Case Studies
How Creative Machines Transforms Public Spaces With Art
At Creative Machines, every public artwork begins with a larger question: What should this space feel like?
Our projects support identity, engagement, storytelling, and long-term placemaking. We work closely with developers, municipalities, architects, arts organizations, and community stakeholders to create landmark experiences that respond directly to site, audience, and project goals.
We do all phases in house. These case studies show how we work with the community and client to craft concepts, then follow that up with engineering, fabrication, lighting, installation and long-term support.
Project Overview
Location: San Diego, California
Client: Greystar
Completed: 2018
Scale: 17’ 8” tall
Materials: Laser-cut stainless steel, LED lighting, electronics
Project Type: Residential Development / Public Placemaking
Located at Park 12 The Collection in downtown San Diego, Growing Home was commissioned as a landmark artwork for a new residential development adjacent to Petco Park. The client sought a signature public-facing sculpture that would establish a strong visual identity for the property while encouraging social interaction and community engagement.
Creative Machines developed an immersive sculpture that functioned simultaneously as a landmark, gathering space, photo destination, and narrative artwork.
The Challenge
The development needed a public-facing artwork that could:
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Create a memorable identity for the site from multiple viewing angles
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Encourage interaction and social media engagement
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Function both day and night
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Reflect the culture and history of San Diego
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Add a human scale to a dense urban environment
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Withstand a marine environment and heavy public interaction (10,000+ fans on game days)
Our Solution
Creative Machines approached the project as both a sculptural experience and a storytelling device.
Inspired by the form of a marine shell, Growing Home incorporates perforated text spiraling through the sculpture that references the layered history of San Diego. The text structure mimics the growth pattern of a shell, with newer historical moments positioned closer to the opening.
By day, sunlight activates the perforations and curved stainless-steel surfaces. By night, integrated LED lighting transforms the sculpture into a glowing beacon, projecting color and shadow into the surrounding plaza.
The sculpture was intentionally designed to support human interaction:
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Seating opportunities were integrated directly into the base
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The surrounding pebble landscape encourages gathering
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The monumental scale creates an instantly recognizable social landmark
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The lighting transformed the atmosphere after dark
Key Design Solutions
Narrative Integrated Into Form
Rather than applying storytelling superficially, the historical narrative was embedded directly into the geometry and structure of the sculpture itself.
Day-to-Night Transformation
Integrated lighting ensured the piece remained active and visually compelling 24 hours a day, extending the identity of the development into the evening.
Social Interaction as Design Strategy
The sculpture was designed to encourage photography, gathering, and repeat visitation. The community organically created the hashtag #Park12Shellfie, demonstrating how the artwork successfully became part of the site's social identity.
Durable Public Engineering
The piece required sophisticated fabrication and structural engineering to achieve complex curvature, lighting integration, and long-term durability in a high-use public environment.
Results
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Front page media coverage upon opening differentiated this development from other competing developments.
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Strong organic social media engagement because of the recognizable form and selfie opportunity
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A palpable feeling of pride and ownership among residents and tenants.
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A gathering space and draw for ground-level tenants
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Public programming around the artwork by the client marketing team activates the plaza periodically
Growing Home demonstrates Creative Machines’ ability to:
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Create iconic placemaking elements for large developments
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Integrate storytelling into sculptural form
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Design highly photogenic and interactive artwork
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Engineer durable illuminated public art
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Transform transitional urban spaces into destinations
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Engage with social media and increase digital presence: #Park12shellfie
"We're always in awe. Growing Home portrays San Diego's history on a mollusk's shell & beautifully illuminates & enhances our Park 12 home."
Park 12 The Collection,
“I wish to express how impressed I am with your work, Growing Home! You are indeed the special artist and craftsman we wanted to make Park/12 a unique setting for residents and public alike."
Jerry Brand,
Senior Managing Director, Greystar, in Modern Luxury San Diego
“The shell represents the ever-growing city in which we live.”
"Moments in history are preserved as words written in the growing shell."
Richard Schulte,
Project Overview
Location: Pasadena
Completed: 2023
Client: DC Walnut Holdings
Materials: Stainless steel, glass spheres, electronics, LED lighting
Project Type: Residential / Public Art Integration
Close Approach is a suspended sculptural installation inspired by the Voyager space missions and their cultural legacy. Installed at MW Lofts in Pasadena, the project transforms a circulation corridor into a dynamic experiential environment through light, motion, and immersive projection.
The Challenge
The site functioned primarily as a passageway between architectural elements. The client sought artwork that could:
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Activate an otherwise transitional space
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Create a memorable visual identity for the development
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Engage residents day and night
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Integrate meaningfully with architecture
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Introduce movement and atmosphere into the environment but without the maintenance of video projection
The artwork also needed to operate effectively at multiple scales, from distant visibility to intimate close-up experience.
Our Solution
Creative Machines designed the installation as a fully immersive celestial environment.
Two monumental suspended spheres representing Jupiter and its moon Io float within the breezeway. Internal color-changing LED systems animate the sculptures, projecting shifting light patterns across walls, floors, and surrounding architectural surfaces.
The project was inspired by the site location exactly between JPL and Caltech - two institutions that led the Voyager missions and whose faculty, staff and students are among the tenants of the space. Visitors unconnected with astronomy still pick up the emotional and cultural context of the Voyager missions themselves: exploration, optimism, and humanity’s attempt to communicate beyond Earth.
Our artist-designed wall element extends the projected lighting effects, allowing the architecture itself to become part of the artwork.
Key Design Solutions
Suspended Sculptural Engineering
The project required precise structural coordination and engineering to safely suspend moving illuminated elements within an active architectural environment in a seismic zone.
Integrated Projection Experience
Rather than containing the artwork within a singular object, the lighting system expands the experience outward, transforming the surrounding architecture into part of the installation.
Atmospheric Activation
The artwork changes continuously through motion, projection, and shifting light conditions, creating an experience that evolves over time rather than remaining static.
Emotional Narrative Through Science
The project demonstrates Creative Machines’ ability to connect scientific and historical subject matter with emotionally resonant public experiences.
Results
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Branded the development and gave it a theme. Now there are rooftop telescopes and space themed events.
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Resident engagement
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Increased identity and differentiation for development
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Nighttime activation and streetscape visibility
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Architectural integration success
Close Approach demonstrates our ability to:
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Integrate public art directly into architecture
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Create immersive illuminated environments
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Engineer suspended sculptural systems
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Activate circulation and transitional spaces
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Develop conceptually rich artwork with broad public accessibility
“Together with the light projected from the suspended components of Close Approach, the art screen creates the feeling of being in outer space in close proximity to huge celestial bodies.”
City of Pasadena
“[Joseph] is one of the best and brightest artists I’ve ever worked with. His artwork is creative, functional and easy to maintain."
Sam Credio,
“Imagining exploration… motivating us for these great achievements.”
Voice of America on public fascination with space exploration
Project Overview
Location: Maryvale Neighborhood, Phoenix, Arizona
Completed: 2025
Client: City of Phoenix
Materials: Painted Steel, Proprietary UV-Resistant Stained Glass Acrylic Material
Scale: Three archways, each 20’ wide
Project Type: Civic Corridor / Cultural Placemaking
Nepantla is a series of monumental sculptural gateways exploring themes of migration, dual identity, cultural overlap, and transformation within the American Southwest. Installed in the historic Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix, the project creates a symbolic and physical passage through layered cultural experience.
The Challenge
The project site required artwork that could:
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Reflect the identity of the surrounding community
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Create a strong visual presence within a civic corridor
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Speak to multiple generations and cultural experiences
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Function as both landmark and pedestrian-scale experience
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Create meaningful engagement without relying on literal representation
The project also needed to balance conceptual depth with broad public accessibility.
Our Solution
Creative Machines approached Nepantla as a spatial experience along the entire corridor rather than a singular object. We also committed to radical community engagement at the start, following the community's stories wherever they took us.
The three gateway structures create a sequence of movement through the site, each exploring a different dimension of “Nepantla,” the experience of living in two world's simultaneously, whether physical, cultural or historical.
The transparent panels projected colored images throughout the day as sunlight changes, allowing the artwork to feel dynamic within the landscape and bathing visitors in imagery. The stained glass motif suggests a mix of reality and symbolism.
Rather than presenting a singular narrative, the project was intentionally designed to support multiple readings and personal interpretations depending on perspective, movement, distance, and lived experience.
Key Design Solutions
Cultural Themes Through Spatial Design
The project avoids didactic storytelling in favor of experiential symbolism and movement through space.
Layered Material Experience
Transparent colored panels create visual depth and changing perception throughout the day. We developed and tested the technology to make colored transparent images durable and able to withstand direct sunlight in Phoenix.
Civic Landmarking
The monumental scale establishes the project as a recognizable identity marker for the corridor and neighborhood.
Inclusive Public Engagement
The work was designed with multiple public and private meetings with a wide range of stakeholders. The result is a work that resonates with diverse audiences and directly reflects the wishes of the immediate neighborhood.
Results
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An enhanced sense of community ownership and pride
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Corridor activation
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Public engagement
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Cultural visibility
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Neighborhood branding
Nepantla demonstrates Creative Machines’ ability to:
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Translate complex cultural ideas into accessible public experiences
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Create meaningful civic landmarks
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Integrate lighting and material storytelling
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Design large-scale gateway and corridor projects
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Develop site-responsive artwork rooted in local identity
"Thank you for having artists work with community and [thank you] to the artist for implementing our stories in your work came out beautiful. Well done!"
La Morena Art,
"This blend of myth, migration, and cultural memory creates a welcoming threshold that reflects the experience of living between eras and across cultures, offering a unified landmark that honors the diverse narratives shaping the neighborhood."
City of Phoenix
“Artists, engineers, architects, landscape architects and other urban designers” working collaboratively “enhance the look, feel and function of public buildings, spaces and infrastructure.”
City of Phoenix on the
Over 30 Years in the Industry
Since 1995, Creative Machines has designed and fabricated large-scale public artworks that transform spaces into destinations. Our multidisciplinary studio combines artistic vision with deep expertise in engineering, fabrication, lighting integration, and project management, allowing us to guide complex projects from concept through installation. With more than 75 public artworks completed across the United States and internationally, we understand how to create durable, site-responsive experiences that resonate with communities and meet the practical demands of civic and commercial environments.
Our Process
From Vision to Installation
At Creative Machines, we guide projects from concept through fabrication and installation with an integrated in-house team of artists, engineers, project managers, fabricators, and installers.
Our Process Includes:
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Site analysis
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Community engagement
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Concept development
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Structural engineering
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Lighting integration
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Material prototyping
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Fabrication
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Installation coordination
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Long-term durability planning