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WADA 2019 Urban Design

Quartyard by RAD LAB

Quartyard, a collaborative project, between RAD LAB and the City of San Diego, located on City owned land explores a series of activities and events that breathe life to that area. This idea was conceived relative to the realization that, due to the economic downturn, a large amount of city owned land remained vacant and not ready to be developed.

World Architecture & Design Awards 2019
Second Award | Category: Urban Design
Architects: Philip Auchettl
Studio: RAD LAB
Team Members: Philip Auchettl, David Loewenstien, Jason Grauten
Country: United States
Website: www.radlabsd.com

Quartyard was located in San Diego’s East Village, which had been empty for a number of years, gathering nothing but trash, blight, and vagrancy. RAD LAB adopted the challenge to momentarily occupy the Cities vacant land with music, events, retail, restaurants, art galleries, and community-based uses transforming what was once an empty lot into a thriving urban park. The project employs recycled and retrofitted shipping containers that act as the core building blocks of the project, serving as a temporary placeholder for a future permanent development.

After two years at its first location, as planned the City sold the property to a developer, Quartyard picked up its containers and moved off to make way for the proposed high-rise development. Quartyard was only intended to stay at the original location for a few years. The measure of success was to show proof of the sustainable concept. The project relocated to another vacant City owned lot in East Village and reopened less than 500 feet from its original location. Proving the model of true temporary urban infill.

Quartyard remains in the neighborhood as a huge success for the community and as an experimental prototype for both RAD LAB and the City of San Diego. This temporary project has operated and will continue to operate as the city’s very own backyard.

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