In 2005, Albert Einstein Academies (AEA), the first elementary school in San Diego County to achieve an International Baccalaureate (IB) certificate, moved their German immersion program to the aging, 1950's era former Brooklyn Elementary school property in the inner city community of South Park. Soon after occupying the site, students, parents, and staff started a significant, non-public funded beautification of the campus and the surrounding streets. Started by a master plan prepared by two dads of AEA students, enthusiasm took root by the entire community, including families from all over the world. Programs and projects that ensued, included surrounding streetscape improvements, planting of organic gardens, a gardens of the world project, building of a greenhouse, turning a large gravel play area into a sodded sports field, painting of murals, planting of hundreds of new trees (a majority of which intentionally bore edible fruit), building of two pizza ovens, collaboration with local restaurants to support the neighborhood and develop healthy foods programs, creation of outdoor classroom space, and a complete restoration of a dilapidated adjacent community park site. AEA's campus beautification was a primary catalyst in the rediscovery of an aging San Diego neighborhood that has since been reinvigorated with new retail and restaurant development within blocks as a direct result of what the students, parents, and staff have just begun in South Park.

Image

Hillcrest 2.0 is a unique volunteer-led and community-oriented Neighborhood Plan created by the Hillcrest community and the Hillcrest Business Improvement Association (HBIA). With over 450 hours invested into the project, 151 contributing community members, 7 UCSD student research groups, and a little over 1 year of charrette-style forums, the final document was completed in February 2011. Through community participation and guidance from notable speakers: Dr. Mirle Bussell (UCSD), Dr. Sherry Ryan (SDSU), Howard Blackson (Placemakers), and Mark Steele (MW Steele Group), the Hillcrest community was able to create innovative and sustainable plan recommendations for their district. Hillcrest 2.0 encompasses architectural style, historic preservation, and sustainable design concepts which are intended to enhance the quality of life in the area, reduce the environmental impact of build-out, and preserve the district’s unique neighborhood character. Noteworthy and innovative recommendations in this plan include: an incentive program for developers to provide exceptional and sustainable elements at the ground level, a push for a more bicycle-friendly environment, an emphasis on the streetcar as an alternative mode of transportation, the creation of a highway lid on top of State Route 163, and a proposal to create a National Main Street on University Avenue. The enthusiasm for the revival of the streetcar in San Diego reached incredible heights, and community members involved with this document were able to persuade the San Diego Association of Governments to modify their lack of funding for the streetcar in the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan. In February 2011, the volunteer effort paid off when Hillcrest 2.0 was submitted to the City of San Diego’s City Planning & Community Investment Department. This allowed for their concepts of sustainability and preservation to be incorporated into the Uptown Community Plan Update, which will guide the future development of Hillcrest for the next 20 to 30 years. Hillcrest 2.0 should not be viewed simply as a report with recommendations; it is a reflection of the success and change that individuals can make in their own community and we hope that our process will be replicated by neighboring areas so that San Diego will remain a thriving city that highlights the eclectic styles that each neighborhood has to offer. Hillcrest 2.0 can be found at: http://hillcrestbia.org/news/hillcrest-2-0/ http://hillcrestbia.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HBA-Recommendations20...

Sustainable North Park Main Street Sustainable North Park Main Street (SNPMS) is a broad, yet very grounded vision of a greener future for North Park. Applying simple interventions across North Park’s historic business district, SNPMS proposes a coordinated approach to sustainability. It involves building owners, business operators, and the community in creating a lasting framework for economic prosperity, community action, and an improved urban environment. The resulting work presents a broad scale re-envisioning of North Park’s commercial corridors, developed by young volunteer graduates of the NewSchool of Architecture & Design working in conjunction with volunteer professional architects as well as various community and sustainability stakeholders. This work was the subject of a public show at Art Produce Gallery August 13 to 20, which can be viewed at northparkmainstreet.com. Imagined within the larger context of North Park, five key intersections in North Park are illustrated as they would appear if a number of simple – and very feasible – sustainability measures were to be brought together in a coordinated fashion. These measures include building retrofits, new business practices, and public improvements that work together to support the goal of greening North Park. The work presented by SNPMS resulted in North Main Street receiving a $25,000 grant from the Office of Historic Preservation for the development of a Sustainability Implementation Plan – currently underway – which will help guide North Park Main Street in its efforts to create a community resource center for sustainability. SDG&E also granted $5,000 to supplement work on the Plan, which will be completed by October 1, 2011.

Image

The Power is in the I.D.E.A. Innovation – Design – Education – Arts Why has the concept of a mixed-use district driven by a Design jobs cluster, nourished by Education, enriched by the Arts and focused on Innovation caught the imagination of San Diego business and community leaders? They understand that in the 21st century it will not be enough to rest on our past business success, great weather and beautiful environs. We have to intentionally plan for the future. A future that will see increasing interdependence between design and technology A future that must provide high paying jobs to attract and retain young, creative and educated citizens to ensure our competitive position moving forward And, a future enriched by art, entertainment and recreation, the hallmarks of all great livable and vibrant cities The goal is to enable this vision to become a reality and to unleash the potential it holds to drive new businesses and new jobs for our region. Our aim is to inform, to inspire, and we invite you to participate in shaping this economic development initiative. Starting with the central I.D.E.A. Design: To conceive, invent, execute, or construct according to plan. Cluster: Geographic concentrations of companies, suppliers, support services, financiers, specialized infrastructure, producers of related products, and specialized institutions whose competitive strengths are improved through the existence of shared advantages. Major trends in the global economy, coupled with San Diego’s strategic location, business climate, and entrepreneurial spirit, all point toward the opportunity for the I.D.E.A. District to be the “next big thing”. In addition, there are specific characteristics of the existing district, located on 35 city blocks in San Diego’s Upper East Village, that make it ideal for this use, including the presence of several major educational institutions that emphasize design, multiple small but growing design-related businesses, and a building environment with the appropriate character for this purpose. Making this vision a reality can have a transformational impact on our city by creating as many as 10,000 jobs in the next decade. But this is not an opportunity that will last indefinitely and it requires immediate action.

Image

The City of San Diego has limited local water sources and relies on importing approximately 85 to 90 percent of its water supply. Environmental stresses and court-ordered pumping restrictions have reduced the amount of water that can be delivered to San Diego. These circumstances and the threat of further limitations on our water supplies have intensified the need for new sources of water. In spring 2011, construction was completed on the Advanced Water Purification (AWP) Facility. The facility is part of the City of San Diego’s Water Purification Demonstration Project, which is evaluating the feasibility of purifying recycled water for reservoir augmentation. The AWP Facility will operate for approximately one year and will produce 1 million gallons of purified water per day. The intent of the Demonstration Project is to establish the technical, water quality, environmental, public outreach, regulatory, and funding requirements necessary to implement a full-scale project. One aspect of the public outreach goal is to allow the public a first-hand view of the process through facility tours. The AWP Facility is designed in such a way as to facilitate public tours while still maintaining an operating demonstration facility. A key challenge in the design of the project was the limited footprint for equipment installation. All piping and electrical wiring was installed overhead to keep working areas and the tour path unobstructed from the public. The result of the compact, yet effective design has been an operational facility that can also accommodate dozens of visitors at a time. Tour participants follow a colored pathway through a multi-barrier process that starts with membrane filtration, followed by reverse osmosis, and finally advanced oxidation with ultraviolet disinfection. This interactive experience is enhanced by informative banners along the path and decals that represent where the water is in the purification process. More than 500 guests have visited the facility in just the first two-and-a-half months of tours. In addition to a design that allows for an easy facilitation of tours, the facility incorporates techniques that save both energy and the functionality of the equipment. For example, the reverse osmosis units incorporate an energy-recovery device that reuses wasted pressure in order to reduce the intensive energy needs of the reverse osmosis process. Additionally, the equipment is regularly maintained to reduce wasted energy and to also sustain the life of the membranes for several years. This AWP facility is a perfect example of a design that incorporates an educational experience as well as fulfilling the need to demonstrate water purification technology for approval by the local governing officials.

Image

The Wüsteblume Sandbox was commissioned by the Die Rasselbands Preschool, and was constructed from material out of the backyards and garages of the local community. The design-build group, two recent architecture school graduates, sought the involvement of parents and local community members in order to achieve a design that was sustainable and affordable. They distributed flyers in the area asking for parents, neighbors and community members to donate any unused 2x4s left over from finished or forgotten projects. With the communities help they were able to not only achieve their design goal and accommodate the preschool’s budget, but had funds left over for a second design phase. This phase will incorporate supplemental elements which will support a variety of new activities on the site. When the second phase of construction is finished, canopies will shade each wing of the sandbox, the center platform will house a water tank where hoses will be stored and used to incorporate water-play, and the bench seating will accompany an interactive wall.

Image

The Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge was the final piece in the Park-to-Bay link project. It provides an invaluable connection between Balboa Park and downtown San Diego to the bayfront area. Adjacent to Petco Park, the bridge provides safe access between the ballpark and the bayfront area hotels, convention center and parking. The self-anchored suspensions bridge spans 500 feet and sits 25 feet above Harbor Drive. Unlike most bridges of this type, the bridge features suspension cables on only one side of the deck. The single, 130-foot main support pylon is cantilevered over and across the deck positioning the suspension cables to one side. At night the bridge comes alive with hidden light sources that make the walking path and the underside of the deck glow. The bridge has become a beautiful gateway to the City from the south and a popular destination for visitors.

Image

So, what happens when you get an open minded family and a recent architecture graduate who loves to design, build, and has too much time on his hands... you get more than you bargained for. What started off as the need for a couple of lovable house cats to have a place of their own without being bothered by the local canyon coyotes, ended up becoming a design challenge to build a "cat house" that was more than a simple box attached to a window. After a few discussions, some models, some carpentry work, some welding, and a few months time, the Vasquez Family got something that became an extension of their home, not just a house for their cats.

Image

With the Plaza de Panama project, San Diegans have been given an opportunity to realize the greatest investment in Balboa Park and its infrastructure since the 1935 California-Pacific International Exposition. Under the leadership of Mayor Jerry Sanders, Dr. Irwin Jacobs and the Plaza de Panama Committee, this project will reclaim the grand public spaces in the heart of Balboa Park and return them to their historic pedestrian use. Over time cars have literally taken over the public spaces in the core of Balboa Park, creating significant conflicts between vehicles and cars. This is not only potentially dangerous, but compromises the visitor experience. With the implementation of the Plaza de Panama project, vehicles will be completely removed from the Plaza de Panama, Plaza de California, West El Prado and Esplanade and will be grade separated from pedestrians on Pan American Road. In addition, a new park space will be developed on top of a proposed subterranean parking structure behind the Organ Pavilion (the park will be level with the south side of the Organ Pavilion and the International Cottages). All told, the project will reclaim more than 6 acres public parks and plazas that are now dominated by cars. The project is also notable for its comprehensive nature – it has planned access and infrastructure as carefully as it has park reclamation. In addition to reclaiming public spaces for pedestrians, it retains convenient access to the park from both the east and west sides. The addition of the Centennial Bridge will allow vehicles – including future transit service - access from the west by allowing them to bypass the plazas and promenades, instead of driving through the heart of the park as they do today. It also increases convenient parking by approximately 260 spaces, and provides a free tram service from the parking structure to the Plaza de Panama. The existing Alcazar parking lot will be dedicated to ADA parking, valet staging and drop off. The innovation of the Centennial Bridge will help to maintain the uniquely urban nature of the Park by making it car and transit accessible from all directions yet restoring the exquisite architectural ambience established in 1915. From any viewpoint, including due east from the Sixth Avenue entrance and all along the Cabrillo Bridge, the Centennial access roadway will be barely visible through the trees and vegetation. And when completed it will have a simple elegance that blends beautifully with the Cabrillo span, the Museum of Man exterior, and the Alcazar Garden. Our city has been talking about removing cars from the heart of the park for over 50 years, and the Plaza de Panama project is our best chance to achieve this long-standing goal. It will allow us all to truly appreciate the genius of the original 1915 design and improve park wide visitor access. For the Balboa Park Partnership: Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch, President Dr. Michael Hager, Immediate Past President

Image

I am writing to nominate Meshuggah Shack, a coffee kiosk at the corner of Goldfinch and Fort Stockton Drive in Mission Hills, for an Orchid.  To truly appreciate how Meshuggah Shack has transformed this part of the neighborhood, you need to remember what the corner looked like before the arrival. That is very unlikely because previously, it was anonymous dead urban space: a bland office building, a parking lot, an ATM Kiosk.  There was no there there. All that has changed. Doing much of the work himself and using mostly found materials, the owner and proprietor of Meshuggah Shack transformed the kiosk, the corner, and, in a way, this corner of the Mission Hills neighborhood. Exploiting the possibilities of the existing canopy of mature ficus trees, the Shack provides several discrete seating areas, allowing you to enjoy your coffee alone or with the serendipitous company of your neighbors, while the the kitsch-deluxe decor provides ample opportunities to strike up a conversation (“I wonder where he found all that nun stuff?”).  Meshuggah Shack deftly combines great urban design with commercial-space-as -performance-art, and a great example of how using scant resources, good and thoughtful design can make our city better.

Image