PROGRAM: Experimental Community Space: The Gear Shed
DESIGN PERIOD: September 2024 - January 2025

We are incredibly proud to have participated in this project - part of a larger branding, community engagement, and graphic design strategy - developed in partnership with the talented team at The Field Design, in support of the Presidio Trust, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and the National Park Service.

This was a special project for us. It’s a rare opportunity for an architect to participate in a community-led design process at such an early stage that we were able to help shape and support the development of the project concept. The concept was developed through creative collaborative sessions with Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders or I-YEL - high school students who volunteer to represent community interests for the GGNPC and are paid for their time. 

On this project, a lot of the creative work for us involved helping to articulate and expand on the vision of the student stakeholders themselves, and interpreting their programmatic vision and wishes in a creative and satisfying way. The I-YEL stakeholders’ desire for a lending library of items needed for less resourced community members to enjoy Crissy Field—picnic blankets, balls and frisbees, kites, binoculars, etc.—combined with the need for staffing flexibility, drove our concept of a “magic box,” where the Gear Shed pavilion could take on multiple configurations depending on the needs of the day. If the pavilion is staffed, there is a flip up panel that doubles as a canopy, and the panel below converts to a desk. If the pavilion is unstaffed, walls open at the sides to allow the public access to the gear shelves. 

Because the number 30 Muni bus line now reaches the Presidio from Union Square, terminating across from Crissy Field - the bus line terminal became a natural place to locate the Gear Shed. It then became a natural choice to integrate a bus shelter canopy and seating into the project. In this way, the pavilion becomes the first experience that community members have upon reaching the park, as well as the last when leaving. 

The graphic language of the wider Ecosystem of Welcome project is integrated into the color scheme and graphics on the operable panels of the magic box - cohesively tying the architecture into the wider project, and the experience of the park’s patrons. As a whimsical touch, the bus shelter support posts are abstractly carved to represent the four classical elements of earth, water, fire and air.

While this project hasn’t yet gotten to the building stage, it was a rewarding experience for our team. It was also great to see the impact that the design process had on the young and engaged -IYEL community. When the project is executed, a different I-YEL cohort will get the chance to build the pavilion, bringing the conception and execution of the project full circle.