Emeryville Marina

Emeryville, CA, United States

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Emeryville Marina

Emeryville, CA, United States

Firm

YEAR

2008

Located on San Francisco Bay, in the East Bay city of Emeryville, the marina provides unprecedented views of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate bridge, the San Francisco city skyline, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.

The marina was originally built on landfill and had compacted several feet over the years, causing flooding of the Bay Trail and an adjacent restaurant. Working with a team of engineers, the firm developed a solution to raise the grade of the marina by more than one and a half meters without damaging the existing large native trees.

The shoreline was raised by stacking large rip-rap, brought in by barge from a quarry across the bay. Engineered fill allowed the grade to be raised above the 100-year flood line. A new multi-use trail was designed to provide pedestrian and bicycle access around the marina. At the corner of the marina, an open space was designed to take advantage of the scenic views with stone outcroppings providing a resting place for cyclists and pedestrians, and convenient location for local fishermen.

To allow the grade to be raised around the large existing native trees, crushed stone paving was used around the drip-line of the trees. The non-compacting nature of the material allowed the trees root system to develop while providing shaded seating areas. The same stone that was used to build up the shoreline was used to retain the grade and provide seating around the trees. Native coastal grasses were planted which can survive the dry summers and the harsh winds and salt-spray while requiring little maintenance.