Arts Commission approves temporary installation of 47‑foot “Our Evolution” sculpture at Embarcadero Plaza

The San Francisco Arts Commission voted to approve a motion to install Marco Cochrane’s sculpture Our Evolution at Embarcadero Plaza from mid‑March 2025 through March 2026, pending final Recreation and Parks sign‑off.

The sculpture, presented to the commission by Dana Ketchum, Deputy Director of Property Management, Permits and Reservations for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, and Shannon Riley, CEO and co‑founder of Building 180, is a steel figure modeled on collaborator Deja Solis. The work stands 45 feet tall plus a 2‑foot base, with a total on‑site footprint that includes approximately 32,000 pounds of counterweight spread across a roughly 23‑foot diameter base. Construction and staging will require a multi‑day installation including a 70‑ton crane for assembly.

The commissioners’ motion authorized a year‑long temporary installation; Recreation and Parks retains authority to set the final period and to require removal earlier for city needs. The motion passed; the record shows at least one commissioner abstained pending a city‑attorney opinion about whether use of the city installation provided an unfair commercial advantage to the artist. The commission recorded concern about vendor displacement and structural safety prior to voting.

Why it matters: Embarcadero Plaza is a high‑visibility downtown waterfront site that commissioners and staff said can help reactivate downtown public life. The installation prompted detailed staff briefings about engineering, public‑safety measures, vendor relocation, public programming and potential community response.

Commissioners and staff described several risk‑mitigation steps. Shannon Riley said the sculpture will be illuminated at night and include a timed “breathing” motion driven by motors in the torso; she told the commission the team proposed a daily one‑hour breathing moment near sunset to invite public engagement. Dana Ketchum said Rec and Park and structural engineers had confirmed the chosen location does not endanger underground transit infrastructure. Stockhausen, the project’s design engineer, said the work sits on removable steel counterweights set on marine‑grade plywood so no penetration of the plaza surface is required and the site will be restored to pre‑installation condition on removal.

Commissioners pressed staff on: the installation’s duration (staff said they are committed to six months and are asking for approval up to a year to preserve scheduling flexibility); how vendors and street artists displaced by the footprint will be accommodated (staff said they had arranged off‑site stations and additional vending spaces); crowd/climbing protections (engineers said the piece’s surface and fasteners are not climbable and that prior long‑term installations had been secured against tipping and high winds); and potential community reaction to a large, unclothed female figure. Commissioner Beltran asked the city attorney to advise whether the installation could give the artist a commercial advantage given prior Sotheby’s listings. The commission recorded an abstention pending that legal review.

The motion recorded no detailed final vote tally in the verbatim public transcript. The resolution number referenced in staff materials was included in the staff presentation and project paperwork; final Rec and Park permits are required before installation.