With the Presidio Trust Board of Directors set to publicly review the three revised proposals for developing the Presidio’s Mid-Crissy Field site tonight, photo simulations to compare the mass and height for each of the projects have been prepared with the existing Sports Basement/Commissary building in place for the sake of comparison.
The simulation for “Scheme 1” of the proposed Lucas Culural Arts Museum which would rise 61 feet to the top of its parapet, 66 feet to the top of its dome (click images to enlarge):

The simulation for “Scheme 2” of the Lucas Culural Arts Museum which would rise 45 feet to the top of its parapet, 50 feet to the top of its atrium skylight:



The simulation for the Presidio Exchange project which would rise 43 feet to the top of its building:

The simulation for the Bridge/Sustainability Institute project which would rise 43 feet to the top of its building:

Additional angles for the photo simulations are available in the Mid-Crissy Field Project photo simulation supplement.

21 thoughts on “Proposed Presidio Projects Photo Simulated, Ready For Review”
  1. Could someone remind me why the Presidio wants to encourage museums to be located there? Fisher’s art went back downtown where it belonged, but even he, when alive, was demanding that his art could “only” be in the Presidio. I would rather see additional landscape restoration projects and more space for outdoor sports and exploration.

  2. @kapalua
    Go back to 1830 SF and you can restore landscape in Downtown as well. Hey the “Presidio” in that particular part had the same native plants as did downtown area. Sand, Baccharis pilularis,Artemisia californica,Festuca californica, Garrya elliptica and the like… Just a question how far back you go.
    By the way I agree with you…lets keep it openspace or restore it. On the other hand, that area is not all that usable given its location in space.

  3. The Palace of Fine Arts is of the same period and style to the type of art that George Lucas wishes to display. It is a stones throw from the Presidio and it already attracts thousands of visitors each year for its unique architectural beauty. It has a main building that is around 100,000+ square feet, and was built to serve as an art gallery. Furthermore, this landmark is currently without a long-term tenant.
    Obviously it would never work. Not sure where I was going with that.

  4. @ Adam,
    Where you were going was to an obvious conclusion: Lucas should locate his museum in the Palace of Fine Arts. It would restore a beloved building and provide a new museum. It’s the logical resolution that will make sense to everyone. Except George Lucas. When one gets to be a billionaire, one expects to get exactly what one wants.
    Pity.

  5. I hadn’t previously been part of the “build nothing” camp, but… these are all a bit annoying (and particularly the Bridge / Sustainiability Institute – love to see them try to explain away that one!).

  6. I love the Palace of Fine Arts idea! Don’t require 1830 San Francisco as there were 830,000 less people then and parks and landscapes were not in demand. Like here on a Maui, at one time there was NO development, now preserved landscapes are sought after. ( for the record, I own a single family home in the Marina and am therefore very interested in the Presidio). I think having the Palace of Fine Arts return to its intended use as a museum would be a great benefit to the city, and much “greener” as no new construction is required.
    I much prefer reuse of an existing landmark even if it causes more traffic and parking problems in our neighborhood.

  7. The Palace sounds like a great idea that is not on the table. We are discussing an RFP process that was put out and now one of the three finalists need to be selected. I vote for Lucas Scheme 2!
    I am very much interested as well since I live and own several properties in the Marina.

  8. I’m just hoping they do something about the concrete freeway wall on the right. That’s more of an eyesore than any of these proposals.

  9. StarFleet headquarters is going to be in the Presidio. I think that Lucas would like that. Could there be a clause in the museum agreement that his building could be part of StarFleet in the future?

  10. When the New York Museum off Modern art commissions a video/art piece on the unique setting of the Presidio and it’s landscape, only the ” build anything anywhere” crowd seems blind to how special the recently restored Presidio open spaces are. I agree with Wai Yip Tung and the Chronice article they posted earlier that makes an excellent case for increasing the wetlands and landscapes and NOT putting a museum here.
    http://vimeo.com/84899339
    The video shows how successful the Presidio is with natives and tourists without gift shops selling Luke Skywalker dolls and displays of someone’s Norman Rockwell paintings.
    “Doyle Drive is soon to be undergrounded, yet the Presidio Trust is, oddly, reviewing new building proposals for the old commissary site. The commissary is not a historic building or footprint. “Furthermore – as we understand it – the Presidio Trust is financially self-supporting. Why not look toward the creation of more tidal wetlands and landscape? Without a doubt, a new, large, active building detracts from the environmental qualities many worked to enable at Crissy Field, a park we all know and love.
    The Presidio Trust is asking the wrong question. The essential question should not be which of the three building proposals should be added. The question should be: Should we add a building at all?”

  11. The Palace of Fine Arts is off the table for an art museum because you can’t get insurance for the art work there as it is in a liquifaction zone in the City. All the other existing museums checked it out a few years ago and passed for that very reason.

  12. The Star Trek franchise is inconsistent; sometimes the shots of the GG Bridge indicate Starfleet HQ is in the Presidio; other times is looks to be in the Headlands or Cavello Point.

  13. I like the idea of keeping it as open space. maybe even just an underground parking lot there for cyclists and runners and families to meet for use of the area.

  14. “Doyle Drive is soon to be undergrounded” — Doyle Drive is only partially undergrounded, while also being doubled in width. In particular, the section next to this building is very much above ground, and very prominent when viewed from Chrissy Field.

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