MVRDV-designed residential building, "The Canyon", tops out in San Francisco’s Mission Rock neighbourhood

The Canyon, a 23-storey mixed-use building designed by MVRDV as part of the first phase of a new Mission Rock neighbourhood, topped out last week in San Francisco. Containing retail and restaurant spaces on its ground level, two floors of office space, and 283 apartments, The Canyon is set to be the first primarily residential building realised in the Mission Rock masterplan when it opens in 2023.

Image © Barry Fleisher

The Canyon is one of four buildings in the first phase of the masterplan developed by the San Francisco Giants baseball team and Tishman Speyer. Designed simultaneously in a unique collaborative design process that also included internationally renowned architecture firms Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, and WORKac, these four buildings help to turn 28 acres (11 hectares) of asphalt and a windswept parking lot into an exciting new neighbourhood and community gathering point for San Francisco residents and visitors.

On a site lacking in the dramatic topography San Francisco is known for, MVRDV’s design recreates a rocky hill, with a narrow valley running between steep rocky walls that extend all the way up the tower’s western façade. This valley space is anticipated to become a lush and lively space, with landscape extending from neighbouring China Basin Park into the heart of The Canyon.

The building will therefore become home base for Mission Rock, welcoming the visitors to the neighbourhood at the “handshake” plaza, which spans from the 3rd Street Bridge to the corner of China Basin Park and The Canyon. Establishing a dialogue between the waterfront and iconic San Francisco Giants ballpark on the other side of Mission Bay, the stepping and faceted volume visually connects to the stands of the ballpark while simultaneously creating private and common terraces that boast extraordinary views towards the bay and downtown.

The Canyon is the third building to top out in the neighbourhood and the first of the two residential buildings; two buildings comprising primarily offices, by Henning Larsen and WorkAC, both topped out during the past 9 months. MVRDV is realising the building alongside associate architect Perry Architects.

To learn more about the design of The Canyon, click here.

MVRDV - MVRDV-designed residential building, "The Canyon", tops out in San Francisco’s Mission Rock neighbourhood