Harry Bridges Plaza, San Francisco
37°47'42.7"N 122°23'38.7"W
The Harry Bridges Plaza in San Francisco is less of a destination and more of a transitional area for foot traffic between downtown and the iconic Ferry Building. Manual reimagined this space as a temporary activation that safely brings people and local food businesses together.
Market Mounds acts as an outdoor ‘parklet,’ allowing visitors to picnic with food either purchased at the Ferry Building (which lacks indoor/outdoor seating) or from a series of nearby food trucks. This allows for a wide range of struggling local restaurants to service tourists and locals.
The modular configuration of natural turf mounds – which subtly echo the topology of the Bay Area landscape and islands – intuitively encourages socially distanced picnicking by nature of their island-like design.
About
Manual is a San Francisco-based design and brand consultancy. We create meaningful impact through the thoughtful application of graphic design, brand narrative, art direction and material craft. We partner with visionary clients to translate bold ideas into beautifully articulated identities, communications, and experiences.
Interview
Why did you select Harry Bridges Plaza?
Everyone in San Francisco knows the Ferry Building, but there’s actually a spot here often overlooked – and that’s what drove us to try and introduce a new use for it. Despite the numerous restaurant options within the ferry building, rent and menu pricing are prohibitive barriers to the wider Bay Area for restaurants and patrons alike.
It’s a destination for tourists and locals thanks to its iconic clock tower, its restaurants and shops, and its location along the Embarcadero walkway. The plaza, however, is less of a destination and more of a transitional area for foot traffic between downtown and the Embarcadero – frequently occupied by skaters or street performers.
An outdoor market also occupies the rear and front of the Ferry Building twice a week, and while there are food vendors offering take out hot food, there are not many places to eat – so people tend to congregate along the railing, or on benches. We wanted to allow more people to safely eat outdoors.
How did you approach the space? What was the broad vision?
Our vision is to provide outdoor space for picnic eating and make the plaza more welcoming in general – to give people a reason to stop and appreciate it, rather than pass through it to other destinations. We wanted to create a more inviting, accessible, and representative space for the wider Bay Area, and facilitate that by shared dining experiences and the incorporation of local food trucks as an alternative to the largely affluent offerings inside the Ferry Building.
Like everywhere, F&B businesses in San Francisco have been hit hard. We wanted to flip the idea of ‘keeping people apart’ on its head and create a space that encouraged people to safely come together and connect in a shared experience and be reminded of the amazingly diverse food the Bay Area has to offer from small businesses.
We also didn’t want to just think about the physical space, but the entire experience and service. We envision this to be a system whereby a member of the public can reserve a space – either by an app, or by taking a ticket and getting a time slot. When seated on their grassy mound, either as an individual or family, you would then have a masked server offer you options from nearby food trucks. These food trucks would be on rotation daily and would offer affordable food from Bay Area small restaurants that might not otherwise have the opportunity to serve the public in such a visible area. Food stamps would be accepted, encouraging lower-income families to visit, and a portion of sales would be donated to local food-based non-profits.
What tactics did you use to help encourage social distancing?
Physically spacing each “grassy mound” at least 6 feet apart creates a natural way for people to sit apart. The physical shaping of the landscape does the job of ‘softly’ or ‘naturally’ signalling to the visitor where they need to position themselves and remain.
Having a service-based model also means that visitors don’t need to wait in line to order from food trucks.
How did you avoid cues of ‘restriction,’ control or caution?
We made a conscious effort to avoid these negative or fearful connotations by using nature to make the space more inviting. We envision that the area would have some signage that reminds people to wear masks, and remain in their spot, with friendly reminders from food servers.
We wanted to use food as a means to come together, but this could be an approach for any open space.
How might this approach evolve over time, or be adaptable to different levels of needed distancing?
We could begin joining individual patches of grass together, allowing the spaces to ‘grow’ as larger groups are able to congregate safely.
Were there any particular inspirations?
Charles and Ray Eames were influences on our tactics and process. Looking to nature for inspiration and applying the humanistic approach of a “thoughtful host” – they also loved picnics!
Christo and Jean-Claude as well, and how they looked to the land for inspiration and intervened in both natural and urban environments to create places that were striking - especially when seen from above.
Did you aim for your work to be site-specific, or to offer a widely replicable solution?
A bit of both. Our solution is site-specific in that its predominance of urban concrete triggered our use of greenery as a device to soften it. It’s also a subtle nod to the Bay Area and islands within it (Alcatraz, Angel Island, Treasure Island). While likely not the most economical solution – we wanted to dream and not limit ourselves – in theory, this could be installed in any city, and expanded upon for other picnic areas, concert area, or outdoor movie theatre. While we envision this formed from natural turf, it could theoretically be made of synthetic turf to allow for re-use, or for us in hot locations where the longevity of the turf could be compromised due to heat or lack of moisture.
What were the greatest challenges or assets of this site?
The magnitude of foot traffic, and ensuring the space remained easily navigable.
How do you imagine people using the space, in your version of it? What does this space allow for?
We envision visitors utilizing the knolls as picnic areas or 'mini-parks,' bringing back shared experiences. Given the public nature of the space, we hope to facilitate a deeper connection with the wider Bay Area, inviting food trucks from around the area.
Did you apply lessons from other projects your agency has worked on to this challenge?
As a branding studio with a focus on visual communication, we couldn’t help but begin to explore the beginnings of a visual identity for the area, including a name, poster, and signage. We wanted this to be a destination that you would hear about or see advertised on the streets of San Francisco.
Harry Bridges Plaza, San Francisco
37°47'42.7"N 122°23'38.7"W
The Harry Bridges Plaza in San Francisco is less of a destination and more of a transitional area for foot traffic between downtown and the iconic Ferry Building. Manual reimagined this space as a temporary activation that safely brings people and local food businesses together.
Market Mounds acts as an outdoor ‘parklet,’ allowing visitors to picnic with food either purchased at the Ferry Building (which lacks indoor/outdoor seating) or from a series of nearby food trucks. This allows for a wide range of struggling local restaurants to service tourists and locals.
The modular configuration of natural turf mounds – which subtly echo the topology of the Bay Area landscape and islands – intuitively encourages socially distanced picnicking by nature of their island-like design.
About
Manual is a San Francisco-based design and brand consultancy. We create meaningful impact through the thoughtful application of graphic design, brand narrative, art direction and material craft. We partner with visionary clients to translate bold ideas into beautifully articulated identities, communications, and experiences.
Interview
Why did you select Harry Bridges Plaza?
Everyone in San Francisco knows the Ferry Building, but there’s actually a spot here often overlooked – and that’s what drove us to try and introduce a new use for it. Despite the numerous restaurant options within the ferry building, rent and menu pricing are prohibitive barriers to the wider Bay Area for restaurants and patrons alike.
It’s a destination for tourists and locals thanks to its iconic clock tower, its restaurants and shops, and its location along the Embarcadero walkway. The plaza, however, is less of a destination and more of a transitional area for foot traffic between downtown and the Embarcadero – frequently occupied by skaters or street performers.
An outdoor market also occupies the rear and front of the Ferry Building twice a week, and while there are food vendors offering take out hot food, there are not many places to eat – so people tend to congregate along the railing, or on benches. We wanted to allow more people to safely eat outdoors.
How did you approach the space? What was the broad vision?
Our vision is to provide outdoor space for picnic eating and make the plaza more welcoming in general – to give people a reason to stop and appreciate it, rather than pass through it to other destinations. We wanted to create a more inviting, accessible, and representative space for the wider Bay Area, and facilitate that by shared dining experiences and the incorporation of local food trucks as an alternative to the largely affluent offerings inside the Ferry Building.
Like everywhere, F&B businesses in San Francisco have been hit hard. We wanted to flip the idea of ‘keeping people apart’ on its head and create a space that encouraged people to safely come together and connect in a shared experience and be reminded of the amazingly diverse food the Bay Area has to offer from small businesses.
We also didn’t want to just think about the physical space, but the entire experience and service. We envision this to be a system whereby a member of the public can reserve a space – either by an app, or by taking a ticket and getting a time slot. When seated on their grassy mound, either as an individual or family, you would then have a masked server offer you options from nearby food trucks. These food trucks would be on rotation daily and would offer affordable food from Bay Area small restaurants that might not otherwise have the opportunity to serve the public in such a visible area. Food stamps would be accepted, encouraging lower-income families to visit, and a portion of sales would be donated to local food-based non-profits.
What tactics did you use to help encourage social distancing?
Physically spacing each “grassy mound” at least 6 feet apart creates a natural way for people to sit apart. The physical shaping of the landscape does the job of ‘softly’ or ‘naturally’ signalling to the visitor where they need to position themselves and remain.
Having a service-based model also means that visitors don’t need to wait in line to order from food trucks.
How did you avoid cues of ‘restriction,’ control or caution?
We made a conscious effort to avoid these negative or fearful connotations by using nature to make the space more inviting. We envision that the area would have some signage that reminds people to wear masks, and remain in their spot, with friendly reminders from food servers.
We wanted to use food as a means to come together, but this could be an approach for any open space.
How might this approach evolve over time, or be adaptable to different levels of needed distancing?
We could begin joining individual patches of grass together, allowing the spaces to ‘grow’ as larger groups are able to congregate safely.
Were there any particular inspirations?
Charles and Ray Eames were influences on our tactics and process. Looking to nature for inspiration and applying the humanistic approach of a “thoughtful host” – they also loved picnics!
Christo and Jean-Claude as well, and how they looked to the land for inspiration and intervened in both natural and urban environments to create places that were striking - especially when seen from above.
Did you aim for your work to be site-specific, or to offer a widely replicable solution?
A bit of both. Our solution is site-specific in that its predominance of urban concrete triggered our use of greenery as a device to soften it. It’s also a subtle nod to the Bay Area and islands within it (Alcatraz, Angel Island, Treasure Island). While likely not the most economical solution – we wanted to dream and not limit ourselves – in theory, this could be installed in any city, and expanded upon for other picnic areas, concert area, or outdoor movie theatre. While we envision this formed from natural turf, it could theoretically be made of synthetic turf to allow for re-use, or for us in hot locations where the longevity of the turf could be compromised due to heat or lack of moisture.
What were the greatest challenges or assets of this site?
The magnitude of foot traffic, and ensuring the space remained easily navigable.
How do you imagine people using the space, in your version of it? What does this space allow for?
We envision visitors utilizing the knolls as picnic areas or 'mini-parks,' bringing back shared experiences. Given the public nature of the space, we hope to facilitate a deeper connection with the wider Bay Area, inviting food trucks from around the area.
Did you apply lessons from other projects your agency has worked on to this challenge?
As a branding studio with a focus on visual communication, we couldn’t help but begin to explore the beginnings of a visual identity for the area, including a name, poster, and signage. We wanted this to be a destination that you would hear about or see advertised on the streets of San Francisco.