MVRDV has unveiled its design for a 23-storey mixed-use building in Mission Rock, San Francisco. Realized as part a masterplan developed by the San Francisco Giants baseball team and Tishman Speyer, MVRDV’s design is one of four buildings that were designed simultaneously in a unique collaborative design process that also included internationally renowned architecture firms Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, and WORKac.
LOCATION: United States
City: San Francisco
Year: 2018
Status: On Site
Programs: Offices, Retail, Residential
Surface: 36700 m²
Client: SF Giants + Tishman Speyer
Mission Rock represents 12 years of planning and community input to turn 28 acres (11 hectares) of asphalt and a windswept parking lot into an exciting new neighbourhood and community gathering point for San Francisco residents and visitors. The project is a public-private partnership with the San Francisco Giants, Tishman Speyer and the Port of San Francisco to build a waterfront mixed-use neighbourhood near Oracle Park.
Mission Rock is designed as a neighbourhood whose ensemble of mixed-use buildings will be tied together by the public spaces surrounding them and penetrating their ground floors. As co-master developers and general partners, the Giants and Tishman Speyer will design, build, lease and program Mission Rock. Phase 1, scheduled to break ground in early 2020, includes 4 Buildings: 2 residential (540 units), 2 commercial (550,000 square feet / 51,000 square metres); the 5-Acre (2 hectare) China Basin Park; and a Retail and Restaurant Space (85,000 square feet/7,900 square metres).
About Building A, Designed by MVRDV with Associate Architect Perry Architects
San Francisco combines rigid grids with a daring natural topography. While Mission Rock will become an extension of the city’s existing urban grid, the site misses the topographical qualities and challenges that make some of San Francisco’s traditional neighbourhoods so charming. What if we recreated a rocky hill within the parcel? MVRDV’s concept design for Building A was inspired by Californian rock formations, with a narrow valley running between steep rocky walls that extend all the way up the tower western façade. The Canyon is anticipated to become a lush and lively space, with landscape extending from China Basin Park into Building A.
Given Building A’s prime location, the building will become home base for Mission Rock, welcoming the visitors to the neighbourhood at the ‘handshake’ plaza, which spans from the 3rd Street Bridge to the corner of China Basin Park and Building A. Establishing a dialogue between the waterfront and iconic ballpark, the stepping and faceted volume visually connects to the stands of the ballpark while simultaneously creating private and common terraces that boast extraordinary views towards the bay and downtown.
The building has 23 above grade storeys with a partial basement which will house the on-site bike parking and supporting space for the District Energy System. The Canyon fracture makes it so the North-East podium block acts as its own separate building, while remaining well connected to the broader offerings of the tower. Referred to as the ‘Annex’, this port is equipped with its own programme and entry lobby which opens to the east side of the building. Residential amenity spaces will incorporate active rooftop uses, providing residents the opportunity to engage with the park below and gather with unobstructed views of the water and bay bridge.
The tower height is 240 feet (73 metres) with an additional 14-foot (4.3-metre) crown, to screen mechanical equipment on the tower roof. Vegetation becomes the driving force of rooftop design, to enhance user experience while creating ecological habitats.
A full press advisory with descriptions of all four buildings in Phase 1 can be found on our press room.
via mvrdv.nl
