Islais Hyper-Creek

The BIG + ONE + SHERWOOD Team is co-led by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), One Architecture & Urbanism (ONE), and Sherwood Design Engineers (Sherwood).

The team also includes leading experts from Moffat & Nichol, Nelson Nygaard, Strategic Economics, and The Dutra Group. Together, they bring international experience from Denmark, the Netherlands, and the Bay Area by designing innovative solutions for climate vulnerabilities.

Source: Resilient by Design | Bay Area Challenge

Bringing resilient design to Islais Creek is a long-term vision but a short-term method to deal with the immediate shocks and stresses of climate change in the built and natural environment.

Subject to king tides, repeat flooding, and sea level rise, the neighborhoods surrounding the present-day industrialized Islais Creek house an increasingly vulnerable hub of vital infrastructure for the City of San Francisco, as well as constituent jobs and cultural assets. At the same time, residents and local workers raise the issues of environmental justice and equitable access to training and jobs.

The BIG + ONE + Sherwood team recognizes the importance of adaptive scalar thinking that accounts for both immediate risks and long-term strategies in the creation of an equitable, climate-responsive, and valuable series of public spaces and interventions. With Islais Hyper-Creek, the team proposes a strategy integrating protective and adaptive measures on the shoreline with ecological restoration and economic growth extending throughout the creek basin, while also fostering social resiliency and training programs further upland.

Source: Resilient by Design | Bay Area Challenge

The BIG + ONE + Sherwood team has highlighted six potential pilot projects to kickstart the long-term vision for a resilient Islais Hyper-Creek. These are:

1. Islais Creek Gateway: At Pier 90, underutilized land can be naturalized into soft shorelines to better handle storm surge, creating a gateway park to Bayview and space for stacked vertical industry and working spaces along the iconic grain silos. This kicks off a longer-term naturalization of the creek's southern edge.
2. Living Levee: At the Southeast Plant, natural treatment systems can be piloted along the creek, using wetlands to process wastewater and tying into a future decking of the plant itself. This creates space for much-needed recreation and education opportunities for the neighborhood.
3. River Park: Along Cesar Chavez Boulevard, existing vehicle yards can be consolidated and stacked in a future district facility. This creates space for a daylit creek along its historic path and opportunities for living by the water along its banks.
4. SF Food District: The San Francisco Produce Market will be modernizing in the future. By incorporating additional functions, it can help kick-off the creation of a future food and clean logistics district in the heart of the basin. Production, storage, selling, and enjoyment of the area's products come together as a new destination in Bayview.
5. Living with Water: Alemany Farmer's Market sits at a critical pinch point in the creek's flow. Water can be accommodated within the site which doubles as a park, flanked by a new market and space for housing overhead. Adjacent parcels underneath the freeways double as parking and water reservoirs.
6. Innovation Cove: At the bay shore, land surrounding Warm Water Cove can help extend the city's waterfront network into the southeast, providing a platform for a new innovation dock, local business incubators, and research facilities. Experiments in resilient floating architecture form a hub of innovation for the city. The working group has arrived at these pilots based on their ability to align with various current and planned projects or studies initiated by the City and the Port. This will allow agencies and local organizations to form a planning process around them and be drivers for their future implementation.

Source: Resilient by Design | Bay Area Challenge