MKA is pleased to announce the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) awarded Presidio Tunnel Tops (PTT) Park with an Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Honor Award at its 2024 ASCE OPAL Gala in San Diego. MKA Senior Principal and Civil Engineering Practice leader Matt Jones accepted the Honor Award, while Senior Principal Sean Clifton accepted a 2024 ASCE Charles J. Pankow Award for Innovation on behalf of the 321 West 6th Street design team and ASCE Wind Committee for their collective efforts in developing and implementing Performance-Based Wind Design (PBWD).
Established in 1960, the OCEA awards honor the projects that best illustrate superior civil engineering skills and represent a significant contribution to civil engineering progress and society. Honoring projects rather than individuals, the awards celebrate the contributions of many engineers.
The 14-acre, $118-million PTT park in San Francisco is a model for collaborative, cohesive, and innovative civil engineering, with MKA presenting civil design solutions that explore novel ways to restore the natural landscape, overcome challenging site conditions, improve the environment, reconnect visitors to nature, prepare for earthquakes, and address climate change.
Photo credits: Kirk Hostetter Photography and Field Operations
MKA’s design harmonizes with nature instead of trying to conquer it, places sustainability and resilience top of mind instead of just “other factors to consider,” and is human-centered instead of focused on concrete and infrastructure.
The newest addition to America’s National Park system, PTT is a landmark destination replacing a 75-year-old elevated highway with “the most engineered park ever built.” Blanketing Highway 101 tunnels, PTT reconnects the parade grounds to the Bay’s waterfront for the first time in 80 years and offers ample recreation opportunities—including overlooks with sweeping views, nature-based play areas inviting children to explore, and plazas/gardens making nature free and accessible to all.