Project Data:

Completion Date:     1/1/2022

Square Footage:      26700

Building Use:           Food Hall

Project Description:

The Sky Deck is a gastronomic concept that shifts the trends of culinary community social gathering. Distinct from a food hall, the Sky Deck is a place to immerse into a communal dining experience with a collection of interconnected restaurants in one vast space. Created as gathering place for locals and visitors alike, the Sky Deck showcases local chef-driven San Diego restaurant concepts that offer a flavor of global influence. This innovative food collective blends nine individual restaurants that surround a central luxe-cocktail bar, a co-working café and an elevated beer garden named Brewers Deck. The Sky Deck’s 26,700 square foot space integrates 6,360 square feet of adjoining al fresco decks and patios offering various outdoor communal areas.

From the first level, a grand stair welcomes guests from an elevated wood deck to an outdoor lounge call appointed with corten steel davits featuring retractable canvas shading and landscaped with a 20’ - 0” olive tree to anchor the outdoor communal area. The outdoor deck blurs seating zones, built-in concrete fireplaces, landscaped banquet benches, a bar height perch and lounge seating for comfortable lounging. The deck’s hand-blown suspended glass lighting creates a field of light composed overhead as an intimate scale for the outdoor space. The light canopy frames the main entry folding glass doors that completely retract and connect the exterior deck to the interior community lounge and co-working café.

The Sky Deck’s main feature is an expansive 35’ X 60’ skylight that guides daylight and views of the evening sky into the center of the space. The natural light highlights the central cocktail bar and café and adjacent seating zones while connecting it to the outdoor environs. The light from above creates dappled shadows from floating planters on the steel columns and greater connection of the exterior to the indoors.

A key design for Sky Deck was the concept of a “diorama.” This design concept was achieved through the creation of a series of large found object art installations, paired with a 120’-0” large scale mural commissioned by a local artist. These art elements are creatively curated as a collection of ‘nautical industrial’ art that echoes Del Mar’s beaches and San Diego’s port city lineage. All the found objects were locally and sustainably hand-sourced to transform marine surplus waste into artistic treasures. The diorama concept blends four strategically located and suspended art installations throughout the large open space beneath the roof. The ‘Boats & Buoys,’ ‘Bottles & Rebar,’ ‘Nets & Pulleys’ and ‘Driftwood Fish’ are hung playfully within the space as a counterpoint to the murals and industrial walls clad in raw steel to create various scenes as visitors traverse the space.

Firm Name:              RDC-S111

Completion Date:     1/1/2022

Square Footage:      26700

Building Use:           Food Hall

Location:                 Del Mar, San Diego

Project Description:
Design for Integration
Sky Deck delivers beauty and functionality while establishing a gathering space for the community to enjoy for generations to come. In order to elevate the local experience, meticulous research was conducted from food halls around the world to serve as inspiration and examples of best-in-class food collectives.

Design for Discovery
With discovery in mind, The Sky Deck invites the local and tourist community to indulge their senses in uniquely curated, chef-driven dining experiences. The multi-story, multi-zone layout provides an environment that welcomes visitors to discover, linger and enjoy. Guests can indulge their senses through the outdoor areas, lounge areas, and the scenic sunset views from the brew deck.

Design for Economy
To reflect Del Mar's nautical location, maritime industrial design elements are strategically incorporated through locally sourced art, murals by local artists and found objects. A large skylight in the vaulted space creates dappled shadows and a strong connection between indoor and outdoor. In addition, the common areas at the Sky Deck offer amenities such as common restrooms that are available to the community of the entire Del Mar Highlands Town Center. The overall vibe is one where families and friends can gather time and again, creating a beloved space where memories are made.

Design Architect:
RDC

Associate Architect or Firm:
N/A

Landscape Architect:
Studio One Eleven

Owner / Developer:
Donahue Schriber Realty Group, Inc (DSRG) and First Washington Realty

Engineer:
N/A

General Contractor:
Harvey General Contractors

Consultant:
N/A

Photographer:
Benny Chan