MILLENNIAL FALLS

Millennial Falls: A Public Park and Water Treatment Facility

Kuth Ranieri Architects

I-280 Freeway, China Basin, San Francisco, CA

Central to the Millennial Falls Park proposal is the repurposing of a section of the elevated freeway at China Basin. This freestanding freeway fragment offers a unique infrastructural framework for new urban amenities, including: wetlands, waterfalls, skateboard park, media galleries, pedestrian bridge, esplanade, bike storage, PV array, and café/observation deck. Water is treated with a filtration process of media filters and plantings at the elevated wetlands and released via waterfalls before discharge to the Bay. The elevated wetlands at the observation deck offers city views and a “History Walk” that tells the story of Mission Creek’s natural world. Through the integration of ecology, technology and community, Millennial Falls Park sponsors a new culture and connections to the shoreline: the esplanade with walking and bike paths, the boardwalk and benches bridging China Basin, the skateboard park’s subterranean topography, and the dramatic structure that supports the wetlands and waterfalls.