What and Where

The Plaza is the civic heart of downtown and the seat of City Government. As such, it reflects how the City views itself and viewed by others. It’s a place for convening, but needs to be refreshed and enhanced to celebrate the art and culture of our region.

This proposed, work-in-progress initiative will be a collaboration between URBAN INTERVENTIONS, the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego (ICA, SD), and the City of San Diego Arts & Culture Commission – the goal is to enhance the Plaza by installing temporary vinyl prints of existing work from local artists. The art will be rotated every six months, and all expenses would be covered by URBAN INTERVENTIONS and ICA, SD.

What and Where

COVID affected many aspects of downtown life, including the closure of many small businesses and restaurants along major streets. The goal was to enhance downtown for pedestrians during this period by transforming empty storefronts into whimsical, engaging, entertaining, and artistic displays. With the theme “Love in the Time of COVID” the storefronts would be designed and installed by local artists in collaboration with creative businesses, and stakeholders. Venues would be concentrated into one to three block area(s) that enjoyed foot traffic for maximum effect.

What and Where

URBAN INTERVENTIONS created this concept for Urban Discovery Academy, a charter K-8 school located on 14th Street in San Diego’s East Village neighborhood. It explores ways to connect the local school to the community by enhancing the sidewalk and street experience adjacent to the school. 14th Street is a designated “green street” as part of the City of San Diego’s downtown plan.

With large urban footprints, many cities struggle to activate streets to attract pedestrian traffic. Healthy cities require a delicate balance of density with housing, jobs, retail, entertainment and public places like parks, plazas and gathering spaces. Zoltar is designed to be an unexpected and fun way to bring people to a specific location. It’s temporary, can be moved and programmed to do many different things – entertain, educate, and/or engage.

What and Where

An interactive display that can be relocated as needed.