IQHQ RaDD Public Art Consulting

Public art is blooming in San Diego! Inspired by the city’s iconic jacaranda tree, Purple Haze brings a fleeting moment of spring to architectural scale. Sparkles of lilac-blue float against the urban backdrop of the Downtown Waterfront’s Research and Development District, blurring the line between the natural and constructed and transforming the space into a vivid landscape of color and movement.

Conceived by Italian architect and artist Elena Manferdini, Purple Haze interprets the jacaranda’s ephemeral blossoms through geometry, pattern, and layered form. The installation reads as a three-dimensional landscape painting—at once delicate and bold—where nature is abstracted, amplified, and reimagined within the built environment.

Curated by MIG as part of the IQHQ RaDD Campus public art program, Purple Haze contributes to a larger collection of site-responsive artworks that define the district’s identity. The installation offers viewers a moment to pause and wonder, serving as an immersive reminder of San Diego’s distinctive landscape, translated through architectural imagination and artistic vision.