Restoring San Francisco’s Historic Pier 70

Built in the early 1900’s, San Francisco’s Pier 70 served as a shipyard, building some of the first steel ships on the Pacific and is considered the oldest U.S. civilian shipyard. For well over 100 years, Pier 70 was the most important center for the western U.S. heavy industry. The headquarters for Union Iron Works and Bethlehem Steel, two of the most prominent steel producers during that time, resided at this Pier.

After years of being closed off due to buildings being deemed unsafe, Orton Development spearheaded the re-development of the Pier in 2012. After a series of lease agreements, Uber Advanced Technologies Group, leased the 150,000 square feet space for their self-driving engineering team dedicated to self-driving technologies, mapping, and vehicle safety. Uber selected San Francisco Architect Marcy Wong Donn Logan and NOVO Construction to lead the building’s interior office build out.

Marcy Wong Donn Logan’s open office design incorporated a modern look while keeping the industrial feel of the original building.

The two-story office layout features a steel staircase in the center of the space for easy access to either floor.

Some of the original features of the building were left to preserve the original use of the building 100 years ago.

Included in the build-out is a garage for Uber’s autonomous car research and development.