Tishman Speyer, the San Francisco Giants, and MVRDV have just completed a new residential building in San Francisco called "The Canyon."

The first phase of the larger Mission Rock masterplan (which also includes a project by Studio Gang), the complex got its name because of a walkway that cuts through the plinth of the building and that, well, looks like a canyon. You can see it in the above image if you look closely. There are even stairs that take you up as you walk through it.

But what is most interesting about this walkway is not its geological reference. It would be how it performs at the ground floor and for the homes that face into it. It's a way of creating a narrow mid-block connection (and we like narrow streets), while at the same time allowing more light into the center of the block.

So I'd be curious to see/experience what it's like in the middle of this canyon. Hopefully it's interesting.

Photo: Jason O'Rear