A 5-Year Experiment in Public Space Activation
After building the UNDSCVRD Court,
the City of San Francisco awarded us a new site to re-imagine.
The UNDSCVRD Court, an early prototype for Kapwa Gardens that ran for 2 months and built by over 75 volunteers
967 Mission has been a parking lot for decades. With the commencement of the 5M real estate development around the corner, the City of San Francisco gained possession of the parking lot. An RFP was issued in the Fall of 2019 to activate the space while the long process of creating senior housing on the site develops.
Kultivate Labs won because we proposed creating a space around Kapwa— Filipino spiritual belief of interconnectedness. Kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others. Kapwa is an extension of deep empathy.
We imagined creating a space that would be a cultural asset for SOMA Pilipinas that would connect all of the different residents, students, and workers in the areaway showcasing activities that heal the mind and body and expands our consciousness and raises the level of empathy in a downtrodden area of SF.
Health & Wellness
For example, we will develop daily programming with consultation from FCDC and the Mint Mall Resident Association around tai-chi, yoga, and sound baths available to seniors and the general public. To raise the physical health of the community, we will develop basketball leagues for the youth and Zumba & dance classes for seniors and young adults. Physical activities like these will help bring people of all walks of life to engage as a community.
A Canvas for the Arts
Art facilitate dialogues that can help people see the word in a different light. To bring art into the Kapwa Pop-up, we propose creating murals on the walls adjacent to 967 Mission St that is thought provoking and culturally relevant to SOMA Pilipinas. For example, artist Sami Curl, recently painted a Kapwa mural on top of Mestiza.
Projection Mapping
A dream of ours is to host a Filipino shadow puppetry show perfected by a group of artists at nearby Bindlestiff Studio.
Musical Performances
To promote other aspects of SOMA Pilipina’s performing arts scene, we propose creating a small performance stage to be used at night for musical performances, DJs, theatre, and dance.
A Culinary Destination
By programming Kapwa Gardens with activities on a continuous basis, we can develop the foot traffic needed to monetize the space. We envision creating a small pod of rotating 3 or more food trucks, food tents, and kiosks.
Senior Empowerment
Our seniors want to participate in the economic boom too. We are teaming up with Filipino Community Development Corporation (FCDC) & the Mint Mall Resident Association. to develop a pushcart/kiosk that will allow Lola & Lolo and other family members an opportunity to develop a micro-enterprise via a pushcart/kiosk selling prepackaged snacks and sundries in the spirit of a mobile Sari-Sari store. The long term vision is that this business will one day scale and be placed at the 5M park being built around the corner.
And THEN COVID-19 HIT…
Which forced us to pivot the design of Kapwa Gardens
Public spaces can no longer host large gatherings, close contact sports, and people dining in confined spaces. We rethought how could this space could better address the pressing needs of our community forced to Shelter in Place which has led us to the current design.