Mission Bay – Koret Quad

Mission Bay

Mission Bay

Koret Quad

The Koret Quad is a large green space in the heart of Mission Bay.  I have discussed my abhorrence with this part of town before.  The quad is only accessible by pedestrians and is so well hidden as to be missed by most people. This is somewhat intentional I assume as Koret Quad it not legally open to the public other than the sidewalks.  While you won’t be hounded, they have made it well known so that they can throw you out if you misbehave.  One of my favorite outdoor art installations is set throughout the quad.

Roy McMakin’s untitled collection of furniture was installed  in July 2004. His materials include concrete, fiberglass, wood, bronze, enamel, steel, and stone. The piece uses an ultra-functional double-sided concrete bench design devised by the artist, which seems to have been arranged in a regular pattern around the perimeter of Mission Bay’s primary outdoor space. But the bench module has then been transformed, and rearranged in all kinds of different ways, and also reproduced in four shades of red and orange polyester.

It is as if the occupants of nearby buildings had come out and arranged the outdoor furniture and then made it their own. The installation extends across two acres and combines 125 different items, including a number of laboratory “minus 80” freezers and cardboard “banker’s boxes” reproduced in enamel. There are contemporary disposable plastic patio chairs, 19th century wood schoolroom chairs, and Eames side chairs – all cast in bronze. There are also natural boulders, bronze tree stumps in place of some of the planted trees (and reproducing their bark) , and bronze replicas of weathered planks.