Fault Line Park

This park in downtown San Diego’s East Village neighborhood owes its existence to an earthquake fault line. Through visionary deal making, a transfer of development rights on what is unbuildable land created the financing for this 1.5 acre park. Jointly designed with the adjacent high rise residential project, the park and private landscapes form a seamless environment offering a variety of recreation opportunities for everyone.

The site geology is expressed by tracing the fault line with the park’s main pathway and using offset geometries to suggest the shifting of the earth. An artist team, Living Lenses, was selected primarily for their interest in the fault zone and created a site specific work in both sculptural form and technical wizardry to reveal the subtle movements of the ground below.