Part of the Mission Rock master plan in San Francisco, MVRDV unveiled their contribution, in partnership with Perry Architects, a 23-story mixed-use building, including offices and residential units. The firm joins other big names like Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, and WORKac in designing one of the vertical entities in this waterfront.
MVRDV’s intervention was built on the idea of creating a topographical quality for the site, inspired by San Francisco’s rigid grids and natural topography. In fact, the firm questioned, “What if we recreated a rocky hill within the parcel?” The architects searched for the traditional charm that is found in the neighborhood of the district, in order to try to infuse the same feel to their addition in Mission Rock.
Building A that hosts retail and restaurants on its ground floor, is located at a prime location, on the plaza that spans from 3rd Street Bridge to the corner of China Basin Park and the MVRDV structure. The residential and office building comprising of 23 floors, is 240 feet tall, welcoming visitors to Mission Rock.
With a concept inspired by “Californian rock formations, with a narrow valley running between steep rocky walls”, Building A has a façade configuration that extends all the way up the tower's western envelope. The landscape will extend from China Basin Park into the construction, generating a lively space. The stepping façade creates a visual dialogue between the waterfront and the iconic ballpark, “while simultaneously creating private and common terraces that boast extraordinary views towards the bay and downtown”.
The masterplan puts in place lively and animated street frontages. The MVRDV’s intervention represents the natural landscape, the canyon rupturing the building on one side “and a stricter language towards the flanking urban environment at the South”. On that bold move, the architects state that “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”. The carved pieces create small outdoor spaces for the tenants.
- Total Size: 380,000 GSF
- Building Use: Mixed-Use including 50k SF office and approximately 285 residential units
- Ground floor: Retail & Restaurants, Residential lobby, and Office entrance
- Floors 2-3: Offices
- Floors 4-5: Residential
- Floors 6-23: Residential
- Floor 6: Includes amenity offerings and common terraces
