New York City–based James Corner Field Operations has won the competition to design San Francisco's New Presidio Parklands Project, which is a collaboration between the Presidio Trust, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and the National Parks Service.
James Corner Field Operations beat out four other teams: CMG Landscape Architecture, OLIN, Snøhetta, and West 8. One of the firms behind New York City's High Line, James Corner Field Operations will be working with local firm EHDD, formerly working with CMG, on the next stage of the project, which will solicit input from the public to shape the final design.
"This is an extremely significant opportunity for the people of San Francisco to create a dramatic new legacy for future generations—a place where the Presidio meets the Bay, a place where the City can reflect back upon itself, a place where urban life meets the most amazing natural resources, unparalleled by any other city," said James Corner, founder and director of James Corner Field Operations, in a press release. Through sensitive and thoughtful design, we can together create a beautiful center-point for new forms of community, engagement and interaction."
The project site spans 13 acres, including space above new road tunnels that are replacing an elevated highway, and is slated for completion in 2018.
San Francisco Chronicle architecture critic John King writes, "[Corner's] concept here extended the Main Post's central lawn to a curvaceous bluff atop the tunnels, then slid via paths to a more intimate landscape along Mason Street facing Crissy Field's marsh. Equally important, Field Operations' proven ability to work with neighborhood groups and bureaucracies could improve the odds of success for a project sure to be as closely scrutinized as any in the city."
