Ishihara Park

Ishihara Park

The City of Santa Monica converted a two-block long parking lot along Exposition Boulevard into Ishihara Park in conjunction with the construction of a new Expo Line maintenance facility. The park’s design vision and programming came out of a series of community workshops to serve the needs of the existing neighborhood. Garden rooms along the linear site welcome people to play, eat, gather, or stroll through the park. Each room is designed to evoke a sensory response by illuminating texture, color, flavor, movement, or nature at work. While the park is strongly structured, it still allows for discovery by inviting visitors to interact with landforms, sculptural elements, and each other in spontaneous ways.