The parklets that have taken over commercial corridors all over the Bay Area didn’t just get built on their own. In many cases, they were the result of community coming together — with scores of professionals offering their services for free or with heavy discounts.
Architects, designers, contractors and artists have been quietly volunteering their time during the pandemic for parklets, with one San Francisco landscape architect estimating that the work would have cost around $20,000. They sprung into action — sometimes working weeks at a time — not only to help local restaurants, but also in the hopes of sparking ideas about what public space could look like in the future.
And they want to do more.
In San Francisco’s Richmond District, landscape architect Alec Hawley of Fauvescraper Studio created pamphlets for merchant associations in his neighborhood to help businesses navigate the new parklet permitting process. He also offered his design services for free, noticing parklets pop up around the city that failed to meet accessibility and safety codes.
“In the midst of this pandemic and people closing their businesses, the last thing they need to do is read through paragraphs and paragraphs of literature to understand how they’ll possibly save their business by bringing some of it outside,” he said.
After weeks of silence, three Outer Richmond restaurants took him up on his offer: creative neighborhood favorite Cassava, noodle specialist Kio Ramen and comfort food spot Eat Americana.
He worked through different budgets — for Kio Ramen’s less than $2,000, he passed along instructions for a series of colorful milk crates that served multiple purposes: They propped up donated redwood slabs to function as counters, held succulents Hawley pulled from his own garden and, lined up side by side, look like a rainbow. The design was simple enough that owner Iris Wong’s family built it on their own. But it was effective — Wong said dinner services have actually been busier than pre-pandemic because customers like the parklet experience so much.
“My customers feel like they’re just sitting in a garden,” she said.
Cassava’s parklet is much more elaborate, with dividers between tables, colorful wooden slats and a mural painted on the exterior. It’s a reflection of owner Yuka Ioroi’s desire to create as safe a space as possible as well as to aesthetically contribute to the neighborhood. Hawley’s friend, contractor Mike Tinnea, gave a steep discount on building it. And muralist Pablo “Raiz” Arroyo painted the goldfish on the sides for free. For the most part, Ioroi just had to pay for materials.
Hawley estimates his work spent on the three parklets, pamphlet, community meetings and other related advocacy work during the pandemic would add up to roughly $20,000. At its peak, he was spending five days a week on pro bono work, staying at his computer until 1 a.m. to juggle everything.
Ioroi called Hawley a “godsend.” Without the parklet, she wouldn’t be able to seat anyone outside, and now outdoor dining accounts for 50% of Cassava’s business.
In Oakland, efforts have been organized not by one person but by the Oakland Indie Alliance, an advocacy group for small business owners. The group sent an email to its members this summer asking who couldn’t afford to build a parklet on their own, and 30 immediately responded. Three parklets have been built as a result, with two more underway.
While huge, elaborate parklets — costing anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 — have gone up all over San Francisco, there have been fewer in Oakland.
“It’s the equity issue,” said Oakland Indie Alliance Executive Director Ari Takata-Vasquez. “People who didn’t have access to resources for their businesses generally also didn’t have access to build parklets.”
Takata-Vasquez’s goal is to help business owners who have traditionally seen fewer resources. Two of the first parklets went to Sobre Mesa, a Black-owned bar, and La Frontera Mexican Restaurant in East Oakland.
Turner Construction tagged in to build parklets downtown while the industry group fundraises to pay for more contractors — that’s been the main bottleneck so far, along with getting donated materials. It’s been remarkably easy to find architects and designers who wanted to help, Takata-Vasquez said.
“As much as this whole time has been terrible, this is really the silver lining,” she said. “Oakland has always been a place that’s looked out for Oakland, and that hasn’t been wiped out by COVID.”
In Berkeley, multiple design firms have created free design guides for business owners in the hopes of demystifying the process — and as with Hawley, some direct work with restaurant owners followed.
Landscape architecture firm Groundworks Office sketched out parklets for two Berkeley wineries, though they haven’t been built yet. The work takes time. Though many parklets look structurally similar, Groundworks’ David Koo said it takes about a week just to present sketches because of the many small, important details in designing a structure for a public area where nothing is standard. The width of the sidewalk can vary. Plus, are there trees? Bike lanes? Parking meters?
It also needs to be simple and cost efficient, said Kristen Sidell of Sidell Pakravan Architects, which has already completed parklets for Berkeley restaurants Vanessa’s Bistro and La Mediterranee. She and partner Rudabeh Pakravan enlisted a contractor, graphic designer and muralist to work pro bono for Vanessa’s Bistro’s parklet. For La Mediterranee, the owner had his own restaurant staff build the parklet, with Sidell and Pakravan swinging by to create the swooping blue graphics. They’re now in the early phases of designing parklets for several other restaurants and coffee shops.
“It’s not rope and a wine barrel,” Pakravan said. “We’re trying to find a happy medium between something that feels like a permanent part of the cityscape and something quickly erected.”
Ultimately, architects and designers said it was a no-brainer to jump in and offer their services during the pandemic. Some felt guilty that their financial livelihoods weren’t interrupted, while others called it a moral imperative. At the same time, there is another pull: Building these parklets is one step in creating a more vibrant, people-centric city, where space to gather in public is more valued than cars. The pandemic proved that cities can adapt.
“The parklets aren’t the interesting thing — it’s the change that I think is potentially afoot throughout these small districts,” said Groundworks co-founder Brennan Cox. “We’ve taken all this parking away, and hopefully the pandemic will go away, but we’re still going to have these quaint places to eat outside.”
While San Francisco’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force has proposed keeping the parklets through 2023, Berkeley and other cities haven’t made any formal declarations about how long these parklets may be allowed. But optimism is part of what drove these architects to build sturdy parklets that are up to code and can last.
“It’s like incumbency: When something is there, it’s a lot harder to take it away,” Pakravan said. “We’re really hoping they’ll stick around long-term, and we think there’s a good chance.”
Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
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November 30, 2020 at 07:00PM
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Restaurant parklets are expensive, so Bay Area architects and artists have been designing them for free - San Francisco Chronicle
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