![\"Two](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Two-types-of-benches-in-quiet-areasweb.jpg\")
<\/a>walking the promenade and needing a moment of reflection (Photo by Delle Willett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In 2000, San Diego landscape architects Spurlock Poirier, in partnership with Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects of New York, were selected to develop a schematic design called the \u201cNorth Embarcadero Alliance Visionary Plan,\u201d for the North Embarcadero Alliance, which comprised the city of San Diego, county of San Diego, San Diego Unified Port District, Civic San Diego and the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n
This very specific plan included 10 unique gardens, each with its own theme. The gardens were to be connected by a broad, bayside esplanade, 117-feet wide, and a 30-foot wide, 1.5-mile promenade stretching from the USS Midway Museum to where North Harbor Drive intersects with Laurel Street.<\/p>\n
The project would improve all of the adjoining streetscapes and link the surrounding neighborhood to San Diego Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intent was that we could make it a place that was about the citizens and the visitors of San Diego using it as their window to the waterfront,\u201d said Marty Poirier, principal of Spurlock Poirier.<\/p>\n
In 2007, the team, consisting of Project Design Consultants (San Diego), Spurlock Poirier (San Diego) and Civitas (Denver), was selected to implement Phase One.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a real collaborative effort of designers, city officials and the greater San Diego community, truly about creating a world-class waterfront,\u201d said Mark Johnson, president of Civitas.<\/p>\n
This phase focused on the foot of Broadway, west of the railroad tracks to the wharf, making Broadway a grand hallway to the bay.<\/p>\n
Elements included realigning Harbor Drive by 60 feet to create the widened esplanade, pavilions, gardens, streetscapes, storm-water management facilities, lighting, signage and seating.<\/p>\n Additionally, extensive improvements to the local subterranean utilities were made, including the construction of new water, sewer and storm-drain infrastructure.<\/p>\n They wanted it to be reminiscent of a maritime environment, using local materials with longevity, strength and stability \u2014 heavy-duty concrete, galvanized steel, stainless steel and wood \u2014 and using local artisans and fabricators as much as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an interesting collaboration,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cMark Johnson brought his expertise in urban design to the project and we brought the design that we had created in the schematic phase to the effort. We worked together on all of the design work. At the end we split up the construction documents, with Civitas taking on the hardscape and Spurlock Poirier taking on the soft-scape.\u201d<\/p>\n Designed by Los Angeles artist Pae White and produced by San Diego architect Joseph Wong, three buildings are an important part of the design: a restroom and two aluminum- and stainless-steel-clad pavilions that house glass-enclosed buildings, which will accommodate shops and all of the bay tour operators\u2019 ticketing windows.<\/p>\n \u201cPae White\u2019s buildings are objects of interest,\u201d said Scott Jordan, Civitas principal.<\/p>\n Her design combines functionality with whimsy. Large cutout letters and words adorn the new restroom fa\u00e7ade and the pavilion ceilings. The words are from the 1970s novel \u201cJonathan Livingston Seagull\u201d as they may be seen by a seagull in flight over the Embarcadero.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople stop and try to read what they say,\u201d Jordan said.<\/p>\n Four gardens create quiet spaces, each under the shade of 42 jacarandas \u2014 San Diego\u2019s official tree \u2014 purchased from Southern California\u2019s Norman\u2019s Nursery.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are a fun seasonal tree with lavender flowers that look beautiful against the blue water and sky,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cThe trees have their own little quirks; they won\u2019t be growing like columns in the Coliseum. They\u2019ll undergo a lot of change throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n In the gardens, plant enthusiasts will see a wide range of drought-tolerant plants used in different combinations, creating interesting patterns, colors and textures. Some ten different varieties of succulents will be rotated out seasonally.<\/p>\n<\/a>