Project Design Studio 3
Residual Landscapes: Smyth–Fernwald Site, Berkeley / Horseshoe Cove, Marin Headlands
Residual Landscapes: Smyth–Fernwald Site, Berkeley / Horseshoe Cove, Marin Headlands
Re-inhabiting fallow ground at the Smyth–Fernwald site, Berkeley
The Smyth-Fernwald property is an irregular 9.26-acre hillside site owned by the University of California, Berkeley. The site formed part of the College of California’s Berkeley Property Tract development laid out in 1866 by Frederick Law Olmsted. The Berkeley Property Tract is significant as Olmsted’s first documented plan for a parkway residential subdivision, which later became a standard feature of his landscape and urban planning work. In 1945–1946 the University of California constructed the first university funded dormitories on the site to address a housing crises for female students displaced by returning GIs to UC Berkeley at the close of World War II. Faced with uneconomic structural seismic upgrades (the Hayward fault runs through the site), the university vacated residents in 2012, and demolished most of the buildings in 2013. Since that time, the site has remained in stasis without any designated or planned use. Manipulated topography, building pads, roads, trees and streetlights remain as residual features of the site’s constructed past. In 2017 the site returned to public discourse as one of nine potential locations near campus for much needed new student housing.
Students were tasked with conceiving and masterplanning a novel type of “ecological campus”, that is integral to, but operates largely independently from, the main UC Berkeley campus.
The brief required students to house approximately 300 people on the site (the majority of whom should be students at UC Berkeley); incorporate urban farming / food garden(s); locate and mass out other structures as necessary to facilitate the eco-campus; and incorporate mechanisms for generating income independent of any main revenue fees from student housing, tuition etc. Overall, students were challenged to design a landscape system that ties the programmatic elements of the brief together.
The Smyth-Fernwald property is an irregular 9.26-acre hillside site owned by the University of California, Berkeley. The site formed part of the College of California’s Berkeley Property Tract development laid out in 1866 by Frederick Law Olmsted. The Berkeley Property Tract is significant as Olmsted’s first documented plan for a parkway residential subdivision, which later became a standard feature of his landscape and urban planning work. In 1945–1946 the University of California constructed the first university funded dormitories on the site to address a housing crises for female students displaced by returning GIs to UC Berkeley at the close of World War II. Faced with uneconomic structural seismic upgrades (the Hayward fault runs through the site), the university vacated residents in 2012, and demolished most of the buildings in 2013. Since that time, the site has remained in stasis without any designated or planned use. Manipulated topography, building pads, roads, trees and streetlights remain as residual features of the site’s constructed past. In 2017 the site returned to public discourse as one of nine potential locations near campus for much needed new student housing.
Students were tasked with conceiving and masterplanning a novel type of “ecological campus”, that is integral to, but operates largely independently from, the main UC Berkeley campus.
The brief required students to house approximately 300 people on the site (the majority of whom should be students at UC Berkeley); incorporate urban farming / food garden(s); locate and mass out other structures as necessary to facilitate the eco-campus; and incorporate mechanisms for generating income independent of any main revenue fees from student housing, tuition etc. Overall, students were challenged to design a landscape system that ties the programmatic elements of the brief together.
Cynthia Miao
Alexa Vaughn
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Reactivating Horseshoe Cove, Marin Headlands
Horseshoe Cove has seen many different uses come and go. Some of the past uses and users include Miwok indigenous hunting & fishing ground (pre-1775); Spanish conquistador encampments (1775-1840s); US Army fort & battery (1850s-2002); construction yard for the Golden Gate Bridge (1930s); and present day recreational yacht club, kayaking, and fishing pier. In 1972, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area was created, encompassing much of the military land in and around the Golden Gate, including Fort Baker and the Marin Headlands. As a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, the site has been transformed from military use to public recreation under the guidance of the National Park Service.
Today, Fort Baker is home to the Bay Discovery Museum and the Cavallo Point Resort and Conference Center (The National Park Service has signed a 60‑year lease for conversion of Fort Baker into a bayside lodge and retreat). From casual bikers and hikers, to attendees at the Cavallo Conference Center, to the school children and families visiting the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a wide cross-section of the public is drawn to this location. The site also continues as a thriving wildlife habitat and spawning ground for many species of bird, butterfly, and marine life.
A significant plot at the water’s edge along Horseshoe Cove remains vacant, damaged, and undefined. The water’s edge is marked by a deteriorating sea wall that blocks access to the water. This waterfront site offers a design opportunity to simultaneously enhance ecological performance and the visitor’s experience of the San Francisco Bay.
In addition to improving ecological performance, students were required to maintain the current site uses of the Yacht Club, Museum and Coast Guard; incorporate an educational aspect in the landscape; provide opportunities to safely approach the water; provide a temporary event space or spaces; retain a public boat ramp on the site; and improve access to, and interpretation of, the historic battery on the hill.
Horseshoe Cove has seen many different uses come and go. Some of the past uses and users include Miwok indigenous hunting & fishing ground (pre-1775); Spanish conquistador encampments (1775-1840s); US Army fort & battery (1850s-2002); construction yard for the Golden Gate Bridge (1930s); and present day recreational yacht club, kayaking, and fishing pier. In 1972, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area was created, encompassing much of the military land in and around the Golden Gate, including Fort Baker and the Marin Headlands. As a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, the site has been transformed from military use to public recreation under the guidance of the National Park Service.
Today, Fort Baker is home to the Bay Discovery Museum and the Cavallo Point Resort and Conference Center (The National Park Service has signed a 60‑year lease for conversion of Fort Baker into a bayside lodge and retreat). From casual bikers and hikers, to attendees at the Cavallo Conference Center, to the school children and families visiting the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a wide cross-section of the public is drawn to this location. The site also continues as a thriving wildlife habitat and spawning ground for many species of bird, butterfly, and marine life.
A significant plot at the water’s edge along Horseshoe Cove remains vacant, damaged, and undefined. The water’s edge is marked by a deteriorating sea wall that blocks access to the water. This waterfront site offers a design opportunity to simultaneously enhance ecological performance and the visitor’s experience of the San Francisco Bay.
In addition to improving ecological performance, students were required to maintain the current site uses of the Yacht Club, Museum and Coast Guard; incorporate an educational aspect in the landscape; provide opportunities to safely approach the water; provide a temporary event space or spaces; retain a public boat ramp on the site; and improve access to, and interpretation of, the historic battery on the hill.
Kate Lenahan
Cynthia Miao