Treasure Island is a 400-acre artificial island built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1936-37 in San Francisco Bay. In 2011, a masterplan for the island was developed and approved by the City of San Francisco. CO- was commissioned by the master developer of the island to rethink issues of density, urban quality, and open space for 8,000 planned units.
Leveraging our multi-scalar aptitude as designers and our grasp of the financial and political dimensions of development, we have worked within the framework of the twenty-year-old master plan to recommend options that would align development with stable long-term values. Requiring the capacity to look at the large picture as well as individual elements simultaneously, the project is an avenue to engage with government, communities, and larger organizations to examine the nature of how new districts should be developed and later perform. At least a quarter of the units for the plan are designated for affordable housing, and projects such as these allow us to question the appropriate distribution of housing types that are financially viable, and socially and environmentally sustainable.
