2025｜AP 3-D Art & Design｜SI # 3
- Title
- The EMB
- Size
- 21x29.7
- Medium
- Rhino, Twinmotion, Canva
Artist Statement
My design for the revitalization of Embarcadero Plaza confronts the history of San Francisco and what the city has decided to overlook. I renamed it 'The EMB' after the nickname skateboarders gave it in the 90s, to acknowledge how a community had created a worldwide skateboarding legacy in the plaza, but the city subsequently took that space away from them.
The design raises questions about the Urban Renewal of the 60s, where it disproportionately displaced the African American population, and reflects on the ongoing gentrification in San Francisco. These ideas are echoed in my design where a parametric pavilion anchors the plaza, its form shifting from glass pillars to Kente-inspired patterns that reflect the initial destruction of the African American community, then shifting to looking towards community and togetherness. Residents gather in its shade around a memorial tracing the Fillmore district’s original footprint.
Instead of demolishing the historically significant Vaillancourt Fountain, which the city had tried to do in 2013, I transformed it into a water plaza for families to play in. Inspired by concerts like U2's, the combined amphitheater and skateboard park serves as a space for cultural expression.