Urban Design

Crouch Street Office Complex (613 Crouch Street)

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:52:28 -0400

I've placed this under Urban Design, however you may wish to move it to architecture as it would be consided an Onion under either category. My reasoning for Urban Design was due to the City of Oceanside's recent plan to improve the streetscape and adjacent structures along Oceanside Blvd, which this project is adjacent to (the attached photos were taken from just south of Oceanside Blvd, which I fondly refer to as Oceanslime Blvd).

About a year ago each City Council person appointed 5 or 6 citizens, for a total of 30-36, to review the street from Coast Highway east to El Camino Real. How 30 plus people came to any conclusion is amazing but a report was submitted to the Council after about six months. Recently a ranch home and stable were removed and the subject office complex built. While the site is surrounded by some less than outstanding examples of urban design including the gas stattion and utility lines, the new buildings do nothing to improve the situation. And since they are recent they only add to what furture developers will use as an example of what they will wish to inflict upon the street.

If any of you have visited Oceanside recently you may be aware that the City is searching for a design style. Sadly it appears it is becoming the Long Beach of north county.

Del Mar Village 15th Street Sidewalk Cafe Project

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:14:45 -0400

The Del Mar Village Association, Main Street program ("DMVA") is proud to nominate the "Del Mar Village 15th Street Sidewalk Cafe Project" for an Orchid Urban Design award. The Del Mar City Council, as part of an overall Village Revitalization Plan, enacted a Sidewalk Café Ordinance in August 2008 aimed at encouraging investment into the downtown.

Within a month of its approval four applications were submitted by existing restaurants (Americana Restaurant, Jimmy O's Restaurant and Sports Bar, Sbicca, and Del Mar Pizza). All of these restaurants are located in a one block area along 15th Street one of the main streets in Del Mar connecting the seaside village to the Pacific Ocean and City parks.

The City Planning Department determined that the appropriate approach to the restaurant applications was to view them all as a single design issue for the entire block. The City required a comprehensive master plan coordinating architectural elements along with pedestrian and landscape features. This comprehensive approach allowed the City staff, Brian Mooney and Adam Birnbaum, individual architects Joe Nelly, James Johnson and landscape architect David Reed, to examine the area from a form and function perspective relating not only to individual restaurants but also to creating activity spaces for the entire community.

The final product created an aesthetically pleasing outdoor ocean view environment that established new place opportunities for both the business community and for Del Mar residents and visitors. The project also enhanced accessibility in an area where meeting ADA standards had been challenging. Finally, the sidewalk cafe project has become an economic success for the City of Del Mar, Americana Restaurant, Jimmy O’s Restaurant and Sports Bar, Sbicca and Del Mar Pizza.

DMVA believes the Del Mar Village 15th Street Sidewalk Cafe Project will be a catalysis for further downtown Del Mar reinvestment and help to shape future urban design and revitalization projects. DMVA is proud to nominate this project for a an Orchid Urban Design Award.

Washington Elementary School

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:07:15 -0400

Washington Elementary, the only elementary school in the downtown San Diego is a hidden gem of Little Italy that was lost in hues of beige undertones. In an out of sight part of this lively neighborhood, this elementary school was screaming for color! With a few strokes of color, (18 colors to be exact) a whole new light and life has been given to Washington Elementary as a learning community asset. Articulating the nondescript 80’s & 90’s architecture by using deep, bright and inspirational tones to delineate the building forms gives them a fresh new identity, reflecting the new vision of Washington Elementary.

Cairo Condominiums

Critica DeVille — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:20:04 -0400

It's perplexing, but the Cairo has been passed over for an Orchid in Architecture for two years in a row. I believe it is still worthy of an that Orchid, but am nominating it instead for an Orchid in Urban Design. Two reasons: First, it has a gorgeous lobby that is a joy to behold both day and night. The front door and lobby present a warm, sophisticated look to the street and sidewalk, and is a generous design gesture made even more significant given the flaccid public entrances that characterize many of its neighbors in Hillcrest and Downtown. Second, the city-mandated ground floor commercial spaces are connected to the residential spaces (live/work). This design type encourages more "eyes" on the street throughout the day and night. Residents feel connected to happenings on the street, thereby augmenting neighborhood security. Enhancing neighborhood beauty AND security ... how cool is that?

VantagePointe

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:54:10 -0400

It's the 800 pound gorillia in the downtown room/boom. Now can you ignore the difficulty this building project has had and then for it to be just standard large structure, no real bells and whistles after all the best promises to be best quality. It's just quantity, period.

Architect's Website: http://www.s2architecture.com/

Development Website: http://vantagepointesd.com/

Utility cans

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:55:49 -0400

The city, SDG&E and Cox have been working on undergrounding the utilities in the Talmadge neighborhood. I think most of us were happy to hear the utility poles and wires would be removed, but we didn't realize that utility boxes and cans would be planted in our yards. A bit of an eyesore.

On the other hand, dogs like sniffing them. In some cases, creative neighbors have tried to hide the boxes with shrubs or make them look less objectionable by surrounding them with decorative plantings and rocks. Little things mean a lot.

Gateway Apartments

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:59:27 -0400

This project could be nominated in several categories, but I chose Urban Design since there are a number of things that this affordable multi-family residential project chose to do to try to give something back to the city.The project has incorporated a lot of public art that is reminiscent of the murals at Chicano Park.Although the architecture itself is somewhat generic, the location of the community building, open space and tot lot on the prominent public corner of Logan and 16th, invites the community to come in and interact with the project. It's like a little pocket park.It contributes to the ongoing revitalization of the Barrio Logan neighborhood, while also helping preserve the area’s heritage and culture. Local artists were recruited to design murals and to create ceramic tile art to further connect this project to residents of the area.

Community @ Martin Bldg. + Flats

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:18:05 -0400

Community’s signature value proposition is: A “boutique” living environment offering unique visual detail and design, combined with lifestyle services for maximum comfort and convenience. Community offers a “lifestyle hub” marked by tech-friendly common areas, seamless design, and special events that allow common interests to emerge and thrive. At Community at The Martin Bldg. + Flats, there is public art displayed, complimentary WiFi for residents, streaming music from Groove24/7 in common areas, and a community vegetable and herb garden in the pool / courtyard area. Upon move in all tenants are given Community reusable grocery bags and the use of Community bicycles located at the property.

The Martin Bldg. + Flats utilizes all common grounds of the property in order to ensure that the living experience of the tenants begins at the entry to the building versus the front door to their apartment. Along with the other value added amenities, there are Community sponsored events including art and music shows for both residents and guests. The Martin Bldg. + Flats is planned for urban living, taking advantage of being located on public transit lines and within three miles of the urban core.

The LWP Group has exhibited great adaptive reuse and urban planning using existing structures, the Martin Bldg. being built in the 1920s and the Flats portion being building in the 1960s. While Community at The Martin Bldg. + Flats has won a Smart Growth Award from ULI and was also a finalist for the Community Vision Award, The LWP Group is planning two more Community branded properties. One will be a residential property and the other will be a business version of the brand.

Check out the film documentary by BREADTRUCK TV of Community @ Martin Bldg. & Flats and another about the 'Conspire' event held @ the property.

Bird Rock Roundabouts and Traffic Calming

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:33:55 -0400

This City of San Diego project converted a 4-lane street with painted median into a two lane street with landscaped median and additional parking. It also converted conventional intersection controls at five intersections to modern roundabouts. The roundabouts allow the street to handle motor vehicle traffic demand with fewer lanes while keeping traffic moving at a steady but civilized pace. The project includes extensive landscaping supported by a maintenance assessment district that the community voted to impose on itself. It also includes neighborhood traffic calming features that discourage cut-through traffic on parallel residential streets. As a result, La Jolla Blvd. has become a much more inviting street for pedestrians and bicyclist, which in turn seems to have revived commercial activity along the street. A key component of making this project a success was the extensive pubic involvement that occurred in the planning phases of the project. The City of San Diego’s planning and capital improvement departments, and the 1st council district all deserve credit for the perseverance it took to make this happen.

Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility

anna w. — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:44:21 -0400

In late June, the County approved plans to construct a 45-acre Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility in the heart of the Santee Town Center, within the urban core of this thriving community of 57,000. The “urban design” the County has selected for this $308 million facility in downtown Santee will be an outdoor jail compound, consisting of low-rise barracks facilities and guard towers, encircled with barbed-wire security fencing. It will encompass 458,000 square feet of jail space, spread out over a 45-acre outdoor jail compound, with interior areas divided by more barbed-wire security fencing, resembling a series of kennels. In sharp contrast to the urban high-rise modern detention facilities located in Vista, Chula Vista, and San Diego, this will be an outdoor jail compound with barracks, comparable to the jail camps in rural East County. Dubbed “Stalag Santee” by many Santee residents, this 45-acre mega-jail camp will be the single largest jail site in the County, encompassing the same acreage as the Santee Trolley Square Shopping Center, located just a block away. It will also be the second largest regional jail facility with 1,216 beds planned. The guard towers and barracks will look out over the new RiverView Corporate Office Park, with two office phases already completed, and future phases in development. If there ever was a project design that would despoil a City’s vision for their urban downtown area, it is this ill-conceived jail project.