Countering climate change in San Francisco
Heatherwick Studio, along with 20-member team EPX2, have developed The Cove for San Francisco.
It’s an essential upgrade of Piers 30-32 at the Southern end of the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District, and is designed to protect against the effects of climate change.
While 24 million people visit the four-mile waterfront destination each year (pre-Covid) many of the pier facilities remain either empty, closed to the public, or simply under-utilised.
Heatherwick says these 100-year-old piers are continuing to deteriorate, and need reinvestment in order to future-future-proof against earthquakes and rising sea levels, as well as to reactivate the waterfront.
The Cove is an essential upgrade of Piers 30-32 at the Southern end of the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District. Image credit - Wire Collective.
The Embarcadero Historic District was on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2016 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Heatherwick Studio’s vision builds in alignment with the original Pier 30-32 building sheds and district, respecting its historic nature, and offering, “a next generation, high performance waterfront community that uniquely identifies with San Francisco- its history, character and values, and its neighbourhoods and soft natural coastal landscapes.”
Because the existing piers are 108-years-old and have lost their structural capacity, the design involves a full removal and replacement with a taller, modern concrete system. The existing deck and pile cap elevations are already below the FEMA Base Flood Elevations and today’s building code standards, despite an anticipated sea level rise of three-feet or more.
The Embarcadero Historic District was on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2016 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Image credit - Heatherwick Studios.
Heatherwick Studio’s planned two-building workplace campus with a central, five-acre, ecological public park boasts a flexible, modular design. The buildings total almost 550,000 gross square feet with 117,000 square-foot floor plates, however, The Cove in its entirety will be smaller than the original pier footprint, and have less bay fill.
A circular pathway around an inlet of water for sports such as kayaking, and The Cove’s park, are reminiscent of Californian coastal bluffs; a pedestrian-friendly journey winds from the Embarcadero promenade through a multi-use plaza, softscape of native tapene-laden trees and dune grasses, carbon sinking and floating wetlands, an oval boardwalk, and to a bridge overlooking the bay.
The mission of The Cove is resiliency- to maintain the continuity of business and community in the face of natural threats and disasters. Its designers describe it as a, “colorful, contemporary destination that celebrates the classic California coast and the history of the Embarcadero, while serving as a warm, inviting urban (re)treat, a high value oasis.”
Delivery is anticipated in late 2026, and The Cove is designed to be net-zero carbon and have International Living Future Institute certifications.
The Cove is set for completion in 2026. Image credit - Heatherwick Studios.