The long-vacant southeast corner of Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue is soon to be full of color and light, thanks to a contemporary outdoor event space designed by Los Angeles-based firm Stereo.Bot. The firm, which is partnering with architecture firm Gensler and landscape design company Valley Crest on the project, is perhaps best known for its colorful displays at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
With support from the City of Long Beach and the Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA), Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal spearheaded the effort to activate the corner, which has gone unused since the Jergins Trust Building was demolished in 1985.
Similar to structures the firm has created for Coachella, Stereo.Bot has designed a 600-foot long, lightweight structure supported by aluminum and wrapped in colorful material. The Loop, as it has been dubbed, coils up from the ground and high into the sky. The design allows people to walk through and around it, thereby allowing movement from all street-facing sides of the lot, according to Alexis Rocha, leader of Stereo.Bot.
Gensler is assisting with the civic planning for the project, and Valley Crest is working on landscaping, Rocha said. He explained that the project will enhance connectivity from the corner to Victory Park, the convention center and South Pine Avenue.
Calling The Loop “a 24-hour cycle project,” Rocha said it is designed “to look great during the day and amazing during the night,” lighting up when the sun goes down.
The DLBA estimates The Loop will be installed this April, and that it will remain there for at least two years before a permanent development is selected for the property. In a news release, DLBA Placemaking Manager Sean Warner stated that the project is designed to allow for many activities on site, such as the DLBA’s Live After 5 music events.
The DLBA is going to oversee the project’s implementation, and plans to spearhead programming and events after it is installed. For more information about the project, visit www.theloopdtlb.com.