San Fernando Swap Meet

The San Fernando Swap Meet, the “largest outdoor swap meet in the San Fernando Valley”, occupies an open, 30-acre site. Attracting as many as 10,000 people a day to over 200 vendors, the City of San Fernando was disappointed with the meet’s character. JKA was hired by ownership to develop improvements that would create a sense of place and enhance the meet’s identity for the city, vendors, and patrons. To accomplish this, JKA mainly utilized off-the shelf components. Street painting with colors and patterns seen in the community used to create a wayfinding carpet along key pathways. Pre-engineered shade structures covered a new central plaza, allowing for increased live programming sheltered from the sun. Landscaping along the perimeter softened the transition between the site and surrounds. To enhance the ticketing plaza on site storage containers were stacked and repurposed as gateway elements. The design became an integral part of a City-approved application utilized to extend the life of a conditional use permit, as well as a basis for site renewal that enhances the daily use and festivity of the swap meet.