Carrier Johnson - Park and Market - 03 Skyline
+Architecture/Multifamily

Holland Partner Group

Park & Market

Vision


UC San Diego sought to create a new Urban Innovation and Education Hub in downtown San Diego to foster a wide range of educational experiences and research opportunities as well as arts and cultural activities and build a stronger connection to the San Diego community. After researching multiple sites around East Village, UCSD selected a block situated at the corner of Park Boulevard and Market Street – a junction ideally situated near the Light Rail Transit Blue Line that connects the UCSD La Jolla campus to the north and the US-Mexico border to the south. The site is also surrounded by other inspired academic institutions. The city block was owned by the City of San Diego, who hoped it would be developed to spur job creation, educational opportunities, business incubation, cultural activities for the public, and housing; UCSD’s new mixed-use build was opportune for all stakeholders.

To execute the development, the City enlisted Holland Partner Group, with whom Carrier Johnson + Culture already had an established successful relationship. Together, the City and the developer envisioned an iconic high-rise that offered a mix of high-end and affordable rental units, retail along Park Boulevard, restoration of the historic Remmen Building, and publicly accessible open space to fulfill multiple uses. The Hub would amplify UCSD’s academic outreach to local middle and high school students in the city and serve as a catalyst for faculty to engage in research and collaborative partnerships with other institutions in the downtown area.

Carrier Johnson - Park and Market - 02 Render 2Carrier Johnson - Park and Market - 02 Render 3

Project Meta


Client

Holland Partner Group

Completion

2020

Size

839,039 SF 34 story high-rise 5,000 SF retail 4-story, 66,000 SF office (UCSD) 5,400 SF plaza 426 residential units

Construction Cost

$200,000,000

LEED Rating

Silver

Markets

Mixed-Use; Multifamily; Affordable; Higher Ed; Civic

Project Types

Affordable, Civic, Higher Education, Multifamily

Services

Architecture, Site Planning

On Site

To meet the ambitious expectations set for this site, we neatly organized several programs – UCSD’s Hub, the residential tower, and commercial space – into their own pockets on the site, connected by playful landscaping.

Carrier Johnson - Park and Market - 03 Street

Facade Language

Our team wrapped the project in a muted skin of charcoal gray metal, stainless steel and subtly reflective dark gray glazing that permits views from the civic realm into the enlivened interior programs – including innovative tech exhibits, lectures, forums, and performances. From the exterior, the quiet facade serves as a backdrop for the multi-use amphitheater and artwork throughout the landscape.

Though the tower was designed as an aesthetically supporting role for the street plinth, special attention was paid to intricate details of its façade. On the east, west, and south faces unobstructed butt glazed windows provide unimpaired views for residents. Concrete slab edges extend three feet outside the building perimeter; their undersides taper down with inserted reveals that filter light from above down to the active sidewalk where pedestrians enjoy shopping, dining, publicly accessible open space and colorful murals commissioned by local and visiting artists.

Carrier Johnson - Park and Market - 03 House

For the People

Civic engagement is at the forefront of the complex’s design. As the new home for the UC San Diego Park & Market Extended Studies Center, community members across the South Bay have access to the center’s unique programming and collaborations labs, where university partners conduct research on social policy, public health, and sustainability in support of the region’s bi-national development. 

The center also brings innovative visual and performing arts to the downtown community with the 225-seat Guggenheim theater, multiple art galleries for public art installations, and a public amphitheater with a dual-sided multimedia wall for outdoor events and performances. Media Arts Center San Diego also hosts its second theater here along with the 58-seat Digital Gym Cinema – a forum that showcases independent and foreign films, including live theater screenings in partnership with the National Theatre in Washington DC.

Preserve & Conserve

Furthering an emphasis on sustainable growth, the complex answered the growing demand for dense sustainable housing with a 34-story LEED Silver residential tower dubbed The Merian, offering 85 affordable units in a location with easy access to public transit. Sustainable features include a green roof atop the UC San Diego building, abundant daylighting, and use of local and environmentally friendly products.

The team worked with Heritage Architecture to rehabilitate and convert the 1907 craftsman-style Remmen House at the corner of Park Boulevard and G Street into a restaurant. The yellow house anchors the Park and Market site; sitting in visual contrast to the dark gray, glass tower behind it, it has become an urban way point for downtown residents and visitors.


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