Next week, five renowned design teams will present their visions for remaking a swath of green on the Presidio. Having a bit of déjà vu? We don't blame you. But this is an entirely new design competition, with a (mostly) different mix of players, and no watered-down culture museum is on the table. Perhaps wisely, this time the Presidio Trust is careful to avoid leaving the impression that any of the designs will definitely be built. Dubbed the New Presidio Parklands Project, the competition concerns the 13 acres of landscape that will be created when portions of Doyle Drive go below grade as part of the new Presidio Parkway, which should be complete sometime in 2016. The roadway topper will link Crissy Field and the parade ground at the Main Post, offering pedestrians new views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands.
Last March the trust, in collaboration with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, invited five teams to submit ideas. James Corner Field Operations, of High Line fame, drafted a proposal, as did CMG Landscape Architecture—a veteran of the EHDD-led team that went out for the Commissary site. Snøhetta, West 8, and Olin are also contenders. So far the trust has released just a few teaser images; the full reveal happens on September 4 at a public presentation. The idea, Presidio Trust chief of planning Michael Boland tells John King, is to get a conversation going, gauge the public's response, and use the feedback as a guide for selecting a firm and—one day!—beginning the design work in earnest.
The trust will also solicit ideas from the public beginning September 2, and a gallery show of the five teams' proposals will open at Presidio Trust headquarters September 5.
· Final Design Proposals Revealed for Presidio Commissary Site [Curbed SF]
· Presidio Passes on All Proposals, Including Lucas Museum [Curbed SF]
· Presidio Parkway [Official Site]
· Competing Visions for a New Presidio Landscape to Be Unveiled [SFGate]
· New Presidio Parklands Project [Official Site]
· Previous Coverage of the Presidio [Curbed SF]