The Wacky Skyline of an Alternative-Universe San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge is a massive desalination plant, the Bay Bridge a hanging farm, and the whole of San Francisco Bay is ripped down the middle by a canyon of cascading water. These are just a few of the ways that civic luminaries propose to better the Bay Area's coast and skylines.

San Francisco has a rich tradition of visionary architecture, and it's all on display at the tenth annual Architecture and the City festival taking place at venues around the Bay. This year, the huge architectural shebang – said to be the biggest of its kind in the nation – is embracing the theme of "Unbuilt San Francisco," highlighting momentous projects that are either in the works or were too ambitious or weird for their time and now exist as historical relics. The organizers of the fest, including AIASF and many others, have dug up some true winners this time; a plot to seed Treasure Island with water-bladdered "jellyfish houses" is one of the least bizarre proposals.