FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 18, 2013 

Mindy Linetzky, Public Works, (415) 554-4829 

Aaron Selverston, Owlized, (415) 669-4875, aaron@owlized.com

CITY TESTS NEW ON-STREET VISUALIZATION TOOL TO REIMAGINE MARKET STREET 

OWL™ digital viewfinder brings design options to the public

San Francisco, CA – Residents, merchants and tourists will have a new way to see the future of Market Street starting today, when the City’s Better Market Street project and San Francisco-based Owlized begin a one-week street test of a new visualization device.

The OWL™ digital viewfinder will display 360-degree renderings of some of the preliminary design options being considered for the Better Market Street project, creating a virtual reality experience that lets people “look around” as if they were standing on Market Street in the future.

By testing the OWL™, City planners want to determine if the device offers a useful way to get input from people who may not otherwise attend public meetings or participate in the public outreach process.

OWL test schedule:

Date: Monday, November 18, 2013 through Monday, November 24, 2013 

Time: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Place: Adjacent to Showdogs, 1020 Market Street @ Golden Gate & Taylor

“Our goal is to involve as many people as possible in the planning process for all of our capital projects,” said San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “We’re excited to test the OWL and find out if it helps people visualize and better understand future design options.”

Added Owlized founder Aaron Selverston, “The OWL is a new medium for engaging the public. If you’ve never been to a public meeting or seen images of what has been proposed for the future of Market Street, this is your chance to step into the future, look around, and see for yourself.”

Throughout the week, OWL™ visitors will have the opportunity to complete a survey and leave comments for City planners, indicating whether or not the device is a useful tool. City officials will look at the survey results and decide whether to consider using OWLs in future public outreach efforts.

The OWL™ is modeled after the old-fashioned coin operated viewing machines often found at major tourist attractions, such as the Golden Gate Bridge vista point.

The visualizations inside the OWL™ were produced in partnership with San Francisco’s Autodesk, whose new Infraworks platform powers the 3-dimensional model of Market Street.

“The City of San Francisco, in partnership with Owlized, is pioneering a unique and innovative use of Autodesk software by leveraging the OWL device and 3D city-scale models for public engagement. And with offices located right on Market Street, the project to revitalize this street has a special importance to us here at Autodesk,” said Tristan Randall, a construction industry manager at Autodesk.

The Better Market Street project aims to rejuvenate Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to The Embarcadero. It calls for reestablishing the street as the premier cultural, civic and economic center of San Francisco and the Bay Area – a vibrant and inclusive destination where people want to live, work and visit -- and to make it easier and safer for them to get around.

Better Market Street is a joint project involving Public Works, City Planning, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

More information can be found at www.bettermarketstreetsf.org.