The Better Place
Ocean Plant
Situated at a physical edge, Ocean Plant sits at the westernmost border of San Francisco, at the nexus of Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park, Lands End, and the Outer Richmond neighborhood. It’s the furthest point from City Hall while remaining in San Francisco, but the center stage of human culture, nature, and San Francisco urbanism. Through the programming and use of a physical place where urban meets rural, land meets sea, digital meets analog, scarce resources meet high demand, and old meets new, we’re able to live out what we advocate daily.
WHY: MKThink believes that in an increasingly digital world, the role of shared places is crucial. Shared places offer the opportunity to experience and build culture, engage the senses, and provide alternatives to the seclusion of a stay-at-home world. Our role is to create, program, and engage people through the development of these Better Places.
WHAT: The why was the key to our what. We needed to find a physical space at an edge location with the ability to be something more than an office space. We needed to host a place that engaged our teammates, clients, neighbors, and guests, in addition to our global communities. Our "Why" was the key to our "What."
WHERE: We found a unique solution located directly on Ocean Beach in the Outer Richmond District of San Francisco. Nestled within a multi-family residential development, our headquarters, which formerly housed a surf shop, fronts one of these buildings. By diligently uncovering and wholeheartedly embracing our why, while eschewing conventional wisdom and advice, we discovered what we believe to be the optimal environment to help us advance a relevant, future-forward practice.
HOW: For us to walk our talk. This includes designing, implementing, and operating an adaptive reuse space in reflection of our statement beliefs. To do so we needed to create a space that went beyond just self-accommodation. We partnered with our new landlord to craft a leasing and operating arrangement that would allow us to embrace our wider community. The ground level of Ocean Plant is now a special multi-use environment open to all who’d like to use it. We’ve established formal and informal collaborations with our neighbors who come in to relax or work from their laptops, and multiple regional regulatory agencies who hold community meetings here.
WHO: We needed the “who” to include a community of engaged participants who would explore and celebrate the benefits of physical places in a modern world. We needed other companies, local and beyond, that understood the benefits of harmonized placemaking, the natural world, and the built environment. We’re especially dedicated to local companies and organizations that are a part of the blue economy—cultural groups, businesses, and organizations who are ethically and sustainably profiting from the ocean—and operate a retail space with a rotating cast of their merchandise.