Mission Rock | Lot 337 & Pier 48

Currently a 65,000 sqft parking lot south of Giant’s Stadium in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, Mission Rock is slated to become 11 fine-grained city blocks of  mixed-use development including: residential, office, and retail space with a large open park at the heart.  The Master Plan guidelines outlined by Perkins and Will were crafted with the intent to create a wide range of possible outcomes for the architecture and to produce an environment of live-work spaces that is like none other in San Francisco. To test their strategy an initial charrette was held and various architects were invited to illustrate the diversity of design that could come from the Master Plan guidelines and highlight the ever-evolving urban neighborhood. Our studio started by using the Master Plan guidelines for the charrette, which included height limits, FAR ratios, and setbacks.

Design

This project started with the carving away of the maximum allotted square-foot box to increase the perimeter throughout the building. The increase in perimeter is expressed through two light wells that cut through the building and open to the East – Bayside – allowing more units to have access to daylight, natural ventilation, and to let the bay experience to filter deep into the building. Most importantly the light wells allow for a duality to be created between the “L” units that face inward towards the light wells and those that face outward towards the entirety of the Mission Rock Development.

Lastly, while both skins are an amalgamation of smaller parts that contribute to the whole and work both for programmatic privacy and sun shading, the contrast between the introspective “L” units and the outward focused East and West units are highlighted by the different ways the two skin choices calibrated for each. The “L” units’ sense of intimacy is enhanced through a panel size that relates more to the human scale. The natural material palette of the “L” unit panels are a combination of plants, wood or perforated white metal and vary according to programmatic privacy or need. In contrast the exterior perforated white metal skin is of a larger scale and acts more as a monolithic screen than as an assembly of parts.

The “L” units look directly into one of the two light wells and are designed specifically to be spaces for multi-generational families to maintain their proximity to the amenities of city life, while cultivating spaces for introspection and intimacy. Each “L” unit also has a large balcony that extends into the light well- bringing the tenant into the communal space. Areas such as the balconies and kitchens with an increased visibility allow neighbors to see and communicate with each other, fostering a more intimate sense of community centered around each light well. Large shared communal spaces on each floor, that physically bridge the divide between the bay and the light wells, also help to create a sense of community for the “L” unit tenants. The layout of each “L” unit allows for solitary and private areas within that slowly become more public towards the large glass window walls that face into the light wells. The experience of being outside, yet within the light wells, is one of seeing your neighbors and acknowledging your shared daily routines through a co-habitation of the same residential building.

The East and West units in contrast are more outward focused and either lookout onto the bay or the Mission Rock Development. The East units have French balconies with large sliding glass doors to allow the bay to enter into the unit and dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior. The West units have exterior balconies that ask the residents to step outside and to interact with the Mission Rock life.

Silver Tree Day Camp
Program

Located within the diverse and varied landscape of Glen Canyon, the Silver Tree Day Camp originated as a day camp designed to give children living in San Francisco the opportunity to experience a “taste of the strange ways of nature.” Today the day camp operates as ten one-week long summer camps for children ages 6-13 years, providing multiple activities that encourage outdoor exploration and education. The camp runs daily from 9am-3pm, with an evening campfire program at 6pm once a week. During the remaining fall/winter/spring months, the building operates as a coop nursery school for children ages 3-5 years and a maximum enrollment of 58 children; however, the space provides the flexibility for alternate uses year-round.

Proposed Program
The goal for this program is to establish continuity between interior and exterior spaces that allows learning about nature to become a process or activity that occurs within the natural environment. To achieve this goal, the proposed program to a large extent follows the existing program, but combines and resizes spaces that seemed to be determined more by the existing building than the requirements of the day camp. The main indoor and outdoor activity areas serve a large part in the daily camp life; they are where the children arrive in the morning and depart in the evening and should be flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of events occurring throughout the day. Similarly, the kitchen should become more fully integrated into the daily program of the camp, shifting from its current utilitarian use to one that serves the camp more holistically, perhaps as a supplemental learning or arts and craft space. It should also engage the exterior area where children and guests can participate in educational and social activities, such as the weekly campfire. The size and subdivision of the outdoor spaces is open-ended and will be dependent upon individual schemes but should carefully consider the activities they will be supporting and how they are connected to the interior spaces.

The program assumes a maximum of 100 campers and 10-15 staff for each session. A total of (2) water closets and (2) lavatories are to be provided for each gender to meet current code requirements, in addition to (1) drinking fountain and (1) service sink. The amount of space dedicated to activity storage has decreased from the existing program provisions and can also occur outside of the building if desired.

As architecture moves out landscape moves in.

Where the intermixing of the landscape and architecture occurs a carpet-like condition is created over the site, and this undulating carpet is then able to encompass and respond to the programmatic needs of the summer time camp and the 9 month-long kindergarten. The carpet is a combination of native plants, permeable pavers, wood, and concrete and allows for the uninterrupted flow of space from landscape to architecture and back to landscape. The aim is to allow for egalitarian movement throughout regardless of whether the user is a visitor to Glenpark, a summertime camper, a resident walking their dog, or a wheelchair bound user. The carpet moves throughout the site and exists independently of the large window-wall envelope, thus allowing for the expansion of indoor areas to become indoor-outdoor areas when the window-walls are opened.

Since San Francisco is such a mild climate the large window-walls allow for mediation between the site and the building. The window-walls can all slide and open to allow for uninterrupted access through the building and expand to allow for intimate spaces or for outdoor access when needed.
The carpet stands in juxtaposition to the low, monolithic roof allowing the undulations in the carpet to fully be registered. The roof and support columns are cor-ten steel and the thin flatness of the roof not only registers the carpet movement, but also the verticality of the 60 – 90 foot eucalyptus trees that cover the site.

Two aberrant moments within the project are the kitchen/ office and courtyard and are the two programmatic elements that are not encompassed by the carpet dynamics. They stand apart from the carpet, but also each other. They are meant to mirror and reflect each other’s use: one wastes water, the other consumes it: one uses paper, the other makes it. Both are reflections of mankind’s need to order and organize the world around them; whether it is through lists and figures or through manicured nature. Both the kitchen/ office and courtyard are enclosed by the same window walls that make up the envelope and can be completely closed and removed from the rest of the school. The window walls can also be fully opened and allow for movement through the courtyard and kitchen as if the walls were never even there.

U.C. Berkeley's Master Thesis 2014

For full images and text please see "Visions of the Future Past" under Thailand | Burma Work

Climate Response

By leveraging the resources that are, or could occur, locally: bio-fuel, methanogenesis, solar radiation (up to 23 hours at some points in the year), and waste heating, a variety of techniques and architectural strategies are created on the S, M, L, and XL scale to allow for a more varied and targeted climate response in both the pneumatic membranes and The Hub.

Pneumatic Membranes:  a system of pneumatic panels at can be assembled on site become the new envelope for up to 4 houses. These membranes are the insulative barrier to the harsh winter temperatures and allow for the creation of microclimates for the houses underneath. The microclimates allow for a gradient of temperatures, and in the winter time the microclimates range from the extreme cold of the outdoors (down to -60F), to a more tempered indoor/outdoor space between the houses, and finally to the warm interiors of the houses. In the summer membranes function as greenhouses and for increased ventilation and community connections the side panels are removable. Most houses currently run on gas and the envelopes created by the membranes and the increased proximity of houses underneath of the membranes allow fuel to be used more efficiently. Once installed photovoltaic panels are installed on the most southern facing side allowing the houses within to receive solar energy.

The Hub: within The Hub microclimates are also created with various tempered zones that allow for a range of social activities. The microclimates in The Hub create greenhouse areas in the summer and gather community areas within, making them more efficient year around. The Hub also has photovoltaic panels as well as internal systems that decompose plant and human waste for bio-fuel and the propagation of methanogenesis through the harnessing of methane gas can be used for cooking, heating, and electricity.

Social Response

Currently, no space for unexpected engagement or improvised interaction exists. Studies of community spaces show that they are not being used efficiently and there are numerous missed opportunities for interaction between activities.

Pneumatic Membranes: the membrane attempts to address the issues of community fragmentation by creating micro-neighborhoods that allow for families and relatives to congregate under the same membrane. These shared spaces are programmed specifically for private and communal gathering. Private areas act as garage space, food storage, and dog lots, while communal gathering areas allow for community gardens, outdoor play in the winter, and shared eating.

The Hub:  specific buildings and programs are concentrated into the hub on the basis of usage frequency and number of users. The Hub takes programs that are disparate across the town and brings them into one social center. This allows for a better use of resources as well as new social overlap between spaces and programs. By concentrating the important aspects of the town it is able to become the heart of the community and when relocation is decided upon the life of the community can move uninterrupted.

Relocation

As a way to facilitate an easier transitions between the existing and new relocation site a narrative timeline is crafted in which the new relocation process occurs. This recognizes that relocation could be a potentially continuous affair that creates a new community dynamic and relationship to the act of relocating that is more akin to a seasonal nomadic lifestyle.

Existing: Existing houses are HUD homes not built for the climate and therefore use resources inefficiently; on top of that there is a missed opportunity from the lack of density of houses.

Huddle: The existing houses huddle and densify so that membranes can more efficiently use space and energy

Membrane Deployment: Membranes are erected in the summer and can inflate to cover 2 to 4 houses creating micro-neighborhoods. This starts the solar generation process and addresses community fragmentation.

Hub Arrival: The Hub arrives in the winter and the community starts to fill it with program

House Migration: When relocation is decided upon by the community in the winter the pioneer homes on triodetic foundations are fitted with skis and dragged behind the hub as it moves to the new location. The hub then stays with the pioneer community to act as infrastructure throughout the winter.

Hub Returns: In the beginning of the warm season the hub returns to the original community.

Village Deconstruction: In the summer the membranes and materials from the original town are deconstructed and loaded on to the hub for transportation to the new location

Final Destination: At the new location membranes are deployed again and wrap around the transported and new houses on site. Until construction is finished the hub acts as temporary housing and infrastructure for the community.

Relocation is inevitable…

Throughout the semester it became clear to our team that the need for relocation was not only a long and complex process, but also resource intensive and expensive. And while many communities in Alaska, especially our case study towns: Shishmaref and Shaktoolik, felt that relocation from their current location was a likely outcome, none, however, wanted to move. In that spirit we felt that there were many things that could be addressed to alleviate the current situation as well as the relocation process.

However, there is much to do in the present…

Our team’s approach to the move is that while relocation is inevitable we will chose to look at village mobility and autonomy through the lens of resource and energy use. Our approach manifests in 2 variations: pneumatic membranes to cover existing buildings to create micro-neighborhoods and the creation of a new mobile building typology, The Hub, to act as the heart and center of community life. Both the pneumatic membranes and Hub act performatively in response to the climate and socially in response to the community needs.

The problem facing our team was how to create and implement architectural techniques that allow for a discourse of adaptability and closed-loop thinking in every decision throughout the design process.  At one point in time each of these communities were 100% subsistent and nothing was wasted; every element of every commodity was used. Termed “Seal Logic”, this became a design philosophy that helps to connect traditional views developed through hunting and harvesting into a landscape of modern materials and techniques. With the current dependency on imported oil and resources the communities are now at 50% subsistence, which is not currently economically or materially viable in the long run due to oil prices and oil delivery logistics. The overall aim within our team’s design is to help create a local source of energy resources that will enable 100% subsistence living once again.  The process in achieving this long term goal will allow for an increase in the community’s autonomy on a cultural, economic, and resource level. Lastly, the 100% subsistence goal will enable the community to have the ultimate autonomy by allowing them to decide when and where to relocate.

2013

Previous to the 1970’s and US government relocation, communities were historically situated around the Kazigi, or men’s hut. The Kazigi was always the community center with the rest of the buildings fanning out radially from it. It was also where visitors might stay, food was stored, and general community gatherings were held. The 1940’s government sites all were created on Cartesian axial grids and the existing community’s important and public buildings are now scattered and separate. The permanent axial layout of these new communities did not function within the traditional framework of the community interaction, performed poorly in relation to the environment, and lead to a once sustenance migratory lifestyle to become static and resource dependent.

2050

Showing the pre-relocation conditions with the newly created micro-neighborhoods huddling under the pneumatic membranes that are out fitted with semi-transparent, flexible pv panels. The town has moved from the axial layout to one that more resembles a traditional village with The Hub as the new village center, programmed with community life and activity. The membranes and The Hub are creating energy and using it more efficiently as the community moves towards 100% subsistence and autonomy over the relocation process.

The film archive started with a site analysis of the different weaves throughout the urban grid and how those weaves and warps could affect the dominate, secondary, and rest areas within the design. The theater concept was not just about going into a building and watching a movie, but also about the voyeuristic qualities of watching the movie-goers themselves. The moment frame structure helped to create a datum that would allow the train and outdoor tourists to watch the movement of those within the building as if there were watching a movie themselves as the movie-goers walked across the ever changing façade panels made of clear, semi-opaque, and concrete panels. These panels were then moved into the interior of the building as their own field condition that helped to create viewing spaces from which people would walk between, interact with, or watch other movie-goers while giving a dream like quality to the interior of the space.

Warps & Weaves of the Urban Grid 

The diagrams for studying the above ground conditions on the site specifically focused on the weaves and warps found within the existing buildings and the city grid. I was interested in mapping how the Cartesian grid of the Mitte District interacted with the Spree River and the new grid orientation that arose from it. I noticed that there were two warps within the traditional 90 degree weave near our site, one on our building site and one at the northern end of Museum Island. The weaves, and their eventual distortions by the Spree River, stayed the same as the building progressed vertically, but their dominance slowly became less apparent.

Folding Diagrams

The folding diagrams were about exploring the technique of folding earth that I found to be an inherent quality within the Biosphere project. I started by looking at the surrounding berm complexes and trying to recreate their dynamic vertical movements by folding and cutting only one piece of paper. After realizing how simple it actually was to take one piece of paper, that acted like the earth’s surface, and use only folds and cuts to transform it into the berm complexes I decided to make a 2D diagramatic how-to-booklet of how anyone could then replicate the process.

After the successful manipulation of folding to create the berms I was interested in applying this process to the building itself and seeing if the same principals of using only one piece of paper to fold and cut could generate planes that were similar to the Biosphere building. What came from these diagrams were different ways of seeing how form can be influenced by the surrounding site context. If the Biosphere could be born from the manipulation of the earth’s surface into new planes, but still maintain a quality that had an inherent connection to the ground and site- could other buildings be created through the same process?

Biosphere Study Model

When building the Biosphere model our team was very interested in exploring the structure and tectonics of the building. At first the structure seemed simple and clearly expressed throughout, however as we delved more into the research of the building we realized that the seemingly simple structural system that was apparent on the surface belied a much more complex system beneath.

For these reasons when building our model we wanted to stay true to the pour in place concrete system that was used in the original Biosphere. We choose to CNC a foam form work through a very thorough 3D model of the building and then to cover the entire foam form work with wood veneer. This process enabled us to not only mimic the original pour in place process, but to also create crisp lines and wood impression detailing on the berms. The form work was then filled with a mixture of 2:2:6 – cement:pottingsoil:water – that was pretested for maximum durability and malleable. By creating the ground plan and berms out of the same pour we wanted to stress the concept that the berms were not only made from earth but should be considered folds of the earth that act as a separate unit from the envelope, roof and other structural elements of the building.

Point Bonita Earth Art Gallery

The design for the Point Bonita Earth Art Gallery is meant to explore two qualities, of layering and nesting, originally derived from an exploration of SEM images. These two qualities drove the formal logic and are expressed throughout the design. Layering within the building is primarily expressed through the visitor’s gaze and the juxtaposition between where and how that gaze can penetrate the building. The design, also hopes to use fog as an additional layer which will be able to seep into the exposed parts of the building at different times of the year or day and create a third, more ephemeral, type of layering effect.

All of the galleries are nestled within the main circulatory ramp, which also act as their structural support. Each gallery is settled within a larger piece of the building; this effect is also meant to amplify the layering qualities of the design.

The Point Bonita Earth Art Gallery gives visitors a chance to enjoy earth art in an up close and personal manner. This gallery is meant to be an addition to the artists in residence that live and work near the site; hopefully this gallery will be a place for the artists to display their earth art and for rotational pieces to be seen by the public.