OTL’s Role:
Tongva Park and Ken Genser Square
LOCATION
Santa Monica, California
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
W.E. O’Neil Construction Company
WATER FEATURE DESIGNER
Fluidity Design Consultants
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
James Corner Field Operations
PROJECT OVERVIEW
- Build
- Fountain Construction
- Concrete Work
- Cascading Water Steps
Tongva Park and Ken Genser Square are two public spaces in Santa Monica, part of a vision to revitalize the city’s Civic Center. Ken Genser Square honors a former Santa Monica mayor, while Tongva Park celebrates the culture of the indigenous Tongva people. OTL built the water features connecting the two spaces.
PROJECT
CHALLENGE
The design team wanted a fountain with clean lines and minimal joints to complement City Hall’s art deco architecture. Achieving that look meant installing precast concrete panels with enough precision to form cascading, illuminated water steps. The coastal site also brought an unusual challenge: keeping seagulls from flocking into the new water features.
OTL’S
SOLUTION
OTL used a gantry crane and specialized rollers to set the precast panels onto their foundations with precision. The team also installed internally lit bubblers that create an ever-changing variety of patterns in the finished steps. To keep seagulls away, OTL installed speakers playing recordings of distressed seagull calls.
The completed water features connect the two spaces into one destination, masking nearby freeway noise and reinforcing a tranquil feel. The surrounding Palisades Garden Walk won the AIA Design Award and the APWA’s Best Project of the Year in 2018.
