SANTA MONICA PIER CAROUSEL PARK
Santa Monica, California 1983
with Moore Ruble Yudell
Competition
The Park is located on the promenade at the base of the pier on Santa Monica Beach. A dragon of concrete and river-washed granite boulders slithers through the site, over a grassy slope through plantings of palms and Australian Tea Trees. The dragon's nostrils spray misty clouds of water; he roars and his eyes glow amber in the night. A concrete ship floats over his tail. Our design evolved from a participatory process starting with a series of public workshops, through a Charrette competition. We saw our project, the initial step in an ongoing renewal program, as giving form to the original spirit of the pier, and presiding over its renewal as a place of fun and engagement of the imagination.