RADY SHELL, BAYSIDE PERFORMANCE PARK, San Diego
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT: Tucker Sadler
TRANSLUCENT SYSTEM INSTALLER: Primary Glazing, (619) 669-0653
MATERIALS
In addition to enhancing Rady Shell’s staging and seating areas, a large focus was placed on expanding the park’s public amenities. This included the construction of a new ticket booth and two coordinating concessions buildings where a variety of food options are prepared and served onsite.
It was important to Tucker Sadler designers that park and concertgoers utilizing these new structures still feel surrounded by nature. To conserve that feeling and commemorate the trees that were removed from the site during construction, designers photographed the trees and, in collaboration with Kingspan Light & Air, transformed those photos into large graphics. The graphics were applied to the ticket booth and concessions buildings’ translucent exteriors.
“You are actually looking at the trees on the building that used to be in the park. You are still sitting in between those trees, and it’s a kind of celebration of what was there before, but in a new modern expression,” says Sal Villanueva, the project’s architect.
The graphics create compelling imagery that can be enjoyed day and night. During the day, the trees appear like shadows on the buildings. At night, light from inside shines through the translucent wall systems to make it look as though there is moonlight gleaming through the trees.
Kingspan Light + Air’s translucent cladding system features concealed aluminum support and the ability to span large distances with minimal horizontal support structure; in the case of the park’s ticket booth and concessions buildings, the span is 15 feet with no disruptions. The corners of the new buildings also are rounded with a polycarbonate corner condition that reduces the amount of visible metal for a smoother appearance.
Although the ticket booth features a double-panel translucent assembly that acts as a wall, the two concessions buildings utilize single-panel assemblies with a wall on the inside and light fixtures in between to create a light-box effect. These systems are different and serve different purposes, but they appear identical from the exterior. This allows the architect to maintain a uniform appearance through all three buildings.
TRANSLUCENT WALL SYSTEMS: UniQuad Translucent Wall Systems from Kingspan Light + Air
THE RETROFIT
For the San Diego Symphony and its many fans, Rady Shell is the realization of a long-held dream for a permanent outdoor venue where local music lovers and travelers can come together to enjoy melodic sights and sounds. With downtown San Diego on one side and the bay on the other, the revitalized Rady Shell blends the city’s urban beat with the bay’s natural rhythms to create a masterful composition of art and architecture. The influence of the park’s natural surroundings on the venue’s design—from the dramatic shell-shaped stage to the gentle wavelike pavilions—is one of many unique elements that make the San Diego Symphony’s first and only permanent outdoor performance center a one-of-a-kind musical experience.
PHOTOS: Darren Bradley