San Francisco planners green light Foster + Partners Oceanwide Center towers
by Kim Megson | 16 May 2016
A vast San Francisco residential and leisure project designed by Foster + Partners and Heller Manus will be built, after the city’s Planning Commission granted permission.
Construction of the Oceanwide Center – a 2.3m sq ft (214,000sq m) development featuring hotels, public space, residences and offices – will begin in the city’s South of Market neighbourhood in November 2016.
The scheme, first unveiled in 2014, comprises two mixed-use towers – the 605ft (184m) Mission Street Tower, accommodating a hotel and residences, and an 850ft (259m) office and residential tower. The towers have been raised by almost five storeys, creating an open, accessible space at their bases, criss-crossed by pedestrian routes.
This design feature will add 22,000sq ft (2,000sq m) to the public realm. In a statement, Foster + Partners said this would create “a new urban room for the region”, which will be filled with art installations and green displays designed by landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson.
The Oceanwide Center is the largest component of San Francisco’s Transbay development plan to provide increased density around the new Transbay Transit Center, which is scheduled for completion in 2017.
“This development will be the new exemplar of urban living with exciting places to live and work right alongside the new central transport hub,” said Foster + Partners senior executive partner Stefan Behling.
“It will catalyse the public realm in the neighbourhood, with shops, cafes and green spaces for residents and employees to enjoy. We are delighted that our plans have received planning permission and we look forward to the next stages of the project with great anticipation.”
The project is being developed by Chinese investment company Oceanwide Holdings, which acquired the land from San Francisco developers TMG Partners and Northwood Investors for a reported US$296m (€261m, £206m). The cost of construction and an estimated completion date have not yet been revealed.
San Francisco Foster + Partners Oceanwide Center Transbay Transit Center Oceanwide Holdings architecture design
Between them, the scheme's two towers will create 2.3m sq ft of new space for hotels, residences, offices and public realm Credit: Foster + Partners
Landscaping features and art installations will be added at the base of the towers Credit: Foster + Partners
The buildings are being developed by Chinese investment company, Oceanwide Holdings Credit: Foster + Partners
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A vast San Francisco residential and leisure project designed by Foster + Partners and Heller Manus will be built, after the city’s Planning Commission granted permission. Construction of the Oceanwide Center – a 2.3m sq ft (214,000sq m) development featuring hotels, public space, residences and offices – will begin in the city’s South of Market neighbourhood in November 2016. The scheme, first unveiled in 2014, comprises two mixed-use towers –
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"Culture is the beating heart of this project"
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
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