Downtown San Francisco’s iconic Market Street is steeped in history and culture, but has been in decline in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in remote work, and the controversial decision to close it to private vehicles. So in April, Mayor Daniel Lurie released a video address announcing a contest to redesign the thoroughfare. “This is a world-class boulevard,” he said into the camera, “and we need world-class ideas.”
Titled Market Street Reimagined, the international competition was sponsored by the Urban Land Institute and the Civic Joy Fund. It offered $100,0000 in total prize money and asked applicants to respond to the following question: “How might a new set of ideas be developed to address the challenges in post-pandemic city cores enabling them to flourish in ways that are economically viable and experientially uplifting?”
A panel of jurors that included experts in architecture, city planning, economics, real estate, landscape urbanism, and civic leadership went through nearly 180 submissions that came in from designers in nine countries. Notably, 144 of those entries were from Californians — 109 from Fog City residents specifically. On July 17, five winning designs were announced.
“Seeing what people have come up with makes me feel more optimistic than ever before,” Manny Yekutiel, cofounder of the Civic Joy Fund, said in a statement. “This city has been able to do very big things when we’ve all collaborated and believed in what we can achieve as a city. We want to see real change from this competition, and I truly believe this could be our Golden Gate Bridge moment.”
While the contest was intended to spark creativity and energize the community, the winning designs will not necessarily be commissioned, Natalie Sandoval, executive director at ULI, told The San Francisco Standard.
“This was meant to spur conversations,” she said. “We know there’s no silver bullet to fixing downtown. It’s about adding to the city’s tool kit as it moves forward with its own revitalization plans.”
Scroll to read the descriptions of the winning designs, which will be on display at the Ferry Building through Aug. 8.
“San Francisco’s Living Heart”
Award for Place-Making and Connected Neighborhoods
Multistudio, Studio-MLA, Systematica, and VibeMap
Team members: Luca Giaramidaro, Ben Feldmann, Federico Messa, Noah Friedman
“There were multiple entries that used strategies to amplify the nodes or activity zones that already exist in some form but enhancing them in smart ways. The jury felt this entry best described a workable strategy. It imagines Market Street not just as a place you pass through because of its excellent transit, but as the heart of the city itself. It invests in four nodes by better integrating transit and ecology, designing for flexibility, creating more places for people, and strengthening the connections of these four areas to their adjacent areas off Market Street.”
“The 4 Mile Bench”
Award for Radical Hospitality and Fast, Inclusive Public Space
SITELAB urban studio
Team members: Alice An, Laura Crescimano, Alyssa Garcia, Julie Gawendo, Ashutosh Signhal, Lauren Wong
“The jury is asking us to use our imaginations on this one. This idea is a critique of how few places there are to sit, rest, or pause along Market Street by proposing a unifying element. It doubles down on a joyful gesture that runs counter to most current approaches to public space by adding, not removing, places to relax. It creates a critical mass of seating that invites all people to engage in the grandeur and vibrancy of Market Street. Should it be yellow or look like this — remember, it’s an idea, not yet a design.”
“The Market Street Forest”
Award for Visionary Ecology and Urban Greening
SUR
Team member: Christian Lavista
“The jury struggled to find what could be thought of as a powerful massive greening idea. While many submissions incorporated greenery at scale, few engaged deeply with the unique context and ecology of Market Street. This idea stands out for doing just that — albeit in a polemical way that, realistically, would take generations to realize (and might ultimately involve species other than redwoods). Jurors appreciated the dense tree planting and pedestrian-focused approach, noting that an investment in big trees on Day 1 would be critical to its success. That’s OK: This proposal doesn’t prescribe a specific landscape so much as it reveals a forest that has been waiting to emerge.”
“Asymmetry in Balance”
Award for Spatial Innovation and Adaptive Urban Form
SWA Group
Team members: Yang Zhang, Ratchu Surajaras, Sergio Lima, William Hynes, Marco Esposito
“There were multiple ideas that suggested asymmetrical approaches to the street. The jury thought that this entry most clearly demonstrated the advantages. The primary benefit of this approach is that it recognizes sunlight as a driver of public light by making more public space on the north side. That side has better solar exposure, large open northern intersections because of the street grid shift, and most of the entertainment and other land uses that could activate the additional open space due to the asymmetry.”
“Flying Colors San Francisco Rebirth on Market Street”
Award for Creative Wayfinding and Nighttime Animation
Bionic
Team members: Marcel Wilson, Linghui Liao, Sarah Moos Thompson
“In addition to ideas that addressed the big structural challenges of Market Street, the jury was also looking for some ideas that could happen quickly and relatively inexpensively. This idea takes the notion of traditional light pole banners and puts a technology and wayfinding twist on them. Instead of fabric, these digital media mesh banners also light up at night and connect the dots for all the activities, events and venues along and adjacent to Market Street.”
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