San Diego, CA
Kettner & Ash
A Monolithic Art Installation Celebrating
San Diego’s Cultural History
StandardVision was engaged by clients Cushman & Wakefield and DivcoWest to create a monolithic digital art installation for the newly-renovated Kettner & Ash office development in the heart of San Diego’s historic Little Italy district. Along with a design-build solution of the 5 story high LED video wall, StandardVision produced custom artwork that captures the spirit of the development while paying homage to its iconic location.
Cultivating a Modern Ambiance
With the goal of integrating the installation to the building’s uniquely vertical atrium wall, StandardVision’s design & engineering team collaborated with architect Gensler San Diego and general contractor Burger Construction, project manager Cushman & Wakefield, and designers DivcoWest to transform the narrow facade into a modern, larger-than-life LED lobby display.
To achieve the unique monolithic shape desired by the client, StandardVision’s power-efficient LED matrix tile solutions were closely coordinated with building electrical, and mounted onto existing structural members to minimize new infrastructure costs, while matching the revamped architectural design.
StandardVision implemented its proprietary content management system SVRunner to easily monitor and update the artwork. The software also facilitates dynamic transitions between creatives, generating unexpected juxtapositions through a permutation algorithm. The result evokes seemingly endless variations and unique viewing experiences with each visit.
Marrying Italian Nostalgia with the Contemporary Culture of San Diego
The custom artwork titled Fragments in Time envisions a series of interwoven vignettes that celebrate Italian nostalgia alongside contemporary culture unique to San Diego. To facilitate this vision, StandardVision created a hybrid approach that marries photo collage with animation and real-time transitions. The resulting artwork features endless permutations of cultural epochs through time that speak to San Diego’s rich history.
Elevating Brand Identity through Iconic Digital Art
The Kettner & Ash installation is an evocative digital tapestry that celebrates the cultural history of Little Italy while supporting the experiential design and brand identity developed by StandardVision’s client DivcoWest. Visible from both the space’s interior as well as the street level, the iconic screen can be enjoyed by tenants and pedestrians alike, becoming a new modern monument within San Diego’s famed historic district.
