HASSELL + MVRDV Proposal to Improve Bay Area Disaster Resilience

HASSELL + MVRDV Proposal to Improve Bay Area Disaster Resilience

In the wake of recent natural disasters, including wildfires in northern California, the HASSELL + team were inspired to reinvent the San Francisco Bay Area into a vibrant community center, equipped to provide temporary facilities. in case of emergency. As part of the Resilient by Design competition, the ten teams were invited to provide solutions for the seafront through site-specific conceptual design and collaborative research projects.

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The HASSELL + team’s proposal incorporates a network structure of “connectors” and “collectors” to improve the physical and social resilience of the waterfront. The recharged streets, coves and the improved ferry network are the “connectors” which will become new, slow and safe corridors of movement to collection points, including adaptive open spaces that will socially recharge the area as a place of daily gathering and civic celebration that can also provide the living space needed for the disaster assembly.

The team led by HASSELL draws on their range of international perspectives; MVDRV, Deltares and Goudappel; bring their rich experience to design and understand urban landscapes around water. In partnership with local experts – Lotus Water, Civic Edge, Page & Turnbull, Hatch and Idyllist – they envisioned the social potential the waterfront could offer to communities.

HASSELL previously worked with the Sydney Waterfront where they took functional items and turned them into cultural icons that shape the city’s branding. Their experience led them to create a socially sustainable master plan for the San Francisco Bay Area focusing on a range of different elements to help boost vulnerable communities, healthcare and local businesses. They believe that when designing for a disaster it is important to think about how you will adapt and deal with the challenges resulting from climate change and rising temperatures.

By applying its “collect and connect” concept to the proposed sites, HASSEL + envisioned a new coastal park at Colma Creek. In order to reflect the needs of the community, HASSELL + will be setting up a visitor center during the design process along Grand Avenue which is on its way to becoming a thriving center. By working with the locals, they can draw on their ideas and opinions for the design solutions that will be presented in May. In addition to the Visitor Center, there will also be the ability to access a digital platform to view Bay Area plans and get involved in decision making.

• Location

  San Francisco, California, United States

• Architect in charge

  HASSELL

• MVRDV design

  Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries

• Design team

  Nathalie de Vries, Jeroen Zuidgeest with Kristina Knauf and Vedran Skansi

• Collaboration

  HASSELL + (HASSELL, MVRDV, Deltares, Goudappel, Lotus Water, Frog Design, Civic Edge, Idyllist, Hatch, Page & Turnbull)

• Customer

• Project year

  2018

• Photographs

  Courtesy of MVRDV and HASSELL +

• Architects

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News via: HASSELL.

Resilient by Design Announces Ten Winners Ready to Reimagine the Bay Area

From a pool of over fifty submissions, Resilient by Design chose ten winning teams to collaborate with engineers, climate change experts, designers, architects and community members to imagine a better future. for The Bay Area in the face of potentially devastating climate change.