Orchids & Onions: The Votes Are In! We explore statement-making architecture igniting design conversations

MIRA MESA HIGH SCHOOL’S MUSIC BUILDING
Orchid | Public Architecture
Designed by Architects Mosher Drew, the Mira Mesa High School’s Music Building boasts special attention to enhanced acoustics, campus placement, and an elevated school spirit. One of the strongest music programs in the state, the performance of the building was a top priority with high-volume practice rooms and angled walls and ceilings for sound deflection and absorption. The angularity of the interior, and the need for daylighting and optimized indoor air quality, culminated in an exterior that is met with the same language, providing a welcoming and iconic structure on the campus. In fact, the jury stated that “it is clear how the program was organized with the facade with the break of the structure and its architectural language.” 

SCRIPPS PARK PAVILION
Orchid | Public Architecture
Located within the La Jolla Cove, this modern, multi-use facility is designed by Architects Mosher Drew and Safdie Rabines as an homage to the splendor of its oceanfront site. Scripps Park Pavilion provides restrooms, showers, changing rooms, ample storage space, gathering areas, and event staging capability. In striving to foster a deeper connection between the park and beach community, the structure was envisioned as a beacon, a landmark symbolizing unity and vitality. The signature floating roof, evocative of soaring wings, features translucent panels and open lattice work, fostering an airy ambiance and seamless integration with the elements. Complementing this ethereal design, bold concrete walls, textured and color-blended to echo the coastal habitat and nearby bluffs, anchor the building in its natural context, embodying a harmonious blend of functionality and aesthetics. 

UCSD FRANKLIN ANTONIO HALL
Orchid | Public Architecture
The sleek and soaring Franklin Antonio Hall by Perkins & Will’s is the embodiment of innovation. UC San Diego’s newest research structure comprises 13 large facilities that act as collaborative laboratories. Due to the growing needs of research and

technology, each laboratory is designed to allow for flexibility between uses and the “opportunity for the building and spaces to evolve over time.” The jury also felt that the details of the building itself were “simple solutions, but beautiful,” with a clear indication that “a lot of care was put into this building.” The structure is graced with exterior vertical sunshades, reducing its solar gain while providing daylighting deep within the building despite the compression of the structure at the center. “From the grand scale down to the details, it’s a great building!”

SASAN LOFTS 
Orchid | Private Architecture
“Most of the new buildings in our city are so lifeless. The combination of the color pink with all of the built-in planters, brings life to this building and community,” says Soheil Nakhshab, Principal and CEO, Nakhshab Development & Design. The Sasan Lofts of Mission Hills — a building with “a presence that is refreshing for San Diego” — commands attention. Not just for the hue — but the access to tenants who would otherwise not have the opportunity to live in this neighborhood. The eight-story structure features 53 micro-unit studios across six floors. Still forthcoming: a rooftop revenue. Each studio features a privacy balcony adorned with lush vegetation and floor-to-ceiling windows.  When envisioning what could have been placed on the rooftop, “it could have been penthouse units, but instead, the designers are giving the city a restaurant.” Nakhshab on the choice of color: “I chose the color pink as it generally represents a soft, positive energy associated with love, compassion, nurturing, friendship, and a sense of warmth and comfort; it often evokes feelings of tenderness and affection, making it a symbol of gentle, positive energy.”

DWELLINGS AT BOWERY CANYON
Orchid | Private Architecture
A site where the primary amenity is the stunning views of the nearby canyon, the Dwellings at Bowery Canyon, designed by Modern Architecture Services (MAS), comprises two concrete structures situated within a triangular lot. The project highlights environmental considerations with its change in orientation with respect to its topography, semi-subterranean spaces for thermal comfort of the interior spaces, and sand-colored cinder block to further enhance the cooling capabilities of the structure.

MOTHERSHIP
Orchid | Interior Design
MOTHERSHIP is an experience like no other, “broken up into these small, great moments,” where the interior has been completely reinvented into a carefully curated, fictional, tropical space adventure. Designed by Top Notch Kustoms, MOTHERSHIPS’ interior transports patrons from San Diego’s South Park neighborhood into a crashed spaceship, complete with a night sky with shooting stars, extraterrestrial plant life, programmable control panels, and an original soundtrack that accompanies the feel of the venue itself. “Mothership has a lot of architectural discipline” yet is a good example of “breaking all architectural standards to bring something different.”

THE LAFAYETTE HOTEL
Orchid | Historic Preservation, Architectural Lighting
The 1946 Lafayette Hotel was designed by CH Projects and Brooklyn-based Post Company. Since its renovation, the Lafayette Hotel has been adorned with custom lighting throughout the 2.5-acre property including grand chandeliers, neon lights, globular lights, and more. Each space within the Lafayette was carefully curated with lighting adding various moods depending on the use. “The intimacy, lighting detail, the attention was clearly a top priority and was executed well.”

CHILDREN’S PARK DOWNTOWN
Orchid | Landscape Architecture
Spurlock Landscape Architects and Schmidt Design Group transformed the Children’s Park Downtown from a homeless encampment to a community landmark. They preserved elements of the original design while adding a “tree house” playground, civic pond boardwalk, dog park, and more. Because of the collaboration between downtown residents, agencies, and designers, the park is a bustling reminder of what can occur when design meets community engagement.

MEXICO 

ALTEZZA
Orchid | Private Architecture
Altezza is a seven-story multi-family structure located within the City of Tijuana designed by Saen Studio & Design Opera Architects. The exterior, a concrete skeletal frame, “embodies experimentation with the DNA of the material” as it provides various levels of depth given its double and single height terraces interlocked with living spaces. The access stair separating the structure further exemplifies “the attention to detail and construction” as the perforated metal cladding provides “a perfect balance of views while allowing air within.” To provide for an indoor-outdoor experience for its users, the terraces are linked in such a way as to foster social engagement and community, a nod to “what good architecture can be in the City of Tijuana.”

PARRAL 
Orchid | Private Architecture
Boasting the best panoramic views of the city, Parral is a multi-family project designed by T38 Studio in the City of Tijuana. The form of the structure consists of large volumes that protrude alternatively at every level for the creation of large overhangs and ample shaded areas. Made of steel and concrete, the exterior is cladded in a green laminated skin with the steel structure activating as an intersection of materials. The units are adorned with large windows and terraces that face the city while the private spaces are configured toward inward. This project “seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor spaces” with the designers paying special attention to “the idea of arrival and coming home.”

KEMURI RAMEN 
Orchid – Interior Design
Kemuri Ramen, designed by Saen Studio & Design Opera Architects, is a fine example of what happens when a chef’s passion is aligned with interior design. Located in the Colonia La Cacho area of Tijuana, the mood of Kemuri Ramen begins with the charred wood exterior. This Shou Sugi Ban siding creates a “texture that is wonderful and super intimate” while also being “simple yet skillful.” The presence of warm woods, pops of red, and cobblestone flooring within the interior is “inviting and cozy with an appreciation of the simplicity and detail.”

MINIA
Orchid | Interior Design
Small but mighty. If there was ever an Orchid winner that fits this concept, it’s MINIA by Simbiosis in Tijuana. The 430-square-foot shop was converted into a nail salon/ bar. The project highlights the use of 2” x 2” locally sourced, handmade ceramic white tiles to reflect and bounce off artificial light within the space, creating a space that is “optimistic and futuristic.” Due to its size and complexity, spacing and functionality of the custom furniture was paramount in the design process. The jury deemed MINIA an “amazing, utopian Tijuana project that is very hopeful for the future of Tijuana.”

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

The functional, collaborative, and impressive work environment of Whissel Realty, designed by ArchitectsLocal and DesignX Architecture + Interiors, earned the People’s Choice Award. Based in La Mesa, the office features historic barrel-vaulted ceilings, the office of Whissel Realty maintains a grand open concept for the central area and private offices, flanked by a podcast room. The central area functions as a flexible workspace, meeting area and event space with nesting sit-stand desks operable to meet the needs of the various uses within the space. The kitchen opens to the outdoors via awning style windows with counter seating available to highlight an indoor-outdoor experience. 

TEEN JURY

The 2024 Teen Jury Orchid goes to Fox Point Farms, designed by Steinberg Hart, Tecture, Visual Concepts Lighting, Noctiluca Lighting, and Schmidt Design Group. The sustainable and regenerative agrihood development project in Encinitas, Fox Point Farms combines residential and commercial amenities that are community-centered, paying homage to the agricultural history of the location. Fox Point Farms is community-focused—opening its amenity spaces to the public where a yoga studio, Haven Market, farm-to-table restaurant, and more are available to enjoy. A lawn connects the residents to the event center and marketplace, fostering interaction between those who live at Fox Point Farms with those who visit. Unlike the adult jury, the Teen Jury looked at the project through several lenses: aesthetics, functionality, context, social impacts, and environmental impacts.

MTS MASSIVE MONSTROSITY AT GASLAMP TROLLEY STATION
Onion | Public Architecture
Situated steps in front of the Gaslamp Quarter Sign and approved by the Metropolitan Transit System Board of Directors, the Gaslamp Quarter Digital Information Board is a towering structure of almost 50 feet in height with rectangular, brick-cladded supports where an LED screen highlights the current MTS Trolley schedule. Atop of the supports lies a three-sided billboard, two of which are screens of approximately 20 x 30 feet, which are meant to advertise and promote opportunities for local businesses and more. The jurors felt that the Information Board was a “missed opportunity” as it conflicts with the gateway to the Gaslamp. Additionally, the jury felt that the purpose of the Information Board — to inform travelers of MTS schedules — is lost in the “large Las Vegas-esque advertisements.”

SAN DIEGO’S CITY STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE & SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Onion | Public Policy
The City of San Diego, similar to many infrastructures around the county, has systems that have aged and deteriorated. Unfortunately, failure to keep up with the infrastructure within the city leads to erosion along the coastlines, potential sinkholes, and given the major rains in 2022 and 2023, caused severe flooding in many communities of San Diego. “This needs to be a message to the city that this needs to be fixed.” Despite the city pledging billions to rectify the problems caused by the flooding, families that were affected by the flooding have now lost everything, leading many to feel that the inaction of the city has essentially “ignored the community.”