The Yard at Mission Rock

Last month at a SPUR forum entitled Activating San Francisco's Southeast Waterfront, I learned more about the history and current activity in this unique part of the city. I do know a few things about this area, as my best friend works at a restaurant off 3rd and 16th Streets. First, it doesn't really feel like San Francisco. The streets are wider, it lacks car and people traffic, and empty lots, parking lots, and big commercial style buildings are common. It doesn't feel walkable, especially absent storefronts and housing - I kind of feel like an ant walking around in a giant maze-park when I'm here, and this doesn't happen often in this city. Part of this may be due to the spot's shipyard history, or maybe because of the large UCSF/Mission Bay campus. Nonetheless, I will definitely agree with SPUR that this tiny 1-mile stretch of SF will blow up in the coming years. Based on proximity alone, but also with the Warriors Stadium going up at the 3rd and 16th Street intersection, and being connected to the waterfront as well as MUNI, this place has a lot of potential. 

The point of this post, though, was to draw special attention to the Yard at Mission Rock, a "pop-up shipping container village" located in this neighborhood across the water from AT&T Park. The space is a "unique neighborhood gathering spot created out of repurposed shipping containers to provide daily shopping, food and beverage & cultural and community events." This concept curiously reminded me of my experience at Papirøen, a "public space experiment" in Copenhagen, Denmark. Much like Papirøen, a re-purposed public space that once served as paper storage, the "Yard" at Mission Rock once housed shipping containers. I think it's a beautiful comparison and more importantly an incredible idea to conduct an "experiment" that draws people to a place that was formerly off-limits or separate from the public. It's a chance to use the space without much planning or construction, and to quite literally experiment with how people interact with and feel about a space. Whether the space will turn into something else, time will tell, but for now it's a great way to make use of it! 
 

It's quiet today, but I bet it's poppin' on game day.

HUGE parking lot at the old Port of SF

Eat, drink, socialize, rest.

Welcoming space facing the ball park.

Step across the street to China Basin to get next to the water.

Wide streets...lots of potential :)

Pano!

Copenhagen Does a LOT of Things REALLY Well

 

September 2014: It's been two years but I'm back in Copenhagen to catch up and visit with my Danish family.

Cool yet sunny weather on a relaxing Sunday. Lisbeth and Emma (mother, daughter) take me to a place that recently opened called Papirøen. The Danish Architecture Centre describes it:

Papirøen ("Paper Island")

Right opposite the Royal Danish Playhouse is Christiansholm, better known as Papirøen (“Paper Island”). You can probably remember the distinctive grey buildings with their red gates, which mysteriously faced the harbour. For several decades this was where the Procurement Association of the Danish Press stored their paper: hence the name, Papirøen. But when the Procurement Association of the Danish Press terminated their contract at the end of 2012, five years ahead of time, this paved the way for all sorts of new opportunities and exciting experiments on this central, and much sought-after site.

Until the end of 2012 Papirøen was one of the harbour's last industrial areas with no public access. But now that the paper store has departed, at last we can take a peek behind the red doors. Papirøen is now in a process of transformation from a closed-off industrial area to an open, vibrant urban area: a location for exhibitions, creative businesses, cafés and restaurants, but all on a temporary basis.

Public space experiments in 1:1  

The temporary initiatives will investigate the Island's potential and provide ideas for permanent projects for the area's future. "We imagine that after 2017 Papirøen will house a mixture of housing, commerce and public service institutions. Now, in the course of the next four years, we have the chance to see what will works and what might not work. Papirøen will be a 1:1 urban laboratory," says Jens Kramer Mikkelsen, CEO of CPH City and Port Development, in an interview with Politiken.

New residents inject life into Papirøen 

Most of Papirøens new residents have already set up shop and started to breathe life into the old industrial buildings. All the newcomers are creative, innovative companies, who will be the first to generate urban life on Papirøen. "It's a great opportunity to try out something new. The exciting thing about old, industrial buildings is how to preserve their soul, while using them for something else, when they are no longer used for their original purpose," says the property developer, Klaus Kastbjerg, to byoghavn.dk. 

OK so I'm thinking, "this is an awesome place... exactly the kind of place I want to spend my sunny Sunday afternoon drinking lattes and smoothies and catching up with Lisbeth and Emma." I wouldn't have been able to imagine a more perfect scenario in my head, so thank you Copenhagen, for creating one for me. This gorgeous day by the water was completed with good food, tasty drinks, fires, chairs and blankets and finally of course people; the perfect definition of Danish Hygge. It doesn't get much better than this.

But what I find even more interesting is stated above: Papirøen is an "urban laboratory." If you didn't read the above part, you should, and then just ponder how smart that is... all while creating a fun and enjoyable space for people to get hygge on a late summer/early fall perfect-weather-Sunday. 

Various food and drink stands/trucks - old paper storage facility

An area for children - fun for people of all ages

Indoor seating for questionable weather

Date?

Relaxed people

A lot of relaxed people

Lisbeth and Emma (in the back)

Hygge.

It seems like when Copenhagen wants to do something, they aim to do it with quality in mind. Hence the urban laboratory experiment. This is what I'm talking about...these Danish people are pretty smart, eh?

More on Danish Hygge from NPR
 
Source: Danish Architecture Centre