Landscape Information
Bisected by Mission Creek, this 303-acre former tidal marsh is bordered by the San Francisco Bay, I-280, and the Dogpatch and China Basin neighborhoods. Long a repository for debris that buried the pre-existing wetland, the area was transformed into a shipyard and railyard before undergoing significant redevelopment beginning in 1998. While preserving historic piers along the bay, the new development included additional residential areas, a University of California, San Francisco, research campus, various corporate developments, and the reservation of 49 acres for public open space and waterfront access. Implemented in phases between 1998 and 2008, and intended to maximize connections to the waterfront, the Mission Bay master plan was created by the Olin Partnership in collaboration with MFLA Marta Fry Landscape Associates, EDAW, and Antonia Bava Landscape Architects.
Built along the only aboveground section of Mission Creek in the city, Mission Creek Park North’s paths, designed by MFLA in 1999, connect the neighborhood’s northwest corner to a sequence of overlooks via an esplanade and bike trail. South of the creek, the Mission Bay campus of the University of California, San Francisco, comprises a series of health-science focused academic buildings and a medical center, as well as numerous open spaces designed from 1999 onwards by PWP Landscape Architecture, AECOM, and Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture. The PWP-designed Koret Quad anchors the campus, with two central meadow spaces, a pine-tree perimeter, and a Mark di Suvero sculpture atop a grass hill at the quad’s eastern edge. Further development in the neighborhood includes a set of parks opened in 2016: the 2.5-acre Mariposa Park by Wallace Roberts & Todd and the smaller Mission Bay Kids Park by Royston, Hanamoto, Alley and Abey. Along the neighborhood’s southeastern waterfront, the Chase Center is surrounded by a series of paved plazas designed by SWA Group, including a multi-purpose elevated plaza that spirals up from street level. The park-centered development of Mission Bay has led to the resurgence of public space in adjacent areas, including Daggett Park (2016) by CMG Landscape Architecture in the nearby Dogpatch neighborhood.
