5 design teams unveil designs for Presidio Parklands

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IMAGE CREDIT | TEAM James Corner Field Operations

Five international landscape architecture and design teams recently presented their concepts for 13 new acres of Presidio parklands. The new parklands will be created by the replacement of the elevated highway (Doyle Drive) that has cut through the Presidio for seven decades, with a below-grade roadway covered by tunnels. The Presidio Trust, in partnership with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and National Park Service, asked the five teams to develop creative concepts to inspire ideas about what could happen at the site.

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IMAGE CREDIT | OLIN

The five teams: CMG Landscape Architecture, James Corner Field Operations, OLIN, SNØHETTA, and West 8 Team, presented their concepts at a public meeting . The teams were selected from 25 respondents to a request for qualifications in March, 2014. They were provided with a stipend and tasked with developing conceptual design and programming for the new landscape.

 

U | Team OLIN
OLIN, Olson Kundig, Biohabitats, Local Projects, Natural Learning Initiave and Hertiage Landscapes

“The U is a socio-ecotone, a site which weaves the inherent characteristics of two adjacent places. The project site sits on the edge of two very different landscapes. Historically, ecologically, and socially, the Gateway site must link together these adjacencies as well as form an identity of its own. Utilizing the form of the U, we are able to literally embrace components of each adjacent site, focus views to landscapes well beyond the project site, and frame a new set of exciting programs within.”

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IMAGE CREDIT | Team OLIN

 

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IMAGE CREDIT | Team OLIN

 

PRESIDIO POINT | Team James Corner Field Operations
James Corner Field Operations, Rockweel Group, Grergoire Associates, Page & Turnbull, Perry & Associates, Richard Turner, HR&A Advisors, and MKA Engineers.

“This new locus, or center-point, is afforded by extending the plateau of the Presidio out over tunnels, projecting a raised platform and terrace for absorbing the full panoramic spectrum while fully connecting the uplands to the lowlands and the Bay. From this point radiates a host of journeys and pathways to some of the Park’s most spectacular destinations. The point becomes a nexus, a gathering place, a meeting place, a central hub.”

 

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IMAGE CREDIT | Team James Corner Field Operations
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IMAGE CREDIT | Team James Corner Field Operations

arcs & strands | Team SNØHETTA
SNØHETTA, Hood Design Studio, MIG, Center For Eco-literacy and Magnusson Klemencic Associates
“Grounded in the cultural and environmental context of the Presidio, the design framework for the Presidio Gateway is defined as an interplay of “Arcs” and “Strands”. Our proposal explores the tensions between these dynamic natural and cultural systems, and creates opportunities for the impact of these forces to become legible over time, creating new experiences for visitors and inhabitants alike.”

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IMAGE CREDIT | Team SNØHETTA
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IMAGE CREDIT | Team SNØHETTA

THE OBSERVATION POST | Team CMG
cmg landscape architecture, the exploratorium: studio for public spaces, Susan Schwartzenberg, ehdd mJm management, contemporanea, steelblue, kristina hill, and Rob Mcginnis/OCULUS
“Our design achieves this by integrating the contiguous landscape types and creating habitats for native plants, wildlife, and people. Finally, we provide opportunities to frame, enhance, and highlight the views and natural phenomena in a variety of experiences and destina-tions, from the grand to the intimate. We call our project the Obser-vation Post, which like the Main Post, is a collection of buildings and landscapes. Our project also replaces the existing Observation Post building with a new structure that better serves the goal of observing.”

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IMAGE CREDIT | Team CMG
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IMAGE CREDIT | Team CMG

PRESIDIO | Team West 8
West 8 New York,  Bionic, Sitelab urban studio, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Jensen Architects, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Architectural Resources Group,  Nelson Nygaard, Wendy MacNaughton, Volume Inc., ESA, ETM Associates LLC, and AECOM.

“We believe that apt gestures, such as our proposed Eclipse, remind us that a melding of modern forms in a picturesque settings, can transform the familiar while stirring and enriching our souls. They grow out of an understanding of a cultural landscape’s dynamic evolution, while balancing design, programmatic and stewardship objectives. This is our philosophical approach for The Gateway, and it is also how we measure success.”

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Team West 8
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Team West 8

 

 

About Damian Holmes 3245 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/