South Coast Collection - Shopping Experince in Environmentally Friendly Fashion

By Charity Hunter, Keshia Willet

 

The South Coast Collection, or SoCo as it has been nicknamed, is located off the 405 freeway in Costa Mesa, California. It features furniture showrooms, fabric stores, cafes, a wine bar, cheese shop and clothing boutiques. The development’s main goal was to be as environmentally friendly as possible while also being more than just a shopping destination but a place for community. The center features a weekly farmers market and has made huge efforts to redesign the entire foot print of the 300,000 square foot parcel to be efficient and sustainable.

 

The first thing that a visitor of the SoCo center will notice is the landscaping. The developers, Burnham USA, started with the concept to “go green” and use materials and products throughout that were eco-friendly and sustainable. Starting with the landscaping sets the tone for rest of the development. When asked in an interview for Coast Magazine developer Scott Burnham said, “All of our green projects include a landscape design that incorporates drought tolerant plant materials. Succulents, grasses, olive trees, and other comparable plant material generally are a common theme in our landscape design” In addition to incorporating draught tolerant plants the developers also worked with the Paul Mitchell School and created a “state-of the-art water reclamation system/water tower that treats up to 2,000 gallons of daily water usage from the School and diverts it to be reused for other onsite purposes, including SoCo irrigation water”.  The center also features a Zen Garden with high reaching bamboo plants as a visual reminder of the commitment to sustainability. It’s no surprise that bamboo is one of the materials used at the OC Mart Mix since they are promoting green design and bamboo is initially the first sustainable material most of us think of. Bamboo has many qualities making it green but the most significant is its rapid growth and durability. The OC Mart Mix uses bamboo as partitions to seclude seating arrangements in the outside courtyard.

The large buildings of the SoCo center are also made of sustainable materials. Starting with the natural concrete used to form the buildings. Concrete is a wonderfully versatile material that can offer many different applications and a variety of aesthetics. The fire pit is a favorite of visitors because of the unique concrete spheres that contain the fire.

 

The main feature of the SoCo center is the OC Mart Mix an urban, eco-friendly, and low-maintenance design concept. Of course reclaimed wood from redwoods to ipe wood would be used throughout the project. Used structurally and decoratively the distressed wood is absolutely everywhere. The salvaged planks structurally frame all the shops with glass walls which add to the open space concept yet still stay true to sustainable design. Applied to shelving in various stores and used for the hanging signs displaying the store name the OC Mart Mix now uses it in a decorative sense.  

The contrast between the warm tones of reclaimed wood and the cool modern sense of metal and concrete is seen in many of the OC Mart Mix outdoor and indoor furniture. Patio tables throughout the courtyard have a metal base and leg, with an inlay of wood for the table top. In the Portola Coffee Lab their seating also incorporates the same idea with metal legs, backs and wood seats. Benching placed throughout the space use large unfinished timber on top two concrete blocks. All are great pieces that continue the cohesiveness of contemporary yet sustainable design.

Several types of sand, gravel, and dirt are used as a way to section off seating areas in the courtyard with concrete sidewalks or pathways. At first one might think sand and dirt for a shopping center courtyard wouldn’t be the best material to source but the OC Mart Mix pulls it off in the most smart and fresh way. It’s smart design because it helps with irrigation and is low maintenance. It’s an innovative design because it unites the use of concrete that is smooth and sleek with sand and gravel that is rustic and natural.