Pier 40 Phase II Upgrades

Restoring San Francisco's First Concrete Pier

  • client

    San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
  • location

    San Francisco, CA
  • size

    16,000 SF

TEF rehabilitated the 100-year-old bulkhead building at Pier 40 and led the stabilization and repair of the underwater substructure as part of a two-phased effort to revitalize San Francisco’s first concrete pier.  A continuation of the firm’s earlier work on the nearby South Beach Harbor Services Building, the project also extends a public walkway along the south side of the structure to provide public access to the waterfront and to the east end of the building.

Pier 40 was rated as one of the most imaginative, unique, innovative and dynamic projects in the Northwest.
Jamie Rawcliff
Senior Editor of the Real Estate & Construction Review Northwest Edition

A Modern Face for a Historic Shed

In addition to structural repairs to the north and east sides of the historic Shed building  – a contributing resource to the Port of San Francisco Embarcadero Historic District –  TEF reconstructed its west façade with a contemporary expression that celebrates the pier’s industrial history. Featuring two 5,000-pound steel and sustainably harvested Ipe sliding doors, based on the building’s original design, the new frontage is paired with a large industrial glass window above the door opening that reveals the structure within. The project’s material language references the nearby South Beach Harbor Services Building, providing durability in the harsh waterfront environment, while asserting a memorable public presence along the Embarcadero.

Front elevation of South Beach Harbor’s Building 40 with the large wood-slat doors partially opened to reveal the interior.
Interior of a renovated harbor building with exposed steel framing, high clerestory windows, and large wood-slat doors filtering daylight into the space.

Substructure Renewal

The scope of work entailed substantial repair and rehabilitation of the pier substructure, involving specialized underwater marine engineering. TEF repaired deteriorated piles, girders, deck sections, and concrete walls throughout the pier, including fiberglass wrapping of severely compromised piles and shotcrete repair. The work preserved the pier’s historic fabric while extending its use for decades of continued use.

Structural repair plan of a long pier, showing beam and girder repairs concentrated across the eastern half and along the south edge, with additional perimeter, deck, caisson, and seawall repairs identified by color and symbol.

Plan view of a long rectangular pier structure organized on a column and beam grid. The western portion is largely shown in gray, with relatively few highlighted repairs. Beginning near the middle of the pier, red markings indicating beam and girder repair become increasingly frequent, with the greatest concentration across the eastern half. Additional red repairs run along much of the southern edge.

A tan band along the southern perimeter identifies concrete topping, with intermittent turquoise areas indicating concrete deck slab work. Blue lines indicate perimeter beam repair, while a dashed blue line near the transition between the western and central portions identifies beam strengthening at the west facade. Green outlined circles mark caisson repair locations, which are noted as typical with final locations to be determined. Black square and triangle symbols along the southern edge indicate two types of seawall anchorage. Dashed dark lines represent concrete curb.

The legend identifies the following repair types and symbols: red solid line for beam and girder repair; blue solid line for perimeter beam repair; dark dashed line for concrete curb; turquoise area for concrete deck slab; tan area for concrete topping; black square for Seawall Anchorage Type 1, typical of 30; black triangle for Seawall Anchorage Type 2, typical of 29; green outlined circle for caisson repair, with locations to be determined; and blue dashed line for beam strengthening at the west facade.

Expanding Public Access to the Bay

The project also completed a new public walkway along the south side of the pier, expanding access to the water and the east end of the Shed building, and improving visibility for the harbor’s small marine businesses. TEF preserved remnants of the original rail tracks and incorporated them into the new walkway, adding lighting, railings, restrooms, and signage to enhance circulation around the pier and along the waterfront.

Sailboats dock beside a waterfront building at South Beach Harbor under a clear blue sky.

AWARDS

  • Real Estate & Construction Review
    2009 Building of America Award

Collaborators

  • Architect
    TEF
  • Preservation
    Preservation Architecture
  • Marine Engineer
    Winzler & Kelly
  • Structural Engineer
    Structural Design Engineers
  • Mechanical and Sprinkler Engineer
    SJ Engineers
  • Electrical Engineer
    C & N Engineers
  • Signage and Graphics Consultant
    Kate Keating Associates
  • Cost Estimator
    Faithful Gould
  • Contractor
    BCCI
  • Photographer
    Bruce Damonte