Solidity, simplicity and safety were the drivers of our design for this outdoor public space at The Mill, our third contribution to San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks Initiative.

The parklet creates a protected place of pause along the dense, busy corridor of automobile traffic and a solid anchor in contrast to the bright and clean interior of The Mill. Its walls are constructed of vertical heavy timber and tied together with continuous steel banding along the top edge; its floor is edged and divided by the same heavy timber members and infilled with sand-set brick pavers.

Three large, heavy planters bookend the parklet’s two internal spaces: an open area of bench seating and tables with more refined materials, and an area with vertical bike parking based on the racks at our Four Barrel parklet on Valencia Street.