This school building earns at A+ for mediocrity! The recently completed addition to the iconic Point Loma High School is a major disappointment to the community. The prominent location along a busy Point Loma street calls for a more friendly gesture to the neighborhood than this boring box of a building. How can the students who learn within the walls of these classrooms be inspired to greater things when their learning environment is so mundane? The School District's admittedly restricted building budget and time constraints are no excuse for dull design. Our children deserve better. This architect failed this assignment.

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The new Hillcrest neighborhood sign was unveiled at the 2011 City Fest. It was greeted with much fanfare and praise. "Green Technology" had come to Hillcrest. Low energy costs and repair. Sounded wonderful. But then the switch was flipped. Gone was the warm, rich, and beautiful glow of the pink rose neon tubing. Instead we got a harsh glaring blue/white light. "Oh, you'll get used to it," proponents said. People get used to potholes in San Diego, but it doesn't mean we prefer them to smooth streets. But the visual unpleasantness of the new sign is only one aspect of why it deserves an Onion. A decision was made concerning a historical resource by not seeking due process before the Historical Resources Board. HRB has reviewed other signs before including the Kensington Sign. Why not the Hillcrest sign? Those of us who would have participated in public discussion of the sign's fate would have liked to have had the opportunity to do so. This new sign was really sprung on San Diego in a very surprising way. The original Hillcrest sign was built in 1940, some 70 years ago. It is one of Hillcrest's best examples of Streamline Moderne era sign artisan ship. Although it was taken down for refurbishing in 1984, the rehab was done along Secretary of Interior Standards--all like materials were used to preserve the historic appearance. This was not the case in 2011. Glass tubing was replaced by plastic. The night time glow of LED casts a different quality and character of light. But the plastic tubing also looks non historic in the daylight as well. It introduces a non-historic a tan or brownish color to the sign. Also different is the way the LED tubing is so closely mounted to the sign surface. Neon tubing was set more apart from the surface, and therefore produced a very different "floating" visual effect. Also the bright shiny metal clips and framing attaching the LED tubing is yet another added non historic visual element. Replacing the old sign was justified by saying it was no longer affordable to keep it lit and repaired. Interestingly in the bracing discussion concerning the Kensington Sign in 2009, the LED vs Neon discussion was not one that lasted very long. Everyone recognized neon's superior and irreplaceable richness of color and light was worth the exta cost. Nicer things do sometimes cost more. Clearly saving money is not always the smart choice. In terms of "going green" yes the electric bill may go down some with LED. But neon to begin with is already classified as a low energy light source. Being that historic neon is now very rare in San Diego why can't we allow what remains to live on without the threat of "progress?" People love neon because of its historic look and warm character. Certainly we can save our planet, go green, and save our historical resources at the same time. And recognize the value of an investment from the richness of its return both culturally and aesthetically.

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Bringing more color to a neighborhood, great! Making this part of Point Loma more lively, awesome! But on 5055 N. Harbor Drive something has gone horribly wrong. At this address you will find a building that is a hodgepodge of shapes, crazy material combinations, weird blend of colors, funny little corners and numerous awkward setbacks and overhangs. The design of this 2 level office/retail building goes against all basic rules of composition and perception in architecture. Take for example the corner of Scott Street and N. Harbor Drive. At this end of the building a cube shaped volume is surrounded by strangely molded columns that are placed in a circle and are making an arched colonnade. And on top of this all there is a dodecagon shaped roof. Another dreadful eyesore is the elevator tower with it’s monstrous stone elements. And I almost forgot to mention the unpleasant mirror film on the windows and the strangely shaped balconies. This onion is a perfect example of how NOT to build and design a building, anytime, anywhere!

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Built as window-less gym, transformed into a window-less bathhouse, re-used as a window-less event hall and now re-launched as a window-less animal hospital, Bodhi is anything but sustainable. This particular corner of North Park has suffered from brutal, unyielding architecture all its life. Unfortunately, the birth of Bodhi is just as brutal and unwelcoming as before. Sustainability is not purchasing a sea of polycarbonate solar tubes that offer zero cross ventilation. Sustainability is not designing massive steel support arms that require massive footings to support delicate solar arrays just to egotistically flaunt perceived sustainability. Sustainability is not walling yourself off to the pedestrian experience in a walk-able community such as North Park. Sustainability is not supplying a pure white canvas that welcomes graffiti and requires hundreds of gallons of white paint over the buildings life time to maintain. Just because you throw some Solar Tubes, Solar Panels and some Cactus on a project and paint it pristine white, does not make it a project that is SUSTAINABLE.

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Proposed construction of two mixed use buildings with a total of 110 dwelling units, 20,027 sq. ft. of office use, and 6,109 sq. ft. of retail & restaurant uses. The project also includes additional religious use facilities on the 30,612 sq. ft. site at the St. Paul's Cathedral site between Fifth Ave., Olive & Nutmeg & Sixth in Bankers Hill/Park West. One building is 180 feet (17 stories) which requires deviations from the 150 foot height limit and the second is 150 feet (13 stories). These glass towers totally overwhelm the footprint of the historic Cathedral, diminishing its historic integrity and impact the historically designated La Moderne Apartments on Sixth Ave. An older apartment will be demolished and the two towers will only offer 11 affordable units with the other 99 at market value. Bringing downtown style skyscrapers to the Uptown District, with one in the flight path, surely is a highly suspect project especially with St. Paul's selling the parcels for development. What is to say whatever plans are approved now will end up as the final project in a new developer's hands. This project has not been well received by the Uptown community over the 4 plus years that it has been through public hearings. Overall the project's mass,bulk and scale are out of proportion to the existing community's built environment and insensitive to its proximity not only to the Cathedral but also to Balboa Park.

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A WalMart? REALLY? When I heard that serious talks are progressing with Walmart to build one of their superstores in a vacant lot at Market & 47th Streets, I was shocked. Can it be that an "innovative" non-profit is entertaining the notion of building not just any big box store, but the biggest, most controversial and ethically challenged big box store? There are other options. If they must go big box, Target or Costco would be a more responsible choice. No Walmart in San Diego. Please. 

There's a lot of information out there as to what's not right with Walmart, but here is a local news video that starts to explain what's happening:  http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/sandiego-explained/article_9fd44f9c-3af1-...

More: http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/survival/article_421152d2-c86e-11e0-b2cf-...

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Another Onion to the San Diego Unified School District's onion collection! Can't believe this one slipped through the cracks for so long. It opened in 2008. Located among historic Victorian homes in Sherman Heights, the architecture of the school references back to its surroundings. The school's mass is broken down into multiple forms that look like houses, but the scale is just completely off. None of the materials or details that make Victorian residential architecture interesting are included on the school - likely because of both cost and the ongoing maintenance of these materials. So if you can't reference and reinterpret something well, then don't do it at all.

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Located at driveway of 1325 Pacific Hwy. at the Bayside by Bosa. This outstanding builder has allowed a blue metal sculpture to destroy beautiful palms and flowers. Please compare to driveway at The Grand North and South. It simply does not fit the surroundings and adds a park bench more appropriate to the Sante Fe Depot. The piece might fit the Embacaero or County Fairgroudsd but not a well designed building. Was this "art" required by the City?

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Unable to descripe, should be hands down winner without voting. I'd take a picture but camera might blow-up in discuss. I'll let someone else do the dirty work of a photo.

From AECCafe.com:

"The new 332,150-square-foot Public Safety Center is a five-story structure with 212,750 square feet of parking integrated on three levels. The state-of-the-art facility includes administrative and operational space for all police divisions. It also features a modern communication and dispatch center, an emergency operations center, community meeting room, indoor firing range, crime laboratory, property processing and evidence storage area, short-term custody facility, and a central data center. The team designed the “green” building to meet the LEED Gold standard, installing energy efficient IT and AV equipment throughout the building to reduce energy consumption. The project includes an energy efficient mechanical system, natural ventilation, solar power, an efficient lighting system and other renewable energy highlights."

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