On a quintessential San Diego day?and, this being the land of sun, sandals, and surf, there are many?one could do a lot worse than soak up the sunshine in the Quartyard. An array of shipping containers set up in a formerly abandoned lot in the East Village, a rapidly rebounding warehouse district near downtown, this 23,000-square-foot community space buzzes with activity. Locals hit up the adjacent coffee shop and dog park in the morning, freelancers tap away on laptops in the afternoon (free outdoor wifi), revelers perch on the long communal tables during happy hour. EDM icon Skrillex played a show here last year. According to Philip Auchettl of RadLab, the local architecture firm that designed the space, their placemaking proposal tapped into the evolving identity of the area, a growing urban hub in the shadows of some of the city?s busiest areas, such as the gentrified Gaslamp Quarter. "It?s not clubby, it?s more like a community," says Auchettl. "We saw a blighted lot and thought, this is city-owned property that?s underutilized. The whole concept was about activation. I?m looking outside right now, and see about 100 people hanging out in the beer garden."
This busy, bustling, community center, which opened last year, is also on its way out. Auchettl and his collaborators have been a beta test, of sorts, for a different type of placemaking. A massive set of planned developments in this section of San Diego seeks to transform the surrounding blo...