Piers - San Francisco

This project included the rehabilitation of existing wharf and pier substructure and existing bulkhead buildings.  The finished project uses included Class A commercial office space and waterfront restaurants.

The original substructure and bulkhead buildings were constructed circa 1910. The project was sited in a National Historic District and the design complied with the Secretary of the Interiors standards for the rehabilitation of landmark structures.  This required the preservation of the primary contributing historic fabric included the Embarcadero façade and terrazzo tiled interior floors.

The substructure had significant degradation from exposure to the aggressive marine environment and required major repairs. A full seismic retrofit of the pier wharf and building structures was undertaken.

The use of non-linear analysis and performance based design minimized the impact on the historic fabric by locating strengthening elements and the use of appropriate materials in less historic areas. 

An innovative design using yielding steel bracing units was developed to allow the existing structure to move within acceptable stress limits.  The capacity of the existing pier structure was enhanced by wrapping the tops of the existing piles with carbon reinforced polymer.