MVRDV’s 23-storey mixed-use building residential complex The Canyon on San Francisco’s waterfront incorporates housing, offices, shops, and restaurants.
The Canyon’s ruggedly textured red-brown façade references Californian rock formations and features a landscaped public “canyon” that cuts diagonally through the building’s plinth, connecting to the offices and to shared amenities for residents. The walls of the tower are jagged with step-backs and overhangs giving the impression of steep rocky walls. These have the added benefit of creating bay windows and balconies. The roofs of the plinth are also landscaped with abundant native greenery, creating communal spaces for residents.
One benefit of the simultaneous design process for the masterplan is that the four buildings share critical energy and water infrastructure. For example, a water recycling plant will process black water from the whole neighbourhood for reuse. For its part, The Canyon hosts the key mechanical elements of an efficient district heating system, hidden away in parts of the ground floor and basement. The proximity to the San Francisco Bay provides the site with the opportunity to utilise bay water for both cooling and heating via a water exchange system, which leads to a reduction of CO2 and lower water, sewer, and energy usage.
Further enhancing The Canyon’s sustainability, the building level has been raised by more than five feet to accommodate for projected sea level rise. Lightweight glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) was used for the façade panels which compares favourably to precast concrete. With metro stations, ferries, and buses within walking or biking distance, these shared systems and interventions allow the neighbourhood to significantly reduce its carbon emissions making it an exemplary project in the area.
