 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. >> we came to seven straight about 10 years ago. -- 7th street about 10 years ago. the environment is huge. it is stronger than willpower.

surrounding yourself with artists, being in a culture where artists are driving, and where a huge amount of them is a healthy environment. >> you are making it safer. push, push. that is better. when i start thinking, i see it actually -- sometimes, i do not see it, but when i do, it is usually from the inside out. it is like watching something being spawned. you go in, and you begin to work, excavate, play with the dancers, and then things began to emerge. you may have a plan that this is what i want to create. here are the ideas i want to play with, but then, you go into the room, and there maybe some

fertile ideas that are becoming manifest that are more interesting than the idea you had initially set out to plan. so there has to be this openness for spontaneity. also, a sense that regardless of the deadline, that you have tons of time so the you can keep your creativity alive and not cut it off and just go into old habits. it is a lot like listening. really listening to watch what is going to emerge. i like this thing where you put your foot on his back. let's keep it. were your mind is is how you build your life. if you put it in steel or in failure, it works. that works. it is a commitment. for most artists, it is a vacation and a life that they have committed themselves to.

there is this notion that artists continue to do their work because of some kind of the external financial support. if that was taken away, artists would still do their art. it is not like there is a prerequisite for these things to happen or i will not do it. how could that be? it is the relationship that you have committed to. it is the vocation. no matter how difficult it gets, you are going to need to produce your art. whether it is a large scale or very small scale. the need to create is going to happen, and you are going to have to fulfill it because that is your life.