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Presidio Tunnel Tops
Presidio Tunnel Tops
San Francisco, CA, United States
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Other Projects by Field Operations
Presidio Tunnel Tops
San Francisco, CA, United States
Firm
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2025
SIZE
500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft
BUDGET
$100M +
Presidio Tunnel Tops transforms highway infrastructure into a new civic landscape that reconnects the historic Main Post of the Presidio to the San Francisco Bay. The fundamental design challenge was to dissolve a long-standing physical and perceptual barrier created by transportation infrastructure and open the Presidio to broader public access. Following decades of planning and the removal of an elevated highway viaduct, cut-and-cover tunnels engineered by Caltrans unlocked the opportunity to reclaim this critical threshold between city, nature, and waterfront as public parkland.
The design balances essential community amenities, including a transit center, visitor center, campfire circle, and youth campus, with an innovative play and learning environment set within open spaces inspired by the site’s natural and cultural history. Working within an extraordinary setting defined by panoramic views, the landscape is choreographed through landform, circulation, and planting so that every perch offers a compelling relationship to the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay, while maintaining universal accessibility across a 40-foot grade change.
The site plan is structured by two primary pathways. The East Esplanade connects the Presidio and Main Post to the Crossroads and Bay Overlooks. The Cliff Walk ties the western and eastern parts of the site together, connecting to Crissy Field and the Marsh via the Bluff Walk. Together, these pathway axes create a sequence of unfolding experiences, integrating overlooks, seating, and sculpted landforms that provide comfort and shelter from wind and weather.
Outpost Meadow expands the park’s capacity for gathering and community use. The 2025 expansion includes shaded, wheelchair-accessible picnic tables, barbeque grills, a flexible lawn, bike parking, water fountains, and access to food trucks, all framed by views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Built as an extension of the nearby Outpost playground and Field Station discovery lab, the meadow reinforces the park’s role as a family-friendly destination that supports play, learning, and intergenerational use.
Rooted in principles of ecological renewal, material reclamation, and urban resilience, the park’s LEED Gold–certified buildings and ReScape (Bay-Friendly) certified landscapes reflect a commitment to long-term performance and adaptability. Reclaimed materials sourced directly from the Presidio play a defining role: more than half of the new buildings and furnishings are crafted from Monterey cypress harvested through the Presidio Trust’s sustainable forest management program. More than half of the park’s 200,000 plants are native species cultivated in on-site nurseries, supporting habitat continuity, pollinator networks, and a resilient, low-water landscape suited to the surrounding National Park and San Francisco’s coastal climate. The extensive native and climate-adapted plantings reinforce ecological function while framing spaces for everyday public use.
An inclusive engagement process transformed public input into a fundamental design driver. Through workshops, briefings, and outreach events, thousands of San Franciscans contributed ideas and priorities that shaped the park’s character and programming.
Presidio Tunnel Tops is a precedent urban park reclaiming over 6-hectares of highway infrastructure for new park use, advancing timely principles of ecological sustainability, urban regeneration, adaptive reuse, and inclusionary planning, design, and programming.
The design balances essential community amenities, including a transit center, visitor center, campfire circle, and youth campus, with an innovative play and learning environment set within open spaces inspired by the site’s natural and cultural history. Working within an extraordinary setting defined by panoramic views, the landscape is choreographed through landform, circulation, and planting so that every perch offers a compelling relationship to the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay, while maintaining universal accessibility across a 40-foot grade change.
The site plan is structured by two primary pathways. The East Esplanade connects the Presidio and Main Post to the Crossroads and Bay Overlooks. The Cliff Walk ties the western and eastern parts of the site together, connecting to Crissy Field and the Marsh via the Bluff Walk. Together, these pathway axes create a sequence of unfolding experiences, integrating overlooks, seating, and sculpted landforms that provide comfort and shelter from wind and weather.
Outpost Meadow expands the park’s capacity for gathering and community use. The 2025 expansion includes shaded, wheelchair-accessible picnic tables, barbeque grills, a flexible lawn, bike parking, water fountains, and access to food trucks, all framed by views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Built as an extension of the nearby Outpost playground and Field Station discovery lab, the meadow reinforces the park’s role as a family-friendly destination that supports play, learning, and intergenerational use.
Rooted in principles of ecological renewal, material reclamation, and urban resilience, the park’s LEED Gold–certified buildings and ReScape (Bay-Friendly) certified landscapes reflect a commitment to long-term performance and adaptability. Reclaimed materials sourced directly from the Presidio play a defining role: more than half of the new buildings and furnishings are crafted from Monterey cypress harvested through the Presidio Trust’s sustainable forest management program. More than half of the park’s 200,000 plants are native species cultivated in on-site nurseries, supporting habitat continuity, pollinator networks, and a resilient, low-water landscape suited to the surrounding National Park and San Francisco’s coastal climate. The extensive native and climate-adapted plantings reinforce ecological function while framing spaces for everyday public use.
An inclusive engagement process transformed public input into a fundamental design driver. Through workshops, briefings, and outreach events, thousands of San Franciscans contributed ideas and priorities that shaped the park’s character and programming.
Presidio Tunnel Tops is a precedent urban park reclaiming over 6-hectares of highway infrastructure for new park use, advancing timely principles of ecological sustainability, urban regeneration, adaptive reuse, and inclusionary planning, design, and programming.
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