Additional enhancements to Imperial Beach Pier in San Diego, California’s southernmost pier, have recently been completed. This second phase of renovation adds to the improvements made in 2021, and includes a new shade canopy over the mid-pier extension and cable railing for unhindered views. A variety of graphics – designed by San Diego locals – celebrate different ocean experiences at different spots along the pier to draw people further out over the water, creating a sense of rhythm and movement along the way.
Teaming up with the City of San Diego to recommend a strategic vision for the renovated pier, Civitas’ designs have merged function with art in order to promote fishing, surfing, lounging and more. Principal Scott Jordan explains: “From the start, we envisioned a series of experiences that would celebrate the traditions of the coast, ranging from the theater of surfing and the stunning coastal landscape, to the rigor of subsistence fishing and the vastness of the sea’s horizon. These most recent enhancements amplify the experiential qualities of the pier and connect users to the energy of the ocean’s edge, creating a true Southern California destination.”
The new canopy over the mid-pier extension includes the back-lit shape of a shark moving through water, echoing local surfers’ experience of being beneath the waves. New steel cable railings on the same section of the pier enhance visibility of the ocean and its coastline.
“Imperial Beach is one of the West Coast’s most iconic fishing piers, so we were motivated to expand on the pier’s current uses with the addition of new elements that are both exciting and functional,” describes project designer Kyle Hopkins. “For example, the new shade pavilion evokes a surfer’s dramatic underwater perspective with the movement of the ocean above, highlighted by a backlit shark silhouette. It’s intended to be fun, novel and memorable, while also creating shade for the pier’s fishermen, or simply a place to pause and enjoy the ocean.”
Check out this video recently shared by the Port of San Diego, illustrating some of the recent enhancements. Imperial Beach Pier is one of many projects that Civitas has completed in San Diego. Read about more of our experiences here.
