Power Station in Dogpatch by Foster + Partners breaks ground

Power Station, an extension of the Dogpatch neighborhood that will create thousands of new homes for San Francisco, honor its industrial past, and reconnect the community with the San Francisco Bay waterfront, has officially broken ground in a ceremony led by Mayor London N Breed...

© Foster + Partners

From the architect: Catalyzed by the revitalization of a decommissioned power station in San Francisco, the project will create a new mixed-use sustainable neighborhood with seven acres of parkland and open space, new homes, hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops, creating a vibrant new waterfront district and reconnecting it with the rest of the city for the first time in over a century and a half.

Armstrong Yakubu, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, said: “This project offers a unique opportunity to reinvigorate an erstwhile industrial quarter and infuse new life into this part of San Francisco. Our proposals will deliver much-needed homes guided by a design approach that is underpinned by people, sustainability and community, and rooted in the rich history of the place. Our aim is to give Dogpatch an ideal urban framework to help create a vibrant, healthy and inclusive 21st century live/work community.”

The former industrial site is bounded by the Dogpatch neighborhood on one side and the waterfront on the other. The overall masterplan for the area aims to stitch the site with the existing neighborhood, reconnecting people with the waterfront, and reenergizing the site with much needed homes, parks, and jobs. The practice has designed two residential-led mixed-use buildings at the heart of the site, which seek to recreate an inclusive and diverse live/work community that includes affordable housing.

Inspired by the traditional courtyards and alleyways in the area, the buildings are arranged around a central open space at ground level, lined with neighborhood retail and local amenities such as day-care centers and parcel delivery areas. Pedestrian and cycle routes meander through these spaces, creating new connections with the surrounding areas. With several shared social spaces and co-working areas, the lower floors of the buildings are envisaged as a hive of activity throughout the day.

The design is based on a series of interconnected two-story elements within a modular organizational grid that allows for complete flexibility – both spatially and programmatically – coming together as a dynamic assembly of stepped blocks. The apartments have been carefully designed to maximize fresh air, natural light and access to the green landscaped terraces that travel up through the building. The new neighborhood park is connected both visually and physically with the garden roof terraces overlooking the bay.

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