The site is near the Oakland Estuaries, rich delicate eco-systems that provide natural barriers to sea-level rise, water filtration as well as providing a habitat for many unique varieties of plant and animal ecosystems. The design proposal identifies the importance of the Estuaries by integrating access into the estuary trails and proposing programs such as aquaponics labs for research and development and activities such as ‘eco-walk’ for the awareness of the local eco-system. The project further considers the increasing drought-like conditions of the California bay area and proposes the incorporation of water treatment facilities into the site through greywater, and stormwater filtration as well as treatment of the sewerage into usable water resources.

The drought-like conditions and water management also led the design to provide fewer open ‘green’ rooftops that may require surplus amounts of water for its maintenance. There are several design elements incorporated within the landscape to make this possible i.e., concave disks on rooftops, cisterns, bioswales alongside sidewalks, permeable grounds on the central squares, and stormwater catchment areas.