Paul Murdoch Architects

The Event Center is the first phase of a master plan to transform the 120-acre 1980s Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park—the largest public open space in South Los Angeles with grass lawns and artificial lakes—into a high-performance model of sustainable park design for the 21st century. The project includes a new multipurpose community event center; a renovated lake; a lakeside loop trail with picnic areas, fitness equipment, and scenic viewpoints; a destination children’s play area and outdoor classroom; a wedding area; and native landscaping irrigated with water captured from the regional watershed and cleaned via green infrastructure and natural systems. Featuring a major public works innovation, the park uses a stormwater recycling and reuse system that collects runoff from both the park and the adjacent 375-acre urban watershed to transform the preexisting, concrete-lined lake into a bio-habitat with a growing diversity of flora and fauna. The new water treatment creates a viable Net Zero Water system from the older infrastructure while also providing beauty and recreation.