San Diego, CA – A striking new landmark has arrived in the heart of the city’s evolving waterfront district, and it stands as both an artistic spectacle and a beacon of optimism. Located at the north side of Progress Park—at the corner of Broadway and Harbor Drive—the sculpture titled Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper invites visitors to pause, reflect and walk through. Developed as part of the RaDD Life Science District by IQHQ, this installation fuses art, math, memory and nature into a landmark civic moment.
Commissioned through the City of San Diego’s Art in Private Development programme, the sculpture appears as the centrepiece of the RaDD Artwalk — a curated open-air collection of 19 contemporary artworks that animate the district’s five urban blocks. The work is created by the Santiago-de-Chile‐based studio collective gt2P (great things to People), whose multidisciplinary approach blends geometry, memory and natural forms into public art that resonates globally.
This sculpture’s form may appear abstract, yet its inspiration is deeply human. Drawing on childhood memories of beachside exploration, barnacle-covered shells, and the boundless hopes of youth, Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper uses a three-dimensional Voronoi tessellation as its structural language. The resulting geometry creates an invite: walk under, through and around the structure and experience an interplay of light, shadow and underlying mathematical elegance.
Until recently, Progress Park remained behind construction fencing as the district transformed. But at the moment of its opening, the pavement gave way to public access, and the sculpture earned its place in the panorama of downtown waterfront life. Visitors now step across the threshold of this new gathering place—part exhibition, part public forum, part contemplative refuge.
For professionals in life sciences, urban development and cultural placemaking, the installation speaks to the marriage of innovation and human experience. IQHQ’s RaDD campus is designed to foster research and development alongside public amenity and artistic enrichment. The presence of this landmark sculpture underscores the developer’s vision of blending science, technology and communal space.
From a tourism and civic-branding perspective, the sculpture adds to downtown San Diego’s momentum. It aligns with the city’s intent to invest in high-quality public art, activating waterfront areas and creating experiences that draw Beyond the work itself, the RaDD Artwalk invites exploration: visitors can scan QR codes beside each piece to learn more about the artist and narrative behind it.
We encourage readers, residents and visitors alike to take a leisurely walk through Progress Park, step beneath Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper and engage their curiosity. Whether you arrive with a camera in hand, a few minutes to pause or the intent to discover a new favorite piece of public art, this installation is poised to become a must-see for San Diego’s cultural map.
In closing, the union of art, design and civic vision evident in this project marks an important moment in the city’s future. The environment of RaDD Life promises to be more than a workspace—it is increasingly a destination for inspiration. With this sculpture at its threshold, the hope is not simply preserved but made tangible. We invite you to come and experience it for yourself.
About gt2P
Founded in Santiago de Chile in 2009, the studio collective gt2P is led by Guillermo Parada, Tamara Pérez, Sebastián Rozas and Victor Imperiale. Their self-described practice of “paracrafting” fuses art, science and cultural context to produce large-scale public installations worldwide.
About IQHQ & RaDD Life Science District
IQHQ is a global developer specialising in life-science real estate. Located in downtown San Diego, the RaDD Life Science District spans five urban city blocks designed to integrate lab space, offices, public art and landscaped parks.