Avalon Hayes Valley

San Francisco, California

AvalonBay Communities

The removal of the Central Freeway following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake stimulated a dramatic re-birth of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood. Octavia Boulevard was re-created as a tree lined main street setting the stage for re-construction of the human-scale urban form disrupted 60 years ago. Joining forces with AvalonBay Communities and associate architects Owen Kennerly and Jon Worden, PYATOK led a community design process to shape a high-profile mixed-use building on Parcel P—the largest of the former freeway sites. Drawing upon both historic neighborhood patterns and contemporary design, the team developed a distinct character for each of the four street frontages with individual stoops or shared entries located at an average interval of 25 feet. The two story “portal” on Octavia Boulevard; the mid-block courtyard and multiple two story open air passages create a porous community that lives and feels like a traditional neighborhood block. A full service restaurant is planned for the Octavia frontage.