EMBRACING THE RISE
RISING TIDES COMPETITION

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Perkins+Will

CLIENT San Francisco Bay Conservation
and Development Commission (BCDC)
SIZE 12 million f² (1.1 million m²)

TASKS
Conceptual Design, Research
Modeling, Presentation Graphics, Delivery

In 2009, the BCDC held an open international design
competition for ideas responding to sea level rise
in San Francisco Bay and beyond.

Challenges addressed included rethinking how to build
new communities in areas susceptible to future
inundation, retrofitting valuable public shoreline
infrastructure, protecting existing communities from
flooding, protecting and restoring wetlands, and
anticipating changing shoreline configurations.

The team focused on Mission Bay south of downtown.
Different and novel building types and design
strategies were created to embrace a rising tide, as
opposed to the more conventional wall approach to
separate water from land. The result was an exciting
new urban form that seeks to reconcile people with
their natural environment.