JENSEN at 30: A Culture of Place

San Francisco’s India Basin Waterfront Park is a greenspace 25 years in the making. This fall, a new section opened to the public: 900 Innes Park—an important piece of connective tissue along the shoreline. The 10-acre city park welcomed community members and visitors to experience the transformation of a toxic, industrial boatyard into a place designed for and in collaboration with the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. Jensen Architects, as part of a team led by landscape architecture firm GGN, developed an architectural language that references the long history of the site and is steeped in the values of spatial justice.

Guided by an Equitable Development Plan, the Jensen Architects and GGN team worked with the Trust for Public Land and San Francisco Recreation and Parks—in partnership with SF Parks Alliance, and A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco (APRI SF). According to Joshua Silver, program manager San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the India Basin Waterfront Park and 900 Innes is one of only a few parks in the US to use such a plan.

At the heart of the project is a desire to connect the Bayview community to the water and its maritime past. A series of terraced promenades knit the shoreline back into the urban fabric and a new pier brings boating and fishing to this corner of San Francisco. Jensen Architects designed several structures to house amenities for neighbors and visitors, including a food pavilion run by local purveyors, a community workshop, and a boathouse. Made out of perforated aluminum panels and painted white, these translucent “ghost buildings” echo the 19th century Scow Schooner Boatyard that once hugged the shore. The design team took clues from archival images and the existing Shipwright’s Cottage, which was preserved and restored as an interpretive center and classroom.  

The final list of programs and facilities grew out of many conversations with stakeholders, and through engagement led by APRI SF, their desires, questions, and concerns shaped the design. A recent feature in the San Francisco Chronicle highlights the park’s success with locals.

After decades in an industrial building in San Francisco’s Presidio, the legendary Arion Press moved to a new home at the iconic Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture this fall. The clank of the printing press now rings out in a 10,000-square-foot studio designed by Jensen Architects. Arion is known for beautiful, handcrafted literary works, and the new space  brings the magic of bookmaking closer to the public with a gallery and bookshop. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the 1912 warehouse with natural light, providing passersby with glimpses of the vintage machines in the metal type foundry, letterpress room, and bookbindery.

To mark the press’s 50th anniversary, San Francisco mayor London Breed declared October 19 Arion Press Day. 

Mark Jensen told the San Francisco Chronicle that it’s been “particularly gratifying” to work on a project that brings two historic cultural entities together. The firm’s relationship with Fort Mason dates back to 2012 and the development of a master plan for the waterfront site (in collaboration with West 8) and Gallery 308.

Read more about Arion Press.