Surfacedesign "celebrates material reuse" at San Francisco waterfront park
Local landscape design studio Surfacedesign has completed Bayfront Park waterfront park in San Francisco using steel elements from a recently demolished portion of the Oakland Bay Bridge.
Located along the eastern shore of the Mission Bay neighbourhood, the park was constructed in a formal industrial site across from the city's Chase Center arena.
"Bayfront Park celebrates material reuse and a sense of place along the evolving waterfront," said Surfacedesign. "With its palette of rugged and reclaimed materials, [it] reconnects present-day Mission Bay to its maritime history."
The project is wedge-shaped in form and contains a promenade that runs along its urban border and terraced steps that lead down to a waterfront path.
For the project, the studio received leftover steel from the Oakland Museum of California's Bay Bridge Steel Program, which allocates leftover material from the demolition of a portion of the Oakland Bay Bridge to public projects throughout the state.
The studio used the material throughout the park, inserting steel beams both vertically and horizontally to create a variety of features including a slim cantilevered observation deck.
"Steel elements from the now-demolished eastern span of the bridge are incorporated throughout the park as sculptural features," said the team.
"Vertical steel elements animate the 16th Street Plaza and act as supports for a pair of shade structures, repurposed beams are used as informal seating elements along the waterfront and in the plaza, and as part of the observation deck."
The steel elements and public plazas encircle two elevated lawns. On one end, a plaza contains a colourful basketball court and seating, while the other 16th Street Plaza contains barbeques, picnic tables and shade structures.
Surfacedesign also considered sea-level rise by raising the elevation of the site and protecting its waterfront with rip-rap.
Portions of a nearby "historic seawall" were also placed in the park as informal seating.
The studio used a mixture of native and naturalized plant species for the landscaping, which also included biorentation gardens to help manage stormwater run-off.
Developed by Mission Rock Development Group, the park is intended to connect visitors to the waterfront as one of its "last pieces"of a wider development.
"At the site of one of the last pieces of the waterfront in Mission Bay, Bayfront Park is a democratic, iconic new public space that represents the dynamism and optimism of San Francisco," said the team.
The area is also home to the recent Mission Rock development, which includes a cluster of new buildings by WORKac, MVRDV, Studio Gang and Henning Larsen.
The photography is by Marion Brenner
Project credits:
Landscape architect: Surfacedesign, Inc. -James A. Lord, Partner, Roderick Wyllie, Michal Kapitulnik, Tyler Chandler, Senior Associate Annie Hansel, Penelope Leggett, Associate
Client: Mission Bay Development Group (FOCIL)
Structural, electrical and utilities: GHD
Geotechnical: Langan
Civil: Lotus Water
Irrigation: Brookwater
Contractor: Hosele
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