Discovery Green

Discovery Green has become Houston’s beloved central park, transforming a sea of surface parking adjacent to the George R. Brown Convention Center into one of Houston’s most vibrant urban districts. Over 400 annual programmed events and activities supplement the park’s fixed amenities to create a regional destination attracting over a million annual visitors. New residential, office, and hotel towers adjacent to the park represent over a billion dollars of follow-on private redevelopment. The park’s positive influence is felt throughout the downtown core.

Belo Garden is a 1.75-acre oasis in the heart of downtown Dallas, one of three recently-completed urban parks created through the implementation of the Downtown Dallas Park Master Plan. Sinuous drifts of prairie-inspired native grasses and perennials and groves of native trees give the park its unique regional identity. The central plaza at the confluence of the park’s flowing paths is activated by dramatic leaf-shaped fountains which emerge from the plaza paving to the delight of children and park visitors.

Jacob Petersen was Principal-in-Charge of the Belo Garden Design Team from Schematic Design through Construction Observation, with prime firm Hargreaves Associates. Belo Garden was developed through a public-private partnership between Belo Corp and the City of Dallas.

Belo Garden

Belo Garden is a 1.75-acre oasis in the heart of downtown Dallas, one of three recently-completed urban parks created through the implementation of the Downtown Dallas Park Master Plan. Sinuous drifts of prairie-inspired native grasses and perennials and groves of native trees give the park its unique regional identity. The central plaza at the confluence of the park’s flowing paths is activated by dramatic leaf-shaped fountains which emerge from the plaza paving to the delight of children and park visitors.

Belo Garden establishes a high bar for park sustainability. The post-industrial brownfield site was extensively remediated in preparation for park development. The design minimizes water and energy consumption with native and regionally adapted plant materials, water recycling and stormwater capture at the interactive fountain, dry wells to enhance on-site infiltration, locally-quarried granite and decomposed granite, and carefully calibrated lighting levels.

Photo: Justin Terveen

Belo Garden Identity

Flowing paths, drifts of native grasses and perennials, and the iconic leaf fountain provide dramatic visual relief within downtown Dallas’ street and building grid, particularly when viewed from surrounding office towers.

Elizabeth Caruthers Park

Elizabeth Caruthers Park is the central park of Portland’s bustling South Waterfront Redevelopment District, the largest urban renewal project in the city’s history. Over the past decade the South Waterfront has been transformed from a largely-isolated industrial brownfield into a high-density mixed-use transit-oriented urban neighborhood, defined by a commitment to sustainable urban living. The park supports the expanding neighborhood and encourages full buildout of the city’s long-term redevelopment strategy.

The 2-acre park was developed by Portland Parks and Recreation and Portland Development Commission. Jacob Petersen was Principal-in-Charge of the Caruthers Park Design Team from Schematic Design through Construction Observation, with prime firm Hargreaves Associates. Lango Hanson Associates served as the local landscape consultant.

The park’s sustainability features represent the values of the larger Portland community. All on-site stormwater is consolidated and conveyed to infiltration gardens set within Naturalized Landscape, minimizing runoff to the adjacent Willamette River. Low-energy fluorescent and induction lighting minimizes electrical consumption, and the motion-activated water feature operates only when children are present. Irrigation and maintenance are minimized through the use of native and regionally adapted plants.

Photo: Jacob Petersen

Elizabeth Caruthers Park

Elizabeth Caruthers Park is the central park of Portland’s bustling South Waterfront Redevelopment District, the largest urban renewal project in the city’s history. Over the past decade the South Waterfront has been transformed from a largely-isolated industrial brownfield into a high-density mixed-use transit-oriented urban neighborhood, defined by a commitment to sustainable urban living. The park supports the expanding neighborhood and encourages full buildout of the city’s long-term redevelopment strategy.

The 2-acre park was developed by Portland Parks and Recreation and Portland Development Commission. Jacob Petersen was Principal-in-Charge of the Caruthers Park Design Team from Schematic Design through Construction Observation, with prime firm Hargreaves Associates. Lango Hanson Associates served as the local landscape consultant.

Photo: Bruce Forster

San Diego CAC Waterfront Park

The $49M San Diego CAC Waterfront Park and garage transformed acres of surface parking surrounding the landmark County Administration Center into downtown San Diego’s signature waterfront park. The park celebrates the iconic Administration Center at its heart, with the north/south axis of the building extended across the site as the Promenade and Civic Fountain, a grand gesture of cascading water linking the open expanse of the Civic Green along the waterfront, to the more intimate garden rooms along the park’s interior edge.

The 17-acre park has become a wildly popular regional destination and downtown event venue since its opening in 2014. Jacob Petersen was Principal-in-Charge of the Waterfront Park Design Team, with prime firm Hargreaves Associates. Davis Davis Architects led the design of the park architecture and the garage.

Pre-development Site Conditions

For the previous 80 years, the County Administration Center was surrounded by two large surface parking lots, providing convenient parking for CAC employees and visitors. The Waterfront Park transformed this sea of parking into an open space legacy for regional residents and visitors. Surface parking was replaced by a garage below the south half of the park and a large multi-level garage two blocks to the east. The park’s success provides additional support for ongoing waterfront and downtown revitalization efforts.

San Diego CAC Waterfront Park

The $49M San Diego CAC Waterfront Park and garage transformed acres of surface parking surrounding the landmark County Administration Center into downtown San Diego’s signature waterfront park. The park celebrates the iconic Administration Center at its heart, with the north/south axis of the building extended across the site as the Promenade and Civic Fountain, a grand gesture of cascading water linking the open expanse of the Civic Green along the waterfront, to the more intimate garden rooms along the park’s interior edge.

Garden gathering spaces create intimate venues for performances and events, private celebrations such as weddings and quinceaneras, and public art display. Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Serpent Tree” creates a dramatic accent within the sub-tropical garden, while “Cat” provides a whimsical play opportunity within the Family Area. Both sculptures are generously on loan from the Niki Charitable Art Foundation.

Photo: Jacob Petersen

Historic County Administration Center

An estimated 25,000 people gathered on July 16, 1938 for the dedication of the County Administration Center on San Diego's bayfront. The magnificent building was constructed with a $1M grant from the Works Progress Administration authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presided over the dedication ceremonies.

The CAC building has been a center of City and County administration since 1938, and with the opening of the Waterfront Park has begun a new chapter as one of downtown San Diego's premier recreational destinations.

Photo: County of San Diego

The Infinity

The Infinity’s residential towers and mid-rise buildings enclose a half-acre public courtyard constructed over several levels of underground parking and a swimming pool/fitness room. A graphic waterwall and sculptural terraces define the edges of the courtyard, while lush planting islands float within courtyard plaza. The dramatic vertically-oriented landscape engages the buildings at multiple levels and creates a striking visual landscape for surrounding residential units.

Sculptural seating terraces frame the opposite edge of the courtyard. Large trapezoidal skylights integrated into the terraces bathe the swimming pool below in natural daylight. Mounded planting islands with cantilevered steel benches float within the courtyard paving, creating a series of intimate garden seating spaces.

Spear Street Stairs

The courtyard connects to Main Street at grade, and to Spear Street with grand stairs and planted terraces, accounting for the significant topographic change across the site. A bamboo-planted corridor along the south property line creates a secondary public passage through the development.

The half-block project included three distinct streetscape designs, each reflecting a different typology within the city’s street hierarchy. The Spear Street “green street” integrates café spillout, seating niches, gardens, and small-scale recreation within the enclosure of a double row of trees, and is shown as a precedent in San Francisco's Better Streets manual.

Photo: Jacob Petersen

Spear Street Stairs

The courtyard connects to Main Street at grade, and to Spear Street with grand stairs and planted terraces, accounting for the significant topographic change across the site. A bamboo-planted corridor along the south property line creates a secondary public passage through the development.

The garage lid was faceted in parallel with the sloping planes of the park, creating a uniform shallow layer of planting soil over the structure. This required close collaboration between landscape design team and garage structural engineers. Increased soil depth at tree groves was achieved by locally depressing the garage slab to the bottom of the concrete beams.

Horticulturist Galen Gates of the Chicago Botanic Gardens was engaged to help develop a plant palette that would thrive in this challenging on-structure, lakeside installation. Tough regional native plants are utilized throughout the park, and stormwater is directed to rock-filled infiltration basins along the edges of the garage.

Photo: Jacob Petersen

Park Construction and Sustainability

The garage lid was faceted in parallel with the sloping planes of the park, creating a uniform shallow layer of planting soil over the structure. This required close collaboration between landscape design team and garage structural engineers. Increased soil depth at tree groves was achieved by locally depressing the garage slab to the bottom of the concrete beams.

Horticulturist Galen Gates of the Chicago Botanic Gardens was engaged to help develop a plant palette that would thrive in this challenging on-structure, lakeside installation. Tough regional native plants are utilized throughout the park, and stormwater is directed to rock-filled infiltration basins along the edges of the garage.

Photo: Jacob Petersen

Park Construction and Sustainability

The garage lid was faceted in parallel with the sloping planes of the park, creating a uniform shallow layer of planting soil over the structure. This required close collaboration between landscape design team and garage structural engineers. Increased soil depth at tree groves was achieved by locally depressing the garage slab to the bottom of the concrete beams.

Horticulturist Galen Gates of the Chicago Botanic Gardens was engaged to help develop a plant palette that would thrive in this challenging on-structure, lakeside installation. Tough regional native plants are utilized throughout the park, and stormwater is directed to rock-filled infiltration basins along the edges of the garage.

Photo: Jacob Petersen

Austin Federal Courthouse

The Austin Federal Courthouse, designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, occupies a full city block adjacent to historic Republic Square Park in downtown Austin. The courthouse landscape engages the surrounding city with a series of gardens, stairs, terraces, plazas, and streetscapes. Jacob Petersen, Principal-in-Charge of the Hargreaves Associates landscape design team, coordinated with the city to close San Antonio Street to vehicular traffic, transforming the right-of-way into a tree-shaded event plaza linking courthouse to park in a unified pedestrian environment. Grand courthouse stairs facing the plaza welcome employees and visitors. The striated grain of the landscape reinforces the bold courthouse massing. The LEED-certified project was awarded a 2014 GSA Honor Award in recognition of overall design excellence.

Photo: Casey Dunn

Grand courthouse stairs connect the courthouse podium to San Antonio Plaza and the park, providing ample informal seating overlooking plaza and park activities. Terraces at one end form a small amphitheater for which the plaza becomes a stage for small performances. Paving tonality relates to the variations in the buff-colored regional limestone used to clad to the building. Plantings reinforce this grain while framing discrete gardens and seating areas.

Photo: Maggie Morrow

Courthouse Stairs and Plaza

Grand courthouse stairs connect the courthouse podium to San Antonio Plaza and the park, providing ample informal seating overlooking plaza and park activities. Terraces at one end form a small amphitheater for which the plaza becomes a stage for small performances. Paving tonality relates to the variations in the buff-colored regional limestone used to clad to the building. Plantings reinforce this grain while framing discrete gardens and seating areas.

Photo: Maggie Morrow

The Regional Law Enforcement Memorial celebrates the lives and service of all branches of law enforcement in San Diego County. The glass “Wall of Light” is internally illuminated, creating a beacon of remembrance along San Diego’s waterfront. The names of fallen officers are etched upon the ephemeral glass surface, without hierarchy, or structure. The intentional lack of order alludes to the timelessness and commonality of service and sacrifice. Translucent words such as "honor", "duty", and "courage" float within the illuminated glass wall, representing the shared core values of law enforcement.

Jacob Petersen, Principal-in-Charge of the Hargreaves Associates design team, worked closely with Memorial Foundation representatives to refine content and meaning.

Photo: Memorial Foundation

Regional Law Enforcement Memorial

The glass wall is internally illuminated with cool white light, creating a beacon of remembrance along San Diego’s waterfront. When an officer falls, wall lighting changes to blue, sharing the loss with the larger San Diego community. The wall remains blue until the memorial ceremony occurs, and the new name is etched into the glass. Flowers and pencil rubbings of etched names are often left on the granite plinth by daily visitors. Hundreds of officers gather for the annual memorial ceremony each May.

Photo: Kathy Flynn

Regional Law Enforcement Memorial

The glass wall is internally illuminated with cool white light, creating a beacon of remembrance along San Diego’s waterfront. When an officer falls, wall lighting changes to blue, sharing the loss with the larger San Diego community. The wall remains blue until the memorial ceremony occurs, and the new name is etched into the glass. Flowers and pencil rubbings of etched names are often left on the granite plinth by daily visitors. Hundreds of officers gather for the annual memorial ceremony each May.

Photo: Kathy Flynn

Regional Law Enforcement Memorial

The glass wall is internally illuminated with cool white light, creating a beacon of remembrance along San Diego’s waterfront. When an officer falls, wall lighting changes to blue, sharing the loss with the larger San Diego community. The wall remains blue until the memorial ceremony occurs, and the new name is etched into the glass. Flowers and pencil rubbings of etched names are often left on the granite plinth by daily visitors. Hundreds of officers gather for the annual memorial ceremony each May.

Photo: Kathy Flynn

Photo: Charles Smith

Potrero Residence

The residential garden designed by Jacob Petersen and Lara Rose is defined by a dramatic angular deck framed by bold masses of decorative grasses and perennials. The central deck terminates in a seating terrace along the edge of the bocce court. The large deck and bocce court provide ample outdoor entertainment and dining opportunities. The terraced landscape gracefully mitigates 5+ feet of grade change between the house and the garden, enhancing indoor-outdoor connectivity. Feather reed grass, wild rye, salvia, and olive trees create an attractive drought-tolerant and low-maintenance garden palette suitable to San Francisco’s Mediterranean climate.

Amenity Deck

The Amenity Deck’s informal garden planters reflect the subtle angular geometries of the tower and create dynamic landscape spaces that invite outdoor fitness, dining, working, lounging, socializing, and grilling. Movable furnishings complement built-in perimeter seating to create flexible programmable spaces. Dimmable catenary lights and a linear wall fire create a warm and inviting nighttime ambiance.

Image: Petersen Studio

MAPS 3 Downtown Public Park Master Plan

Oklahoma City’s Downtown Public Park Master Plan establishes the design vision and programming for the ambitious $80M, 70-acre central park linking the downtown core to the riverfront. The mile-long park will become downtown’s premier outdoor recreation and entertainment destination, and a major catalyst for revitalization of the Core to Shore District, providing the open space armature for the next 50-75 years of downtown growth.

Jacob Petersen was Principal-in-Charge of the Downtown Park Master Plan, with prime firm Hargreaves Associates. The Master Plan was adopted in 2014. Park construction is scheduled to be completed by 2021. A PDF of the complete Master Plan is available on the city’s MAPS 3 website: Downtown Public Park Master Plan PDF

Image: City of Oklahoma City, MAPS 3 Downtown Public Park Master Plan, prepared by Hargreaves Associates

Schematic Model

The Mountain House is located on the edge of a 5-acre meadow surrounded by redwood forest in northern California’s steep coastal mountains. Construction of the original eccentric post-and-beam house was initiated in the 1970’s as a private mountain retreat. Current owners wanted to expand and modernize the off-the-grid house to accommodate a growing family, and strengthen indoor-outdoor relationships. Petersen Studio designed a sequence of interrelated decks, stairs, and terraces that unfold from the house to engage the surrounding meadow and forest. The hillside design gracefully integrates 40’ of vertical grade change.

On the uphill side of the house, a new entry stair and retaining wall provides access from the parking area above and protects the rooting area of a large redwood tree from required site grading. On the downhill side of the house, the folding glass wall of the new living room opens onto broad splayed stairs and a gravel terrace with a fire ring. The central lawn terrace accommodates family dining and play, and the lawn overlooks a sculptural pool deck embedded within the existing meadow.

House renovations and extensive rough grading have been completed. Phased landscape improvements are under construction.

Mountain House

The Mountain House is located on the edge of a 5-acre meadow surrounded by redwood forest in northern California’s steep coastal mountains. Construction of the original eccentric post-and-beam house was initiated in the 1970’s as a private mountain retreat. Current owners wanted to expand and modernize the off-the-grid house to accommodate a growing family, and strengthen indoor-outdoor relationships. Petersen Studio designed a sequence of interrelated decks, stairs, and terraces that unfold from the house to engage the surrounding meadow and forest. The hillside design gracefully integrates 40’ of vertical grade change.

On the uphill side of the house, a new entry stair and retaining wall provides access from the parking area above and protects the rooting area of a large redwood tree from required site grading. On the downhill side of the house, the folding glass wall of the new living room opens onto broad splayed stairs and a gravel terrace with a fire ring. The central lawn terrace accommodates family dining and play, and the lawn overlooks a sculptural pool deck embedded within the existing meadow.

House renovations and extensive rough grading have been completed. Phased landscape improvements are under construction.

Entry Stair and Retaining Wall

On the uphill side of the house, a new entry stair and retaining wall provides access from the parking area above and protects the rooting area of a large redwood tree from required site grading.

Entry Stair and Retaining Wall

On the uphill side of the house, a new entry stair and retaining wall provides access from the parking area above and protects the rooting area of a large redwood tree from required site grading.

Splay Stairs and Fire Terrace

On the downhill side of the house, the folding glass wall of the new living room opens onto broad splayed stairs and a gravel terrace with a fire ring. The central lawn terrace accommodates family dining and play. The lawn overlooks a sculptural pool deck embedded within the existing meadow.

Splay Stairs and Fire Terrace

On the downhill side of the house, the folding glass wall of the new living room opens onto broad splayed stairs and a gravel terrace with a fire ring. The central lawn terrace accommodates family dining and play. The lawn overlooks a sculptural pool deck embedded within the existing meadow.

Amenity Deck

The highly-programmed 17,000 sf Amenity Deck features a swimming pool with fountain jets, a fitness center with an outdoor exercise plaza, a DIY makers garage, and a tree-shaded deck with cafe seating and outdoor fires, set within a rich garden environment overlooking San Diego’s downtown skyline and bayfront.

Image: Petersen Studio

Pocket Park

Pocket Park’s restaurant deck and multi-use plaza will become active destinations within the surrounding neighborhood. The restaurant deck’s and communal tables will encourage indoor/outdoor dining and socialization in an informal beer garden context, while the tree-shaded plaza will host daily activities and a range of small performances and events. The plaza’s movable tables and chairs can be easily rearranged or removed to accommodate outdoor movies, music performances, weddings and various private events. A steel post and cable framework retains the bamboo green screen along the garage and driveway edges of the park and provides an armature for mounting temporary art exhibitions and the outdoor movie screens. Interpretive stormwater gardens treat runoff and provide desired separation between the private restaurant deck and the public plaza. Sculptural seating terraces frame the south edge of the plaza, providing informal amphitheater seating and performance platforms for plaza activities. Dimmable catenary lights allow nighttime atmosphere to be customized for specific activities.

Image: Petersen Studio

Pocket Park

Pocket Park’s restaurant deck and multi-use plaza will become active destinations within the surrounding neighborhood. The restaurant deck’s and communal tables will encourage indoor/outdoor dining and socialization in an informal beer garden context, while the tree-shaded plaza will host daily activities and a range of small performances and events. The plaza’s movable tables and chairs can be easily rearranged or removed to accommodate outdoor movies, music performances, weddings and various private events. A steel post and cable framework retains the bamboo green screen along the garage and driveway edges of the park and provides an armature for mounting temporary art exhibitions and the outdoor movie screens. Interpretive stormwater gardens treat runoff and provide desired separation between the private restaurant deck and the public plaza. Sculptural seating terraces frame the south edge of the plaza, providing informal amphitheater seating and performance platforms for plaza activities. Dimmable catenary lights allow nighttime atmosphere to be customized for specific activities.

Image: Petersen Studio

Petersen Studio is currently working with architect Carrier Johnson to finalize Construction Documents for the high-profile Streetlights Residential Tower project in downtown San Diego’s Makers Quarter District. Architectural scope includes a 30-story residential tower, a 7-story residential mid-rise, and a 10-story garage, activated by ground-level restaurant and retail space.

Two small public/private parks and streetscapes improvements will provide a range of activities and amenities for residents of the revitalizing district. On-structure landscapes include a 17K SF Amenity Deck on the roof of the garage, a 5K SF garden terrace, and a 6-story green wall wrapping the south and west faces of the garage. The programmed Amenity Deck features a swimming pool with fountain jets, a fitness center with an outdoor exercise plaza, a DIY makers garage, café seating, and an outdoor bar with panoramic views of the downtown skyline. Construction is scheduled to begin 2018.

Image: Petersen Studio

Makers Quarter Pocket Park

Petersen Studio has been engaged by a developer team to design and program public realm streetscape and park improvements within the 5-block Makers Quarter district of downtown San Diego. The Makers Quarter Pocket Park will be one of several small parks and plazas that will collectively define the character and social fabric of this evolving urban neighborhood.

Pocket Park’s restaurant deck’s and communal tables will encourage indoor/outdoor dining and socialization in an informal beer garden context, while the tree-shaded plaza will host daily activities and a range of small performances and events. The plaza’s movable tables and chairs can be easily rearranged or removed to accommodate outdoor movies, music performances, weddings and various private events. Interpretive stormwater gardens treat runoff and provide desired separation between the private restaurant deck and the public plaza. Sculptural seating terraces frame the south edge of the plaza, providing informal amphitheater seating and performance platforms for plaza activities. Dimmable catenary lights allow nighttime atmosphere to be customized for specific activities.

Image: Petersen Studio

Makers Quarter Pocket Park

Petersen Studio has been engaged by a developer team to design and program public realm streetscape and park improvements within the 5-block Makers Quarter district of downtown San Diego. The Makers Quarter Pocket Park will be one of several small parks and plazas that will collectively define the character and social fabric of this evolving urban neighborhood.

Pocket Park’s restaurant deck’s and communal tables will encourage indoor/outdoor dining and socialization in an informal beer garden context, while the tree-shaded plaza will host daily activities and a range of small performances and events. The plaza’s movable tables and chairs can be easily rearranged or removed to accommodate outdoor movies, music performances, weddings and various private events. Interpretive stormwater gardens treat runoff and provide desired separation between the private restaurant deck and the public plaza. Sculptural seating terraces frame the south edge of the plaza, providing informal amphitheater seating and performance platforms for plaza activities. Dimmable catenary lights allow nighttime atmosphere to be customized for specific activities.

Image: Petersen Studio

Burlingame Point

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Doug & Wolf

East Shoreline Dining Plaza

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

Image: Gensler

Central Mall

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

Image: Gensler

West Terraces

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

Image: Gensler

Burlingame Point East Shoreline

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Petersen Studio

Burlingame Point West Shoreline

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Petersen Studio

Garage Skylight Gardens

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Petersen Studio

Office Roof Terrace

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

Image: Petersen Studio

Illustrative Plan

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Petersen Studio

Burlingame Point East Shoreline

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport.

The project will restore several acres of native coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. The shoreline revetment will be reconstructed and raised to accommodate anticipated sea level rise. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, 2017, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Petersen Studio

Burlingame Point West Shoreline

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. The shoreline revetment will be reconstructed and raised to accommodate anticipated sea level rise. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, 2017, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Petersen Studio

Burlingame Shoreline

PETERSEN STUDIO is collaborating with Gensler on the 17-acre Burlingame Point Development, a dramatic new R&D campus on Burlingame’s waterfront, 1 mile south of San Francisco’s International Airport. The campus includes four mid-rise office buildings and an amenity building organized around a 1000’-long central mall that orients the campus to the bay. The mall’s green roof landscape is designed as a hyperbolized coastal prairie, with diverse seasonal natives that deliberately exaggerate the changing of the seasons. Plazas and courtyards adjacent to ground floor dining and meeting spaces encourage indoor-outdoor campus activities and programmed outdoor events. Six acres of the central campus landscape is on-structure over large underground podium garages, allowing the campus to maximize publicly-accessible open space within a cohesive pedestrian environment. Rooftop terraces on each office building provide more intimate spaces for outdoor work, dining, and social activities with panoramic views across the bay.

The project will restore several acres of coastal scrub and prairie habitat while activating the waterfront with a multi-use Bay Trail promenade, picnic plazas, seating terraces, and overlooks that cantilever dramatically from the shoreline revetment. Interpretive nodes along the waterfront will engage visitors in coastal ecology, habitat restoration, storm water management, and sea level rise – topics that are visibly represented within the surrounding landscape. Construction of Burlingame Point officially broke ground February 13th, and will be completed in 2019.

Image: Doug & Wolf

Amenity Deck

Petersen Studio is collaborating with HKS on a 437-unit residential high-rise project at 24th and Harrison near Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland.

The landscape centerpiece of the project is the 35K SF podium Amenity Deck integrating a large pool deck with 80’ lap pool, an amenity pavilion surrounded by generous indoor/outdoor wood decks and terraces that encourage outdoor exercise and socializing, a large multi-use lawn for events and passive recreation, and intimate garden rooms, all interwoven within a framework of colorful 4-season gardens. A cantilevered shade structure wraps the amenity pavilion and extends along the edge of the pool deck, providing a band of architectural shade that complements the informal drift of flowering shade trees. A perimeter tree frame along the walls of the L-shaped tower combines with a linear bamboo scrim the along the edge of the windowless adjacent development to create dramatic vertical garden containment, and subtle grade changes heighten views while provide shelter from cool breezes.

Image: Petersen Studio

Pool Deck

The landscape centerpiece of the project is the 35K SF podium Amenity Deck integrating a large pool deck with 80’ lap pool, an amenity pavilion surrounded by generous indoor/outdoor wood decks and terraces that encourage outdoor exercise and socializing, a large multi-use lawn for events and passive recreation, and intimate garden rooms, all interwoven within a framework of colorful 4-season gardens. A cantilevered shade structure wraps the amenity pavilion and extends along the edge of the pool deck, providing a band of architectural shade that complements the informal drift of flowering shade trees. A perimeter tree frame along the walls of the L-shaped tower combines with a linear bamboo scrim the along the edge of the windowless adjacent development to create dramatic vertical garden containment, and subtle grade changes heighten views while provide shelter from cool breezes.

Image: Petersen Studio

Amenity Deck Gardens and Lawn

The landscape centerpiece of the project is the 35K SF podium Amenity Deck integrating a large pool deck with 80’ lap pool, an amenity pavilion surrounded by generous indoor/outdoor wood decks and terraces that encourage outdoor exercise and socializing, a large multi-use lawn for events and passive recreation, and intimate garden rooms, all interwoven within a framework of colorful 4-season gardens. A cantilevered shade structure wraps the amenity pavilion and extends along the edge of the pool deck, providing a band of architectural shade that complements the informal drift of flowering shade trees. A perimeter tree frame along the walls of the L-shaped tower combines with a linear bamboo scrim the along the edge of the windowless adjacent development to create dramatic vertical garden containment, and subtle grade changes heighten views while provide shelter from cool breezes.

Image: Petersen Studio

14th & Alice

Petersen Studio recently completed Construction Documents for this residential midrise nestled between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt. The full-block project combines 262 mid-market residential units with 20,000 SF of ground level retail and comprehensive streetscape improvements.

Image: BDE Architecture

Lobby Plaza and Streetscape

Petersen Studio recently completed Construction Documents for this residential midrise nestled between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt. The full-block project combines 262 mid-market residential units with 20,000 SF of ground level retail and comprehensive streetscape improvements.

Image: Petersen Studio

Garden Courtyard

The full-block development is designed around a dramatic 10,000 SF courtyard garden defined by an informal grove of honeylocust trees and undulating mounds of colorful shade-loving perennials. This hyperbolized landscape creates an inviting destination and a unique visual amenity for courtyard-facing apartments and the fitness room at the courtyard’s west end. Catenary lights weaving in and out of the tree canopy provide dappled illumination that emulates daytime shadow patterns.

Image: Petersen Studio

Roof Terrace

The club room and adjacent 8,500 SF roof terrace form a fluid and expandable indoor-outdoor social space connected by an operable glass wall. The terrace’s generous wood deck and multi-use lawn accommodate outdoor movies, parties, exercise, yoga, croquette, picnic, and lounging with spectacular views of downtown Oakland and the bay beyond. Movable furnishings and lawn chairs encourage residents to make their own space. A large granite seating platform transforms into a fire feature at night, becoming the heart of social and visual activity. BBQ rooms and seating niches set within the terrace garden create more intimate social and dining opportunities.

Image: Petersen Studio

Petersen Studio is leading the design of 25-acre Harbor Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront, the central public-realm catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront District, southern California’s last major post-industrial waterfront redevelopment opportunity. The signature park and adjacent $1.2 billion resort convention center will create a series of vibrant and active waterfront destinations that reconnect the City of Chula Vista and the surrounding region to the bay. The signature park encourages interaction with the bay by diversifying shoreline edge experiences with a half-mile waterfront promenade, a destination pier, and a new urban beach for south bay residents. The beach is framed by terraced headlands and activated by an iconic beachfront café with unparalleled views to downtown San Diego’s skyline and the Coronado Bridge. A boat house with watersport rentals invites kayakers, windsurfers and paddleboarders to explore the bay and the adjacent National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining migratory bird mudflats on the western seaboard. The shoreline revetment and park are being raised to accommodate 2100 sea level rise projections, and flexibly adapt to changes beyond this timeframe.Park amenities will include a large multi-use lawn, a family play area and picnic groves, an interactive fountain, plazas, and public art, set within the context of several acres of colorful 4-season gardens. The 3-acre Bayside Lawn will accommodate the daily recreational needs of visitors while hosting a wide range of performances, events, and festivals that will transform the park into an outstanding regional destination

Harbor Park Beach

Petersen Studio is leading the design of 25-acre Harbor Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront, the central public-realm catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront District, southern California’s last major post-industrial waterfront redevelopment opportunity. The signature park and adjacent $1.2 billion resort convention center will create a series of vibrant and active waterfront destinations that reconnect the City of Chula Vista and the surrounding region to the bay. The signature park encourages interaction with the bay by diversifying shoreline edge experiences with a half-mile waterfront promenade, a destination pier, and a new urban beach for south bay residents. The beach is framed by terraced headlands and activated by an iconic beachfront café with unparalleled views to downtown San Diego’s skyline and the Coronado Bridge. A boat house with watersport rentals invites kayakers, windsurfers and paddleboarders to explore the bay and the adjacent National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining migratory bird mudflats on the western seaboard. The shoreline revetment and park are being raised to accommodate 2100 sea level rise projections, and flexibly adapt to changes beyond this timeframe.Park amenities will include a large multi-use lawn, a family play area and picnic groves, an interactive fountain, plazas, and public art, set within the context of several acres of colorful 4-season gardens. The 3-acre Bayside Lawn will accommodate the daily recreational needs of visitors while hosting a wide range of performances, events, and festivals that will transform the park into an outstanding regional destination

Harbor Park Promenade

Petersen Studio is leading the design of 25-acre Harbor Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront, the central public-realm catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront District, southern California’s last major post-industrial waterfront redevelopment opportunity. The signature park and adjacent $1.2 billion resort convention center will create a series of vibrant and active waterfront destinations that reconnect the City of Chula Vista and the surrounding region to the bay. The signature park encourages interaction with the bay by diversifying shoreline edge experiences with a half-mile waterfront promenade, a destination pier, and a new urban beach for south bay residents. The beach is framed by terraced headlands and activated by an iconic beachfront café with unparalleled views to downtown San Diego’s skyline and the Coronado Bridge. A boat house with watersport rentals invites kayakers, windsurfers and paddleboarders to explore the bay and the adjacent National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining migratory bird mudflats on the western seaboard. The shoreline revetment and park are being raised to accommodate 2100 sea level rise projections, and flexibly adapt to changes beyond this timeframe.Park amenities will include a large multi-use lawn, a family play area and picnic groves, an interactive fountain, plazas, and public art, set within the context of several acres of colorful 4-season gardens. The 3-acre Bayside Lawn will accommodate the daily recreational needs of visitors while hosting a wide range of performances, events, and festivals that will transform the park into an outstanding regional destination

Harbor Park Hill and Fountain

Petersen Studio is leading the design of 25-acre Harbor Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront, the central public-realm catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront District, southern California’s last major post-industrial waterfront redevelopment opportunity. The signature park and adjacent $1.2 billion resort convention center will create a series of vibrant and active waterfront destinations that reconnect the City of Chula Vista and the surrounding region to the bay. The signature park encourages interaction with the bay by diversifying shoreline edge experiences with a half-mile waterfront promenade, a destination pier, and a new urban beach for south bay residents. The beach is framed by terraced headlands and activated by an iconic beachfront café with unparalleled views to downtown San Diego’s skyline and the Coronado Bridge. A boat house with watersport rentals invites kayakers, windsurfers and paddleboarders to explore the bay and the adjacent National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining migratory bird mudflats on the western seaboard. The shoreline revetment and park are being raised to accommodate 2100 sea level rise projections, and flexibly adapt to changes beyond this timeframe.Park amenities will include a large multi-use lawn, a family play area and picnic groves, an interactive fountain, plazas, and public art, set within the context of several acres of colorful 4-season gardens. The 3-acre Bayside Lawn will accommodate the daily recreational needs of visitors while hosting a wide range of performances, events, and festivals that will transform the park into an outstanding regional destination

Harbor Park Gardens

Petersen Studio is leading the design of 25-acre Harbor Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront, the central public-realm catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront District, southern California’s last major post-industrial waterfront redevelopment opportunity. The signature park and adjacent $1.2 billion resort convention center will create a series of vibrant and active waterfront destinations that reconnect the City of Chula Vista and the surrounding region to the bay. The signature park encourages interaction with the bay by diversifying shoreline edge experiences with a half-mile waterfront promenade, a destination pier, and a new urban beach for south bay residents. The beach is framed by terraced headlands and activated by an iconic beachfront café with unparalleled views to downtown San Diego’s skyline and the Coronado Bridge. A boat house with watersport rentals invites kayakers, windsurfers and paddleboarders to explore the bay and the adjacent National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining migratory bird mudflats on the western seaboard. The shoreline revetment and park are being raised to accommodate 2100 sea level rise projections, and flexibly adapt to changes beyond this timeframe.Park amenities will include a large multi-use lawn, a family play area and picnic groves, an interactive fountain, plazas, and public art, set within the context of several acres of colorful 4-season gardens. The 3-acre Bayside Lawn will accommodate the daily recreational needs of visitors while hosting a wide range of performances, events, and festivals that will transform the park into an outstanding regional destination