The Riparian Edge is a ceramic installation designed and created by artist Diana Kersey for the exterior façade of the Broadway Office Towers. It was commissioned by the building’s owner, Silver Ventures. 

The two murals, which cover more than 650 square feet, graphically illustrate the edge effect, an ecological concept that ascribes greater diversity of life in areas where two or more adjacent ecosystems overlap. In this liminal space, species from both ecosystems co-exist, as well as unique species that are not found in either ecosystem but are specially adapted to the conditions of the transition zone between the two edges. 

For Kersey, the new Oxbow Building mirrors that effect, connecting and enriching both the live/play/work environment of the Pearl development and the lifeblood of our city, the San Antonio River.

In ecology, the riparian zone is the interface between land and a river or stream. Hence, The Riparian Edge weaves a visual allegory of fish, reptiles, mammals, birds, and plants native to the San Antonio watershed, with architectural elements inherent in the building’s design, such as quatrefoils and circular elements. The combination of natural and architectural motifs works together to celebrate this special “zone of life” for both the natural world and the human-driven infrastructure being created.