Gehl San Francisco Studio

As part of an ongoing three-year program, each spring, partners from the San Francisco office of GEHL teach an option studio, appointed as the Sinclair Black Visiting Critics in Architecture. Studios have recently worked in Monterrey and are currently working on public life scenarios for districts in San Francisco. Students are instructed in GEHL's proprietary methodology for studying public life and learn the design process used by one of the most well-known urban design firms in the world. In particular, the studio will emphasize the relationship between tactical urban interventions and strategic systems thinking. Students in the Gehl studio will undertake a research trip to San Francisco during the spring semester.

Related work

A conceptual map highlights a San Francisco neighborhood. Yellow areas show new public spaces and connections linking two BRT stops and Golden Gate Park, with notes on human-centric urban restructuring.
Street block diagram with rooftop view of houses along 31 Avenue in San Francisco, and a panoramic photo showing the facades of various residential buildings on the block.
Two diagrams of a residential block show possible placements of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under current regulations. Yellow highlights represent detached ADUs and garage conversions, with regulatory notes and maximum unit counts.
Axonometric diagram showing a city block with highlighted inner units and roof additions. Insets illustrate new urban fabric, public space network, private space, and the existing condition. Legend explains unit types.
An architectural diagram shows proposed building height increases and transit street improvements along Fulton Street in San Francisco, highlighting new building envelopes in orange and access to Golden Gate Park.
An illustrated section perspective of Fulton Street in San Francisco shows a cutaway of a multi-story building on the left, a road with cars and cyclists in the center, and people walking and trees on the right.
A detailed map of San Francisco’s Richmond district shows proposed transit network changes, highlighting new Muni, BART, and bus lines, along with multimodal paths, bike lanes, and connectivity upgrades.
Balboa Concept Plan diagram showing a street redesign with labeled zones, icons for amenities, bus stops, trees, bike lanes, and a cross-sectional view of landscaping and street elements below the main plan.
Diagram showing four types of human curb extensions at intersections, each with different lane setups for buses, bikes, and local vehicles. Illustrations and icons show street layouts and conditions for each typology.
An architectural site plan of a city block shows streets, trees, buildings, and pedestrian pathways with four detailed circular insets highlighting specific street and landscape features. Text reads 1: The Life Begin.
Diagram illustrating street design principles for mobility, featuring micro-mobility corridors, curb extensions, shared flexible spaces, and parking spots, with annotated aerial and sectional views highlighting various features and activity zones.
An illustrated diagram showing strategies for Geary Blvd, including ADU conversion, commercial activation, neighborhood heart development, pedestrian safety, and public space improvements across four territories in Richmond, San Francisco.
A detailed map illustration shows a proposed framework for Geary Blvd in San Francisco, highlighting street layouts, intersections, and infrastructure changes across several city blocks.
Map-style diagram of Geary Blvd in San Francisco, showing a typical street layout with traffic lanes, sidewalks, green spaces, median, and transit lines running through the center. Buildings are outlined along both sides.
A cross-section diagram of Geary Blvd shows a light rail station, train tracks, trees, sidewalks with people, cyclists, and various adjacent buildings. The lower section includes a plan view of the street layout and train.
An architectural diagram compares the existing and proposed designs for a Geary Blvd intersection, highlighting added greenery, widened sidewalks, and improved pedestrian areas in the proposed layout.
A digital rendering shows a future vision of Geary Blvd in San Francisco with cyclists, pedestrians, and a light rail train on dedicated paths lined by greenery and trees under a bright sky.