The 2010 Orchids & Onions Awards Ceremony & Silent Auction was held on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at the Culy Warehouse in downtown San Diego. The ceremony was emcee'd by Sam "The Cooking Guy" Zien, whose sharp and witty humor was a perfect complement to the commentary of Architect Kevin deFreitas who provided some insighful and inspired food for thought.

Now for the Onions... click on the link for photos and more information about each - and to let us know what you think (agree? disagree?) by leaving a comment!

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Grand Onion: Cruise Terminal and Utilities at Broadway Pier

Both the Passenger Terminal Building and the Utility Equipment in front if it are another black eye on the on the face of our waterfront.  As one juror noted, "What could have been a grand public esplanade and community gathering space providing bayfront splendor and welcoming visitors, is instead another shining example of the problem with the entire downtown waterfront development.” The Broadway pier provides some of the best views of the San Diego bay, and was the absolute worst place to erect Cruise Ship Terminal, particularly one that is, in the jury’s opinion, hugely out of scale. To add insult to injury, the terminal building is obstructed by an atrocious and highly visible set of utilities boxes, pipes and equipment, haphazardly corralled by a cold, chain link fence, and prominently featured at the foot of Broadway.  Even if temporary, this ill-advised equipment doesn’t just spoil the views of the waterfront, it also blocks the flow of pedestrian traffic. 

People's Choice Onion: Proposed Charger Stadium

Recent polls have shown that residents do not wish to see taxpayer money used for stadium construction. Yet here we are, looking at a proposal in which the City and the Chargers appear to be planning a new stadium using public monies. The Chargers promised “a public process from beginning to end,” but recent rumblings in the press suggest that political deals are being made to lift the cap on downtown redevelopment funds, allowing an unlimited amount of tax revenue to be directed towards the construction of a downtown stadium, without voter approval. Adding to our collection of mega-structures walling off our bayfront, the scale of a stadium within the fledgling residential community of East Village and the established community of Barrio Logan would be an unecessary burden. The people have had enough.  

Morman Battalion Historical Site (Historic Preservation)

While no one misses the faceless building it replaced, our Orchids & Onions jury wasn’t feeling any “Big Love” for this new Old Town building. In fact, they decided that its pseudo-Mission design -- complete with Taco Bell-like fake exposed brick – was definitely NOT the way to pay homage to history. There were also grumblings about the overdone landscaping - complete with a waterfall and covered wagon along the front of the building. One juror described it as Disneyland in Old Town.” The exhibits inside might be state-of-the-art, but the false sense of times past conveyed by the age-battered exterior is completely clichéd.

North Coast Interstate 5 Corridor Widening (Planning)

According to Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different result. Ironically, in 2007, the Grand Onion was awarded to the widening of the I-5 / 805 interchange; the rationale for the award was “build it and they will come:” History has taught us that every highway, in every city, in every state fills to capacity. The more you widen a freeway, the more people use it and the more you need to widen it again, and again, and again. Apparently Cal Trans has not been listening. This year they proposed widening the I-5 from La Jolla Shores Drive to Oceanside to six lanes in each direction, making it as wide as a football field is long. This 4.5 BILLON dollar project would require the construction of over 40 bridges and overpasses and directly impact at least 1500 homes and apartments.  The jury noted, "It's the answer to the riddle; how many cars can you fit in California? This perpetuates a proven bad strategy for the health and well-being of our community, and humanity, and we need to look at new strategies.  This year’s Onion for utter insanity goes once again to CalTrans for their short-sided vision and lack of political will.

La Mesa Police Station and City Hall Annex (Architecture)

The City of La Mesa has committed an urban design crime. The jury felt that this new La Mesa Police Station and City Hall Annex, meant to be part of the community, sadly turns its back on the city instead., A 14 million bond provided ample opportunity to build something a memorable, community-engaging piece of architecture. With fortress-like blank walls resembling more of a prison, this generic building lacks character and has no relationship to its site or community. Of the numerous comments on the Orchids & Onions website, not a single person wrote in defense of the building. The new facility has already been dubbed the “La Mesa City WALL.” The jury felt that this was a huge missed opportunity to create something great. 

Logan Heights Library (Architecture)

Community input encouraged the design team to incorporate the architecture, symbols and icons of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, while also trying to design a 21st century library facility. The monumentality of these ancient sites has been captured in the building, but not in a good way. The building overpowers, and its mismatch of colliding forms results in a confusing mess. The granite clad cube that highlights the community room is unfortunately accented by a pair of protruding antenna for security cameras. The reinterpretation of a colossal stone statue into a glazed entry facade is just one of many superficial applications of the ancient symbols. The nomination highlighted how the central blue atrium actually blocks daylight from reaching deep into the building, which suffers from a lack of windows and insufficient use of natural light. Although the value that it brings to the community as a library has great merit, the designers should have taken their hands out of their bag of design tricks and thought more about the way people use the space rather than how many symbolic gestures could be made in one building. While the O&O website was flooded with Orchid-worthy praise for the new facility, the jury was not swayed.