Transbay Block 9

At the heart of San Francisco’s reimagined Transbay District, 500 Folsom translates an ambitious urban vision into a layered public realm where architecture and landscape work in concert.

Designed with SOM’s 42‑story residential tower and podium buildings by Fougeron Architecture, the project stitches together a former freeway landscape with new streets, terraces, and mid‑block connections that prioritize walking, gathering, and views to the Bay. A slender, terracotta‑crowned tower and two mid‑rise wings frame an outdoor paseo that links Folsom to Clementina Street and Oscar Park beyond—an organizing move that grounds the development in its neighborhood and extends the district’s pedestrian network.

GLS shaped the site’s public‑facing spaces into a calm, contemporary sequence: a covered entry courtyard that welcomes residents and visitors, a bamboo‑lined mid‑block passage that draws people through the block, and new streetscapes along both frontages that elevate everyday movement. Materials are robust and tactile—massive California stones of basalt and Sierra White granite, hand‑selected and sculpted under GLS’s supervision—layered with fine‑grained planting to temper scale and invite lingering. Streetscape designs are coordinated with the City’s Streetscape and Open Space Plan, aligning detailing and circulation with district standards while preserving a clear project identity.

Above the street, a pair of ninth‑floor roof terraces expands the project’s social life with a mix of intimate and communal settings—seating alcoves, fireplaces, barbecue areas, and a spa—set amid wind‑sheltering planting and long views. These terraces complement curated wellness amenities within the building, including fitness and yoga spaces, and extend daily routines outdoors to capture sun, sky, and skyline.

Across the project, the landscape reinforces the architecture’s stacked composition and fine‑scale articulation. The paseo’s porosity, retail edges, and podium‑level greenspaces bring light and activity through the block, echoing the tower’s vertical rhythms and terracotta accents while softening transitions at the ground plane. Together, these elements deliver a pedestrian‑centered, transit‑oriented environment that exemplifies the district’s shift from residual infrastructure to a connected, livable neighborhood.