Trilogy on Fifth

onion

ONION FOR ARCHITECTURE

Jury Comments: This mishmash of styles and architectural features at the corner of Fifth and Thorn looks as though it was a combination of several incompatible Lego kits. The developer dissected a charming Craftsman house and swallowed it up with a five-story condo that completely overwhelms it. The south wall is particularly pink, blank and blah. The jurors marveled at how this building is able to be both schizophrenic and mundane at the same time. The Neapolitan ice-cream inspired color palette works better for a frozen treat.  One online critic said “I'm glad I don't have to see this on a regular basis. My heart goes out to its neighbors.”

This ugly mishmash of styles and architectural features are assembled as though from several incompatible Lego kits.

  1. An existing craftsman house was "saved" by tearing it down and rebuilding it from scratch.
  2. The scale of the 5 story condo hovers over and totally overwhelms the craftsman.
  3. The condo attempts to look like four different buildings on a relatively small lot.
  4. The south wall is particulary pink, blank and ugly.
  5. Why the ice-cream inspired color palette? It could have had a more natural palette inspired by the colors found in Balboa Park - only a block away.
Project Information
Project Address: 
3265–3285 Fifth Ave, San Diego CA 92103, Corner of Fifth & Thorn
Project Owner/ Developer: 
Mayfair Homes
Project Architect/ Designer: 
Rodriguez & Simon (Design Architects), Colburn Currier Noll Architects (Construction Documentation)
Image
trilogy1.jpg
trilogy2.jpg
Tags:

Comments:

Trilogy on 5th

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 04/26/2009 - 23:22.
you mean CATASTROPHE ON FIFTH.

Trilogy on Fifth Ave

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 02/22/2009 - 18:02.
And to add insult to injury....the project was foreclosed and now the construction lender is on the hook unless they've already unloaded it which they probably haven't because they don't want to look at the write-down numbers. Alas....in ten or fifteen years the project will be fully occupied; the homeowners will be immensely happy because of their closeness to everything beautiful in San Diego and their condos will be worth more than their original asking price.....so go figure. And if the collective homeowners don't like their "ice cream" colors, then they'll hire the "architect favorite of the week" and let him decide the color of chocolate! Rick Trepte, contractor in this town for far too long.

Trilogy on Fifth

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 11/26/2008 - 22:25.
When I sit on my Balcony I have a view of Trilogy with Mi Arbolito poping out over the top. 2 onions in one view.

This is really ugly.

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 11/07/2008 - 21:12.
This is really ugly.

Trilogy on Fifth

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 11/07/2008 - 19:02.
The original craftsman was torn down, bless its little heart, and thus did not live to witness such shame. The "reproduction" is stuck to the side of the building like an incongruous wart. Nevertheless, it's the best-looking portion of the entire project, and at least the color blends with the towering walls behind it.

Sorry

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 11/04/2008 - 01:57.
...wanted to comment but afraid I'm going to be ill. Ice cream psychedelia giving me the spins, even when I keep one foot on the floor. Poor little abused house just sitting there, minding his own business and everyone has to screw with him.

Son of Monstronsity

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 22:12.
Is it just me...? Does anyone else see design similarity (except for the colors)between the Avalon Fashion Valley and this?

Trilogy on Fifth

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/20/2008 - 16:18.
This looks and sounds like a sequel to "Nightmare on Elm Street." Justice would be served if the owner of the Craftsman house had the motivation, support and funding to have it moved to another location, leaving a black hole at the base of Ken and Barbie's ice cream sundae palace. Marianne

Blight on Bankers Hill

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 10/16/2008 - 22:50.
Unfortunately I do have to see this on a daily basis. The fact that it remains empty is fitting. The irony of course is that located around the corner is Henry Hester’s Solomon Building which won an Orchid two years ago for the Historic Preservation of his Mid Century Modern gem. Too bad the architect and developer of Trilogy did not take a cue from the surrounding neighborhood.

Design Collaboration

Submitted by meakai on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 04:47.
This looks like a collaboration of "design" committees, government intervention and a hysterical Historical Review Board, not to mention the brain-dead design/development team (did I leave anyone out?). But hey...it's not over 65 feet high, so I guess that's all that matters.

Clarification

Submitted by maxinewarwick on Sat, 09/20/2008 - 18:37.
Colbourn-Currier-Noll Architecture (CCN) did not design this project. This project was designed by Rodriguez & Simon and CCN provided the construction documents. Any suggested modifications to the design by CCN were rejected by the developer. The color palette was selected by Rodriguez & Simon and Mayfair Homes (developer).

Materials

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/17/2008 - 17:19.
When will people learn not to change materials and/or colors at outside corners?

What the...?

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 22:27.
Ow, my eyes! I'm so glad I don't have to see this on a regular basis. My heart goes out to its neighbors.

The HRB deserves an Onion

Submitted by meakai on Wed, 08/20/2008 - 16:45.
The HRB deserves an Onion for declaring the house on the corner "historic". This corner is a prime example of the blind leading the blind. Yeah, that's right, it's politically incorrect...just like this project.

Award-winning mutilation

Submitted by mch on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 21:32.
There are so many negative aspects to this project that it's difficult to find a place to start. First, the developers teased us by doing a beautiful restoration of the perfect Craftsman on the corner, then tore it apart limb from limb, then rebuilt it in concrete with a dolled-up skin. They managed to suck every character-defining feature out of the Craftsman, then topped it all off by painting it a very un-Craftsman-like blue. I'm impressed by how a material/color/detail palette can be both schizophrenic and mundane at the same time. Clearly, the architects missed the boat on capturing San Diego's vernacular vocabulary.

Trilogy on Fifth

Submitted by Vostok on Wed, 06/25/2008 - 19:50.
Great choice for an Onion. This building is a disaster in every way and the Crayola color scheme is onion-flavored frosting on the cake.