Completed sustainable tower inspired by geology at Mission Rock in San Francisco,
Global architecture firm MVRDV has completed a “geo-inspired sustainable tower” in San Francisco’s Mission Rock and the first residents have begun moving into the apartment complex.
Named after The Canyon – formerly Mission Rock,
The 23-storey mixed-use building was officially opened on June 21 in a ceremony attended by the San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
The building marks MVRDV’s first completed project on the West Coast in the United States.
The 34,900 square meter building was built as part of a master plan that transforms the car park,
windswept waterfront San Francisco to a sustainable new neighborhood, known as Mission Rock,
With housing for middle-income residents.
The Canyon features jagged walls and a publicly accessible “canyon” that provides a path through the site.
It is reminiscent of the dramatic geology of California, inspired in part by the attractive topography of San Francisco.
The project Location
Located across from the Giants’ home stadium, Oracle Park,
The Canyon is one of four buildings that make up the first phase of the new Mission Rock neighborhood.
It is being developed through a partnership between the San Francisco Giants,
Tishman Speyer, and the Port of San Francisco.
Besides MVRDV, three other buildings have been designed in a collaborative process with world-renowned design firms – Studio Gang, Henning Larsen and WorkAC,
The team worked one at a time, to create designs that worked seamlessly together while each having a distinct look.
With its location in the northwest corner of the neighborhood,
The Canyon is the first thing visitors see when crossing the Third Street Bridge.
It will soon be fronted by China Basin Park, a waterfront promenade and cultural center for the community.
The building has a five-storey base topped by a 73-metre (240 ft) tower at the western corner of the grounds.
Like all masterplan buildings, the ground floor of The Canyon hosts small-scale shops and restaurants that help create a community feel in the new neighborhood.
Design features
In the case of The Canyon, the ground floor is topped by two floors of offices, and then 283 apartments.
More than a third of these apartments are rented below the market price,
and residents are chosen through a lottery process.
providing 102 homes for middle-income families and thus helping to alleviate San Francisco’s housing crisis.
The valley is instantly recognizable thanks to its solid red-brown façade.
The design references the rock formations in California.
It features a landscaped public ‘canyon’ that cuts through the base of the building diagonally, and connects to the residents’ common offices and facilities.
The valley provides a lush, lively space for relaxation and work,
and provides a shortcut from China Basin Park to the heart of the neighbourhood.
The walls of the valley and the eastern side of the tower are jagged with steps backwards and overhangs giving the impression of steep rock walls.
These have the added benefit of creating large windows and small balconies for the 40 apartments, taking advantage of views of the San Francisco Bay.
The base surfaces are also decorated with abundant greenery,
creating common spaces for residents to relax, play sports or meet with friends.
One benefit of the masterplan’s simultaneous design process is that the four buildings share critical power and water infrastructure.
In a building designed by Work AC, for example,
There is a water recycling plant that will treat black water from the entire neighborhood for reuse.
For its part, The Canyon hosts the key mechanical elements of an efficient district heating system,
hidden away in parts of the ground floor and basement.
