Civic Center Public Realm Plan has been awarded the 2024 American Architecture Award for Urban Planning/Landscape Architecture from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies! The Vision transforms Civic Center with three goals: re-establish Civic Center as the heart of San Francisco’s democracy by welcoming all San Franciscans, prioritize the urban forest for connection to nature, beauty, and shelter, and create an inviting place for public life through open space activation and essential amenities. This vision was developed through an extensive community-based process that brought together cultural institutions, community groups, thousands of city residents and workers, and governmental stakeholders to reimagine an inclusive and equitable public space, a ceremonial gathering place that welcomes everyday use and inspires civic pride. It unifies all public space through an expanded plaza footprint, creates multiple locations for civic gatherings connected by a generous civic promenade, actively engages adjacent civic and cultural institutions, and incorporates existing and new uses to support activity at all hours. The Public Realm Plan proposes to transform Civic Center into thriving social infrastructure, prioritizing public life and local needs in San Francisco.

The Vision transforms Civic Center with three goals: re-establish Civic Center as the heart of San Francisco’s democracy by welcoming all San Franciscans, prioritize the urban forest for connection to nature, beauty, and shelter, and create an inviting place for public life through open space activation and essential amenities. This vision was developed through an extensive community-based process that brought together cultural institutions, community groups, thousands of city residents and workers, and governmental stakeholders to reimagine an inclusive and equitable public space, a ceremonial gathering place that welcomes everyday use and inspires civic pride. It unifies all public space through an expanded plaza footprint, creates multiple locations for civic gatherings connected by a generous civic promenade, actively engages adjacent civic and cultural institutions, and incorporates existing and new uses to support activity at all hours. The Public Realm Plan proposes to transform Civic Center into thriving social infrastructure, prioritizing public life and local needs in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Public Realm Plan repositions Civic Center’s public realm as the heart of San Francisco’s democracy, vital open space for the city’s highest-density neighborhoods, and a distinguished Beaux-Arts historic district.  This vision was developed through an extensive community-based process that brought together cultural institutions, community groups, thousands of city residents and workers, and governmental stakeholders to reimagine an inclusive and equitable public space, a ceremonial gathering place that welcomes everyday use and inspires civic pride. The Vision transforms Civic Center with three goals: re-establishing Civic Center as the heart of San Francisco’s democracy by welcoming all San Franciscans, prioritizing the urban forest for connection to nature, beauty, and shelter, and creating an inviting place for public life through open space activation and essential amenities.

Yerba Buena Gardens Gateway Project wins Excellence in Community Beautification Award from Yerba Buena Community Benefit District.

The new net zero carbon Science and Environmental Center is the embodiment of The Nueva School’s mission to spark a passion for lifelong learning and foster social acuity and environmental citizenship in the imaginative young minds of its students.

Mission Creek Stormwater Park is recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers San Francisco Section for its outstanding sustainable and environmental engineering. Stormwater treatment was the key design factor and function for the park – treating offsite runoff from 13.8 acres of adjacent open space and streets. The park’s three separate stormwater gardens prevent flooding in Mission Bay and enhance the ocean’s health and ecology by filtering out pollutants such as dust, fine grain soils, and oils from collected stormwater.⁠

Fast Company’s Innovation by Design awards recognizes excellence in creating products, reimagining spaces, and working to design a better world.

This unbuilt project goes to a bigger vision. It’s a path forward to the future: San Francisco has big issues to deal with, but it is such a positive gesture to understanding the importance of nature in the context of urban space. It balances the use of being an ”active” park as well as a ”ceremonial” one. The spaces are well-scaled, addressing both the monumental “civic heart” of the city and the day-to-day use of community, neighbors, and employees.

– 2023 AIA California Urban Design Awards Jury

The new net zero carbon Science and Environmental Center is the embodiment of The Nueva School’s mission to spark a passion for lifelong learning and foster social acuity and environmental citizenship in the imaginative young minds of its students.

A result of co-creation, Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground and Clubhouse is a fully accessible, modern playground and clubhouse that embraces the park’s meaning as a social heart for the neighborhood, a source of wellness and learning, and a place entwined with the identity of a Chinese American community that extends throughout the city and beyond.

In collaboration with multiple stakeholders and the City of San Jose, Park Paseo has the collective vision and guiding design framework to become a new urban open space that brings people, nature, and mobility together in the heart of San Jose.

As the gateway to the new Mission Bay district, Mission Creek Stormwater Park combines beauty and ecological function. The immersive waterfront plaza and esplanade recalls the industrial heritage, offers stunning views of San Francisco’s iconic attractions while serving as a model for urban green infrastructure.

“Land is very scarce in San Francisco and for this design team to make an “oasis” for children in a concrete jungle is a game changer. It’s a complex urban project–how it handles the relationship between the sidewalk and the internal parts of the building and the building envelope is very clever. It’s well-executed and offers a variety of experiences. Proof of its success is that it’s built and being used. It’s a joyful and playful space.”

2022 Urban Design Awards Jury

Willie “Woo Woo Wong” Playground has been honored by Fast Company as a part of its 2022 Innovation by Design Awards. The program highlights designers and businesses who are solving the problems of today and tomorrow. Learn about the Fast Company’s Urban Design honorees at fastcompany.com.

Waterfront Resilience Program’s Embarcadero Seawall Historic Assets and Risks Report of San Francisco is a winner for the 2022 Preservation Design Award for Cultural Resource Studies & Reports.

The jury praised this project for transforming the neighborhood and providing necessary new and safe public space for the interaction of families and children. Great effort was taken to create welcoming and meaningful community hub with a strong connection to the rich history of Chinatown, considering the community and catering to multi-generational use. The project is an extraordinary response to its complicated existing context that integrates well with the hilly urban site and separates its uses appropriately while also connecting them through a cohesive design.

Civic spaces are the bedrock of democracy, but in many American cities these landscapes are empty and inhospitable. The Civic Center Public Space Plan remakes a mid-century landscape that was designed and managed for exclusion into a civic space of inclusion: a place that reflects the cultural, social, and economic diversity of the neighborhoods it serves, and embodies the democratic values of the City it represents. Civic Center is the largest public space in San Francisco that is located in a low-income neighborhood inhabited by residents from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Through deep community engagement and analysis of historic assets, the vision will transform Civic Center into thriving social infrastructure, prioritizing public life and the needs of the local community. Demonstrating civic ideals  – of a city, of a community, of a denizen –  in its design process and in the vision itself, the Plan creates a place for people from all walks of life to come together in celebration and protest, respite and play, health and refuge, in the heart of San Francisco.

Alameda Point DePave Park is noteworthy for its highly sustainable and resilient design approach in recycling nearly 100% of the existing site materials, transforming a large, paved airstrip into an ecological park that welcomes sea level rise to create future wetlands, and its community-driven design process.

At the 2021 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture in Nashville, Pamela Conrad honored with ASLA Outstanding Service Award.

Estuary Commons creates a network of public spaces, adapts ecological systems, and strengthens social and economic relationships for a future of community-driven resilience. The need to address the urgency of social, racial, and economic inequality alongside long-term environmental risks is acute in the San Leandro Bay. The Estuary Commons is a strategic vision for community resilience that begins by addressing structural and systemic injustices that result in daily challenges for residents and communities – jobs, housing, transportation, and health.

Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground recognized by Architect’s Newspaper with honorable mention for Best of Design Award – Social Impact.

Our Studio Video was recognized with the Award of Excellence in the External Video Category from the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground was recognized with 2022 Regional & Urban Design Award from The American Institute of Architects. The park is the only space dedicated to active outdoor recreation in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

In the inaugural year of the Metropolis’s Planet Positive Awards, Climate Positive Design won in the Tools + Technology category.

Metropolis’s Planet Positive Awards recognizes the most creative projects and products from around the world that benefit people and planet. Judged by four expert juries across project types, regions, and product categories, the winners and honorable mentions below represent the highest achievements today in design that addresses climate change, ecosystem health, human health, and equity.

855 Brannan is a significant contribution to the housing and public realm needs of the fast-growing San Francisco SOMA and Design District neighborhoods. This mixed-use project occupies three quarters of a city block bringing new public open space and streetscape improvements for residents, local workers, and the community.

Climate Positive Design is a research initiative that launched in 2019 to improve the carbon impact of the built environment through collective action. Its mission is to help projects become Climate Positive solutions that sequester more carbon than they emit.

Daggett Park is a 1-acre public park is a vibrant community space serving families and residents from several surrounding neighborhoods. The project exemplifies how community members, public agencies, and forward- thinking developers can come together to provide much needed housing and public open space on underused brownfield sites. The simplicity and openness of the project are complemented by fluid forms, robust materials and attention to craft and detail to create an idiosyncratic and welcoming space.

ASLA Northern California Chapter acknowledges the outstanding work of bay area landscape architects with their annual design awards.

Pamela Conrad is the recipient of the 2021 AILA President’s Award in recognition of her global leadership in the development of the Pathfinder landscape carbon calculator app.

The Flats Connections Plan is an open space and trail network that leverages the unique conditions of the neighborhood to revitalize the riverfront and connect it to surrounding communities and to the region. Part of a rich industrial history, the Plan also looks to the present and future, working with neighbors, local organizations, and city officials to incorporate their values and concerns into a vision for the future of the Flats.

American Society of Landscape Architects recognized MPK20 with 2017 Professional Award – Honor, General Design category. As the first of several new buildings completed as part of a broader vision for the campus, MPK 20 sets a benchmark for the creation of complex, yet resilient urban ecologies.