James Hubbell, 92
In 2007, Stephan Haggard, one of my professors from the University of California San Diego emailed me with an idea. There was this San Diego-based artist James Hubbell, he said, who was building peace parks around the Pacific Rim. Working with a New York-based architect named Kyle Bergman, they would find up to 30 architectural students from different countries. Then, they would all fly to a country facing the Pacific Rim, and team up with local governments and communities to design and build a park in only 30 days. Think of it as a Survivor-meets-Habitat-for-Humanity concept!
They envisioned the Pacific Rim Parks as a string of pearls, with one pearl in each country, collectively bridging cultures, establishing new connections, and helping define what it means to be a member of the Pacific Rim community.
The prospectus that Steph sent me described that "the parks would be designed and built by architecture students under the artistic supervision of leading artists, architects and urban planners. The students come from several countries, and transcend their language and cultural differences through a shared vision to design and build the project within a time frame of 30 days. After a new park is completed, it is given as a gift to the citizens of the Pacific and to the sponsoring organization or institution in the host city. All parks are for the public, and are directly connected to the Pacific Ocean."
That email captured my imagination.
Over the next two years, as a CANVAS Project working closely with the Pacific Rim Parks Project, we recruited 30 architectural students from Russia, China, Korea, the United States, and the Philippines, and obtained the invaluable support of the gorgeous City of Puerto Princesa - led then by the late Edward Hagedorn - to successfully build the Philippines' contribution of a park to that string of pearls. At the time, it was the fifth park, following earlier projects in China, Mexico, Russia and the United States.
I honestly don't know the state of our park today, but the vision of a connected pacific rim community continues, and remains a dream worthy of several lifetimes.
Through the wonder of the internet where nothing is ever truly lost, you can still see our day to day picture journal of those 30 days here.
I just learned that James passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, a few days ago at the age of 92.
We had interacted directly only a handful of times over the years, mostly by email, but I have always seen the man behind this simple yet tremendously ambitious vision, James Hubbell, as a friend. I had the privilege of visiting him in his fantastically whimsical home twice, first by myself in 2014, and then again in 2018 with my wife and children.
Situated in 10 acres of oak woodlands near Julian, California, his compound - now endowed to his nonprofit, the Ilan-Lael Foundation (which means "a tree that unites the physical and spiritual") - houses tangible expressions of his unique art and imagination. Outside of San Diego, I imagine that very few would have heard of it. It is one of the lesser known wonders of San Diego, but I can say without reservation that it is a place that would rival any other you can think of in terms of its ability to foster peaceful reflection and childlike wonder.
While we were there, I overheard him talking to my wife, Alyssa. He would have been 86 at the time, and was understandably contemplating his mortality. I'm just paraphrasing, but I recall him saying that if you think about it, we are all made from stardust. When we die, we will all return to the earth, and over the next millions of years, just as it was over the millions of years that came before we were born, our elements will be scattered to all corners of the earth, to paradoxically be reunited with everyone else. In that sense, we never really die, and we are all always together, because we have always been here, and we will all always endure.
It is an insight that humbles, reassures and comforts. In life and beyond, James continues to inspire.