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David McCullough
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SAN DIEGO, CA – At the renowned San Diego Design Center, a classic
15,344-square-foot mid-century modern multi-building office campus located at
3605 Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, local design leaders are joining forces to
reinvigorate the iconic property. Sean Slater and Frank Wolden of architecture,
planning and interiors firm RDC,
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Graham Hollis
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David McCullough
of landscape architecture and urban design firm McCullough Landscape Architecture, and the property’s owner Graham Hollis of
Blue Sapphire Holdings are collaborating to bring back the original intent of
the space as a creative hub for the San Diego arts and design community.
Together, they are
launching a set of community gathering spaces dubbed Futuro Space after the
iconic UFO-like Futuro House that inhabited the Design Center parking
lot in the 1970s.
These leaders and their firms are working together to offer
and manage Futuro Space as a hub for community meetings, creative collaboration, and other design-focused gatherings.
“The San Diego Design
Center is not just a building, but a place where history and creativity meet,”
said Sean Slater, AIA, Senior Principal at RDC. “Together with Blue Sapphire
Holdings and McCullough, RDC is working to make this special place a community
hub for creative discourse.”
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Sean Slater
|
Futuro Space is 1,200 SF
- RDC moved into the Design Center in September
2021
- RDC occupies 1,500 SF
- McCullough moved into the Design Center in
September 2022
- McCullough occupies 1,500 SF
-
- The
Design center is also occupied by Ray Hollander Design, Brian Brown Studio, and
a few law firms.
Futuro Space is a
collection of gathering spaces intended to reinvigorate the spirit of the
original intent of the Design Center, opening a collective of community
collaboration rooms and event spaces for the community of San Diego and the
surrounding area.
It is comprised of large and small meeting rooms, patio event
space and individual workstations, with plans to add more community resources
and engagement tools as time goes on.
It opened in late 2023 and has
already become the place for dialogue on issues of design and the built
environment, both formally and informally. Groups Futuro has hosted include the
Urban Land Institute (ULI San Diego-Tijuana), the American Institute of
Architects (AIA San Diego), the San Diego Architectural Foundation, and Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C-3).
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| Frank Wolden |
“The San Diego Design
Center is more than just a place. It is a symbol of San Diego's artistic and
creative history, and a space where minds and ideas thrive. It is a place for
productivity, collaboration, and innovation, and a forum where ideas that will shape
the future of San Diego,” said Frank Wolden, Urbanist at RDC. “We are excited
to welcome creatives to thrive in this space with us.”
Community and arts
organizations interested in using the space should contact Dalane Nash, Senior
Community Experience Manager for RDC at dalane.nash@rdc-s111.com. For more information, visit rdcollaborative.com/futurospace.
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| Dalane Nash |
The Design Center: A Symbol of San Diego's Artistic and
Creative History
“Ruocco’s original
intention for The Design Center was for the space to be a hub of creativity and
innovation, a space dedicated to new ideas and devoted to pushing the envelope,
and improving the city it served.
"Our intention is to further that mission,”
said David McCullough, ASLA, PLA, Principal at McCullough Landscape
Architecture.
The Design Center
complex, located at 3605 Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, was designed by prominent
San Diego architect, Lloyd Ruocco, FAIA.
Upon completion of construction in
1949, Ruocco moved his architecture studio to the Design Center, along with the
studio and showrooms of his wife, interior designer, and professor Ilse Hamann Ruocco.
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| Lloyd Ruocco |
Focusing on the creative
community, the couple transformed the space into an incubator for artists,
designers, photographers, and architects who were invited by Ruocco to help
shape the city’s arts community.
Constructed of
primarily redwood and glass, a style reminiscent of many of Ruocco’s early
designs, its open floor plans and rectilinear structures are hallmarks of the
California Modern style—a style he helped pioneer.
"The openness of design and
extensive use of glass reflects Ruocco’s sensitivity for a built environment’s
relationship with the outdoors that became a trademark of some of his most
notable designs. Lloyd Ruocco is quoted as saying, “Good architecture should
call for the minimum use of materials for the most interesting and functional
enclosure of space.”
Ruocco was
instrumental in founding several community design organizations, including co-founding Citizens Coordinate for Century
3 (C-3), an influential group of thinkers and leaders concerned with urban
design that successfully fought a California Department of Transportation plan
to widen State Highway 163 where it passes through Balboa Park.
Founded in 1961, C-3 continues today as a nonpartisan,
nonprofit group of informed citizens in San Diego, answering the question: “How
can we make a city that is fit to live in?”
When Blue Sapphire
Holdings LLC acquired the Design Center, Graham Hollis and his team restored
its facade. The company used the lower level of the property while renting the
other floors to design professionals. Hollis commented, “We had a vision to
return this space to its original purpose, serving as a center where design and
ideas flourish. We are pleased to be taking that idea to the next level with
Futuro Space.”
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| Design Center, San Diego, CA |
San Diego and Tijuana Named World Design Capital 2024
The Design Center is a
symbol of San Diego’s importance in the global design community. Recently the
World Design Organization jointly designated the cities of San Diego and
Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024 for their commitment to human-centered
design and shared legacies of cross-border collaboration.
Futuro Space is
currently working with World Design Capital San Diego-Tijuana to discuss
strategies for the World Design Capital 2024 celebration events.
“The recent selection
of San Diego as the World Design Capital adds an additional layer of importance
to the activities at the Design Center and the launch of Futuro Space,” Slater
said. “We are excited to be part of this conversation and provide an inspiring
place for collaborative thinking, and look forward to being a part of San
Diego's creative future.”
About RDC
Founded in 1979, RDC
is a full-service, award-winning architecture firm dedicated to making everyday
places extraordinary. Practice areas include placemaking, retail, store
planning, entertainment, hospitality, office, residential, interiors, branding,
and procurement. Headquartered in Long Beach, CA, the firm has 180 staff
members and offices located in Washington, DC, Rogers, AR, and San Diego, CA.
About McCullough Landscape Architecture, Inc.
Founded
in 1999, McCullough Landscape Architecture, Inc., is an award-winning landscape
architecture, environmental planning, and urban design firm with offices
located in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Oakland, CA.
Now celebrating 25 years,
the company has earned regional and national recognition for its many private
development, civic, and commercial projects – including retail, mixed-use, and
entertainment facility master plans.
McCullough is proud to be certified by the
State of California Department of General Services as a Small Business
Enterprise (SBE) and a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and certified by the
City of San Diego as a Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE).
Contact:
David Ebeling
Ebeling
Communications
949.861.8351
949.278.7851
(Cell)
david@ebelingcomm.com
Member
of the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE)
“PR Strategist for the Commercial Real
Estate Industry: I do what I love and love what I do.”
www.rdcollaborative.com.
www.McCulloughLA.com.
