Giants’ Secret Ingredient for Building Massive Mission Rock Could Be Foam

The next big star for the San Francisco Giants may be lightweight, strong under pressure, cheap and make great bubbles.

Lightweight cellular concrete — a concrete product with a shaving cream-like material that forms microscopic air bubbles — is a key player in the Giants’ and development partner Tishman Speyer’s plans to keep their Mission Rock project at the top of its game.

The material is designed to stop the streets and sidewalks of Mission Rock from unsafely settling like those in the wider Mission Bay district. At the same time, the way the material will lie under Mission Rock mitigates liquefaction during an earthquake and allows water to flow through it.