Team West 8 presents their vision for the new Presidio Parklands in San Francisco

The New Presidio Parklands, which have arisen from the replacement of the elevated highway that cut through the Presidio for seven decades, with a below-grade roadway covered by tunnels, will link the heart of the Presidio to Crissy Field and offer visitor amenities and panoramic Golden Gate views. 

The Presidio Trust, in partnership with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and National Park Service, asked five teams to develop creative concepts to inspire ideas about what could happen at the site.

The five teams: CMG Landscape Architecture, James Corner Field Operations, OLIN, SNØHETTA, and Team West 8, unveiled their concepts at a public meeting at the Presidio on the 4th of September.

Team West 8’s design approach, which is rooted in the elegance of this extraordinary setting, is intended to honor the site’s legacy as a military post, and engage all communities. “Design is about dignity,” said Adriaan Geuze, design director of West 8. Team West 8 proposes a clean, declarative and respectful design for the PresidiO Parklands that creates a destination unlike any other. 

The vision, a result of the successful collaboration between West 8, Bionic, Sitelab Urban Studio, Jensen Architects and The Cultural Landscape Foundation features a microcosm for the multiple experiences of the PresidiO: a central elliptical lawn and gathering space, forests to lose oneself in, gardens, marshes, boardwalks, expansive views, all composed to create an unrivaled destination for the Presidio that is recognizable and memorable, yet full of surprises.

Enhanced by layers of programs and activities that engage and animate the spaces of the new PresidiO. The clarity of the design concept for the New Gateway site embeds a flexible approach that is not a grand solution, but a series of explorations and opportunities that can inform the still-to-be-developed collective vision for this critical capstone for the PresidiO.

The September 4 presentations initiate the “Imagine Phase” of the project, which invites the public to submit their own concepts and program ideas for the new parklands, as well as provide feedback about the design teams’ concepts.  A winning team will be selected in January and the New Presidio Parklands Project is expected to be completed in 2018.

For more information on the project visit: New Presidio Parklands Project

To read what the Press are saying visit: Wired Design