Orchids & Onions

Context + History: Located in the picturesque back country of San Diego Co. the very small historic St. Bartholomew’s Chapel was destroyed by a wildfire that ravaged the Rincon Indian reservation in late 2007. Only the original adobe bell tower and original Mission bell survived, which would become the anchor element in the redesign planning. The needs of the current community changed significantly over the past 100 years. The fire presented a “blank slate” opportunity to expand and update the facility primarily by doubling the seating capacity and adding a standalone multipurpose social hall which created and framed a third space; an outdoor prayer garden. It is a beautiful project that is even better experienced in person, the drive alone through the backcountry makes the visit worth it. Design Objectives: The new design by Kevin deFreitas Architects, was conceived to reverently knit together “past” and comfortable traditions, while acknowledging and offering something relevant to current and future generations. Thus, emulating or recreating the past literally was not a project goal. Native American as well as Catholic/Christian symbols and metaphors were referenced in every design element; plan, section, and elevation as a way to infuse meaning into the chapel on several layers. Sustainability + LEED: In an effort to reconnect with traditional Indian culture of living “lighter” on the land, the client specifically requested that the redesigned project incorporate a thoughtful complement of green materials, efficient technologies, and sustainable strategies. Low tech high mass walls, oversized roof overhangs, skylights, protected operable and clerestory windows were combined with high tech products such as a thin film solar PV system, a tankless water heater, a computerized lighting control system, and high performance glazing and insulation. The result, a building that consumes approximately 26% less power, and 35% less water than comparable structures. The chapel is currently pursuing LEED certification at the Gold level. Natural Materials: The Chapel utilizes a significant amount of site harvested building materials; the signature element being the massive rammed earth walls that flank the sanctuary, each nearly 60 feet long, 18 feet tall, and 2 feet thick-a first in San Diego County. Symbolically important, these beautifully textured and organic walls are literally molded from 120 tons of sacred reservation soil. Other eart

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Completed in January 2010, the newly remodeled Mormon Battalion Historic Site is a drastic improvement from the original visitors center. Overlooking Old Town San Diego, visitors are welcomed by the entry plaza with a water feature, battalion statue, period cannon and a wagon (which you can climb into!) This begins your INTERACTIVE experience through the museum. Passing rocking chairs while entering the foyer, pictures of battalion members come to life and start talking to you! Taking you back in time, you enter a series of rooms, each detailed with period artifacts. From a tent camp to an old fort, the attention to detail is on the same level of work from Disney Imagineers. Concluding, you can pan for gold, make bricks, and eventually climb the tower to view a scenic lookout of Old Town. Not only is it fun, but an informative journey to learn about the men, women, and children who walked the longest military march in history! It is more than a museum but a memorable experience for the whole family. Not to mention, a great addition to the Old Town State Historic Park.

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Let's put the traffic, parking and our beloved Barrio Logan issues aside for a moment...The proposed new Charger stadium stretches from K Street to Imperial Avenue and takes up several city blocks. The rendering, released in May of this year, included PETCO Park and downtown San Diego. FUNDING for the estimated $900 million to $1 billion stadium is STILL IN LIMBO. The Centre City Development Corporation is still waiting for approval to lift its property tax/spending “cap”. Right now, the CCDC has a project list that costs about $1.5 billion but less than $400 million to build them. The last reported annual operating income of the Chargers was $41.6 million for the 2008 season, excluding revenue sharing. San Diego voters appear to be aware that the Chargers franchise is quite profitable and needs no subsidies: 71% percent of respondents to a Channel News poll on December 11, 2009, said that taxpayer dollars should NOT be used for stadium construction. This comports to a June 15, 2002 Union-Tribune poll wherein 61% of respondents said that they were opposed to using public money to keep the Chargers in San Diego. Nevertheless, the City and the Chargers appear to be planning a new stadium using public monies. The cost of a new San Diego stadium at the currently hypothesized downtown site is now estimated to be $800 million. The Chargers are proposing to invest about $200 million to build a 62,000 seat stadium, with the balance to come from: $500 million public tax dollars in the form of tax increment bonds to be paid from property and sales taxes, and $100 million from a National Football League (NFL) financing program. However, the NFL funding is apparently not available, so the public financing could be about $600 million. Moreover, with the latest construction proposal, a retractable roof, the $800 million estimate may well be significantly low. The new roofed stadium of the Dallas Cowboys that opened in 2009 cost $1.2 billion, of which owner Jerry Jones put up $800 million. Now, about that traffic... read the Grand Jury report: http://media.signonsandiego.com/news/documents/2010/05/19/100520qualcomm...

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The City of La Mesa has committed an urban design crime! The civic center redo has recently been mugged by a beast of a building and ironically enough, the police are the perpetrators. This bad neighbor completely turns its back on the city and has massive and mean blank walls on all sides. Sadly enough it is the citizens of La Mesa that will be serving time for this one. Please, and I do mean please, book this one with an onion!

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Inland North San Diego County, of which Escondido is at the core, is emerging as a regional economic leader in the forefront of job development and new industries. As the City has grown, replacement of the aging Main Fire Station No 1 became a priority. The passage of a local bond measure in 2004 allowed for the replacement of the existing station which was originally completed in 1966. The project included the construction of a new 28,340 square foot six bay fire station, 2,500 SF hose tower and 5,000 SF Reserve Building. The station itself is designed to accommodate 19 firefighters per shift. Among the features are 19 individual bunk rooms, kitchen, dining area, dayroom, fitness room and administrative offices. Also included is a training room for the department as well as a community room for community activities. Operational spaces include turnout lockers, decon and laundry facilities, hose storage, and a workshop. One of the main features of the station is the History Room at the entrance to the station which was designed to house the original 1926 engine that the city has restored. In addition the area is designed with a wall mural depicting historical events in the Department’s past and other memorabilia from the department=s long history. Also included in the project is a 2.5 acre training grounds incorporating a 6 story training tower with 2 burn rooms, a confined space prop, a trench rescue prop and a roof prop. It will enable the department to run both wet and dry training exercises, utilizing stairs, balconies, ladder access and roof access, as well as live fire training in the burn room. The training grounds are designed to allow for hose and nozzle testing, as well as providing an area for practicing vehicle extraction techniques. One of the features that was incorporated into the training ground area is a 40,000 gallon water vault and pump system to capture and recirculate all of the water used on the training grounds. Exterior site elements include an emergency generator, fueling facilities, and a hose-drying area. The fire station’s stone and stucco exterior, and metal roof relate to the surrounding neighborhood. The use of creative lighting and landscaping enhance the interior and exterior design features of the station. With well executed design and proper planning of required functions, Fire Station 1 provides the City of Escondido Fire Department the necessary tools to fulfill the needs of a growing city.

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