One of the first of its kind in San Diego, Good Earth Living Architecture installed a 1600 sq ft “extensive” green roof on their existing one story, wood framed building originally completed in 1960. Intended as both a demonstration and research garden, several dozen varieties of plants are surviving and thriving in only 4” of custom blended growth media, utilizing (2) low-use irrigation systems. A pioneering endeavor, the green roof team has had to overcome many obstacles including little existing information on a vegetated rooftop in an arid climate, developing and securing a successful growing media, nay Sayers and the permit process.

The green roof has saved the company 23.5% in their energy bills from one year to the next, holds onto 70% of a storm event and then slowly filters the excess and has provided noise reduction from low flying planes taking off from nearby Montgomery field. An oasis in Kearny Mesa’s industrial zone, the roof top attracts birds, bees, butterflies and other insects as well as cooling down the roof, which would otherwise contribute to the Urban Heat Island Effect. Passersby do a double take when the green roof is being tended to and the plants on the roof’s outer edge are clearly visible from the street.

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In October 2007, the Office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities and the Center for the Humanities, in the Literature building, Warren College campus, UCSD, completed a renovation project of 5,000 square feet of office, meeting, and seminar facilities. This included sixteen offices, two large conference/seminar rooms, and one small conference/seminar room. Also included were copy rooms, storage rooms, and kitchen facilities. The design aesthetic, characterized by linear patterns and neutral tones, pays homage to the brutalist modern and postmodern architecture on campus. Contemporary furnishings were provided throughout, and along with branding graphics, were an integral part of the design profile. Project management was a collaboration between the architectural team, campus facilities construction office, campus facilities maintenance office, Dean’s staff, and campus administration. The renovation included technology upgrades, improved adjacencies, and habitability enhancements. The reason for the renovation was twofold: functional and aesthetic. Functional reasons: The layout of the former offices was inefficient and awkward. As an example, the office of the Dean was the first one encountered from the entrance, and the Dean’s executive assistant was located in the opposite corner to the Dean’s office and the entrance. Adjacencies were inefficient as well. Administrative personnel were not adjacent to one another and important file storage was in a less secure common area. An office was needed for a newly-approved position of Director of the Center for the Humanities, and offices were needed for an expanded external relations staff (fundraising and alumni affairs) with appropriate adjacencies. Deficiencies were corrected and new needs provided for in the re-designed offices. Aesthetic reasons: The offices had not been refurbished since the building was constructed approximately 20 years ago; an updated look and new furnishings were needed to revitalize the space. A primary goal was to provide a contemporary design presentation consistent with the leading-edge artistic practice reflected in the Division. A second goal was to present a design that was inspiring to staff members, faculty and administrators, students, and external constituents and donors. Workspace is directly correlated to productivity, and providing a comfortable, efficient, and inspiring space for employees contributes to the goal of operating a first-class Divisional office. Further, the Division had adopted a strategy of more active fundraising development, and space conducive to receiving potential supporters was an important design factor. A third goal was for the contemporary architectural design to incorporate exhibition space for works of arts produced by Visual Arts Department students and faculty, and curated by a PhD Art History, Theory, and Criticism candidate through a faculty-supervised Graduate Student Research (GSR) program. The renovation was an investment in all these efforts.

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This new elementary school opened its doors to students in September 2007. Named after the legendary Olympic Gold Medalist, Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School (Flo-Jo) in San Diego, was designed to represent the spirit, culture, and diversity of the neighborhood in which it sits. The first school in San Diego Unified School District’s ‘Model School’ Program, Flo-Jo is a Joint-Use campus which serves as a focal point for the neighborhood. Flo-Jo was designed to bring a much needed school back to a neighborhood where the vast majority of the children were being bussed to other schools. The planning process began with the Architect, the City, School District Representatives and an independent community oversight committee (ICOC) which consisted of students, parents, teachers and community members. Numerous “Task Force Meetings” with the City Heights community helped to establish the site plan direction for this Joint-Use school. The project program served as the baseline for planning charettes that contemplated ease of use, a variety of indoor and outdoor learning/activity spaces, site security, and student development objectives. Several site plans were presented to and voted on by the community and stakeholders. The final site plan was truly developed by the community and end user groups, with logistical refinement provided by the architect and School District. Special attention was given to classroom size, providing more classrooms with fewer students per classroom. The campus was designed to resemble a smaller version of a high school or college campus, with numerous intimate outdoor grassy areas for small interactive learning groups, inviting outdoor activity areas, and several indoor/outdoor learning environments which connect the classroom to the landscape. The design itself was inspired by the ‘village-like’ feel of the surrounding neighborhood, with various rooflines, building sizes and vibrant colors used throughout. The multi-purpose building on campus allows for a variety of educational uses. One such space functions as a classroom, a cafeteria, a performing arts space, a gymnasium, as well as an arts and crafts center. When traditional school is not in session, the campus is utilized for community functions such as continuing education courses and town hall meetings. The facility also provides space for before and after school childcare, tutoring, daycare, preschool services, job counseling and other social services specific to the neighborhood. Flo-Jo is a highly sustainable learning environment that utilizes CHPS design guidelines. Each classroom is sited to maximize the use of daylight, and decrease energy costs from artificial lighting. With natural ventilation and cooling systems, and a focus on connecting the classroom to the outdoor learning environment, student health is a top priority. Greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced through the use of recycled materials, sustainable building design, and the generous use of plants and landscaping through the campus. The Joint-Use campus is now the pride of this neighborhood. Its success can be best measured by the words of an Independent Community Oversight Committee (ICOC) leader “This site is part of the larger vision, which will create an urban village with open space, market-rate and affordable housing, recreation and community services…our new schools are helping to revitalize urban neighborhoods”

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Lux Art Institute, slated to be the first LEED-certified “green”art museum in California, opened its doors on November 11, 2007. Designed by renowned architect, Renzo Zecchetto, AIA (whose other significant architectural projects include the award-winning Church of the Nativity in Fairbanks Ranch, Calif., and the Alusa Printing Company in Santiago, Chile), the contemporary crafted “Artist Pavilion” is the first permanent structure for the ambitious Lux Art Institute that had been more than nine years in the making.

The building, expected to receive a LEED-certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, is nestled amidst a wildlife preserve above the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve and blends seamlessly into the native landscape. Zecchetto designed Lux to have minimal impact on its natural surroundings while capturing the views of the lagoon and vistas of the nearby Pacific Ocean. The structure is designed to use renewable-energy sources (making up more than a third of the Institute’s energy use), green cleaning products, bike racks, ample recycle bins, and multiple skylights providing natural sunlight. Lux’s mission to be “green” will also extend to the landscape with a native xeroscaped garden.

Lux is one of the first facilities in the United States with an artist-in-residence program in which significant international, national, and regional artists are invited to live and work on site while producing a commissioned work of art. This one-of-a-kind institution promises not only to let visitors “see art” but also to “see art happen.” The structure includes living space and a working studio for the artist, as well as state-of-the-art exhibition space, administrative office, library and conference room. The opening of Lux marks the completion of the first phase of construction of the expansive project. When done, Lux Art Institute will have two face-to-face buildings separated by a series of gardens. Indoor paths will guide the way through vaulted exhibition spaces, public lecture areas, a library, administrative offices, a museum store, and an event plaza at the top of the knoll.

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Portland Press Herald By ELLIOT SPAGAT, The Associated Press June 16, 2008 It seems like an idea any environmentalist would embrace: Build one of the world's largest solar power operations in the Southern California desert and surround it with plants that run on wind and underground heat. Yet San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and its potential partners face fierce opposition because the plan also calls for a 150-mile high-voltage transmission line that would cut through pristine parkland to reach the nation's eighth-largest city.

The showdown over how to get renewable energy to consumers will likely play out elsewhere around the country as well, as state regulators require electric utilities to rely less on coal and natural gas to fire their plants – the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. Providers of renewable power covet cheap land and abundant sunshine and wind in places like west Texas, Montana, Wyoming and California's Mojave Desert and Imperial Valley. But utility executives say no one will build plants without power lines to connect those remote spots to big cities. "This is a classic chicken and the egg," said Michael Niggli, chief operating officer of Sempra Energy's utilities business, which includes SDG&E. "No one can develop a project if they can't send (the electricity) anywhere. You need transmission."

SDG&E's $1.5 billion power line would cut 23 miles through the middle of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a spot known for its hiking trails, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and spectacular mountain views. "This transmission line will cross through some of the most scenic areas of San Diego," said David Hogan of the Center for Biological Diversity. "It would just ruin it with giant, metal industrial power lines." Environmentalists are pushing for renewable power to be generated closer to heavily populated areas, rather than brought in from distant sites. They point to Southern California Edison's ambitious plan for solar panels on Los Angeles-area rooftops as an example of a better approach. Utilities say the roof panels will help but won't produce nearly enough power to satisfy state requirements. The California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote as soon as August on SDG&E's proposed Sunrise Powerlink, which would carry enough power for about 750,000 homes – or more than half of the utility's customers. SDG&E's proposed route through Anza-Borrego, California's largest state park, ranked second-worst among seven possible routes studied by state and federal regulators for environmental damage.

The plan calls for 141 towers through the park at an average height of 130 feet. The entire route would include 554 towers from the wind-swept desert of the Imperial Valley to a site near the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. SDG&E would build the power line but buy the juice from a host of generating companies whose proposed plants harness energy from the sun, wind and underground heat. The most ambitious generation project relies on a commercially untested technology for a gigantic solar plant. Stirling Energy Systems Inc., a Phoenix startup, wants to build 12,000 solar dishes, each four stories tall, near El Centro, about 100 miles east of San Diego. That plant would initially feed into an existing power line and provide enough electricity for more than 200,000 homes, said Bruce Osborn, Stirling's chief operating officer. Stirling, however, would need more transmission capacity to pursue plans to triple the size of the plant, he said. The technology relies on mirrored dishes collecting sunlight to heat gas and drive the cylinders of an engine. It has been tested on six solar dishes in New Mexico but now would move to mass production – drawing plenty of skepticism from environmentalists. "It's what we call new product introduction," responds Osborn, a former project manager at Ford Motor Co. "Everyone who builds a widget does the same thing. This is a big widget." Even without Stirling, SDG&E has other, traditional renewable power generators knocking on its door with deals to provide power – far more than the utility could accommodate, said Sempra Energy's Niggli.

Environmentalists have dueled for years with Sempra Energy, SDG&E's parent company, over operations just south of the border in Mexico that help supply power to the western U.S. Critics claim Sempra built the plants in Mexico to skirt more rigorous environmental reviews in the U.S. They suggest SDG&E's proposed power line, which would start near the Mexican border, is part of a disguised effort to get electricity into the U.S. from Mexico, where Sempra has an electricity plant and the first liquefied natural gas terminal on the West Coast. SDG&E dismisses those claims as a conspiracy theory. "It's like the myth that won't die," Niggli said. Stirling Energy Systems (SES) admitted in CPUC hearings that it could build its proposed, if fanciful, 300 MW first phase without a new powerline. SES currently has only 6 hand-built prototypes of its dish technology undergoing testing at Sandia National Lab, yet it claimed it could scale up to 12,000 operational units in less than 4 years.

A 2007 report from Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI), a firm with more than 1,900 global consultants, estimated that the SES technology would cost about $6/Watt installed capacity, whereas SoCal Edison is estimating that its recently announced roof top PV solar project in the LA region will cost about $4/Watt and would also not require spending money on a big powerline. SDG&E's parent company, Sempra Energy, just completed construction of a major LNG facility in Baja Mexico. Sempra owns a large natural gas fired power station in Baja Mexico. Federal law prohibits reserving the use of powerlines for any particular type of technology, so SDG&E can't promise to use its proposed powerline only or even mostly for renewable energy -- once the line is built Sempra can use it for any type of power it wants. According to CA Energy Commission data between 1980 and 2006 SDG&E ratepayers on average paid 23% more for power than the ratepayers in the rest of California, despite the less regulated "business friendly" nature of conservative San Diego, yet CalFires reports that failed SDG&E powerline equipment was responsible for 3 of the recent devastating fires -- where is the money going? Why would SDG&E. the California utility with the lowest use of renewable energy in California, propose to use an experimental solar technology to justify building a ~$1.5 billion fire-spawning powerline from just north of the Mexican border to within spitting distance of the LA electricity market rather than invest this money in rooftop PV or other proven renewable and other locally-based energy generation technologies? Because SDG&E/Sempra would make a guaranteed return on investment on the powerline paid for by ratepayers, create new cutomers for Sempra's LNG import facility in Mexico, and get cheap transmission rates to ship power from Mexico to LA.

Sempra is about making money for its shareholders, not looking for the best solution to energy needs. Let them make their claims, but look at alternatives. Just because SDG&E/Sempra says this line is good for ratepayers and the environment doesn't mean this is true. There are cheaper, cleaner solutions to southern California's (and America's) electrical energy needs including local generation, upgrading existing powerlines and using energy more carefully.

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When an architect first chooses a concept on which to base his or her design, the difficult process of designing and building is just beginning. If the established concept was made with a thorough understanding of the needs of the users, the available resources, and existing constraints, then the resulting project will likely be deemed successful. However, if the concept is established without the understanding and respect of these characteristics and pursued to the nth degree solely for the satisfaction of the architect's ego, then chaos ensues. Such is the result of the sanctuary building and other site improvements recently completed at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla.

In the case of this building, Stanley Saitowitz and his designers created a building that is dangerous to its users, creates an extreme amount of discomfort during religious services, and ignores the basic operational needs of building maintenance. The use of materials consistently clashes - acid-washed precast with plastic light switch cover plates, dark hardwood floors abutting WalMart storefront systems, and long expanses of highly finished drywall with light washing across the surfaces showing each and every imperfection.

Modular pavers used in the courtyard (where there modularity is not only ignored but blatantly disrespected) continue into the interior space, where the porosity, joints, and texture make the floor impossible to sweep or clean. Large expanses of single pane glass are etched with scripture and meant to be viewed and read from the outside, but the varying materials, configurations, and light levels and reflections leave the observer struggling to make sense of what exactly is portrayed. Enormous concrete panels are assembled in a way that creates unsightly, uneven, and dissimilar joints as much as 2" wide, all filled with sealant with the care and craftsmanship of an apprentice.

The designer responsible for the site work details spent little time observing the behavior of the users of the site, be they congregants of Beth El or those of a neighboring synagogue who use the property as a path of travel between two parallel streets. Massive stairways are built to the bare minimum standards and are steep, intimidating, and harshly lit at night. The handrail sections have sharp edges and no breaks to allow for users to pass from one side to the other if they choose. For those who cannot use stairs or are pushing strollers, a complete lack of curb cuts between the entry at the bottom of the property to the highest entry point (more than 100 feet in elevation change) must stay in the drives and deal with narrow alleys that only permit two cars traveling opposite directions to pass, with no space left for the pedestrian. Lamp posts placed directly in the middle of sidewalks reduce their effective width such that strollers, wheelchairs, walkers, users of crutches and anyone using a hand cart must divert into the landscaping in order to pass.

On the inside, the symmetry of the seating works against the multiple types of services that are typically conducted within this type of space. With the seats arranged in parallel with facing rows, in all but a few seats the congregants must turn their head for extended periods of time to watch the activity. The rows are spaced such that no one can pass someone who is seated - everyone must stand up. The vertical panels with sharp edges and corners are the cause of constant bruises to the thighs or other more painful parts of the anatomy, and the closed-end rows make egress difficult and lengthy, and often leave multiple seats unused because people simply don't want to deal with the trouble of getting to them. The multiple elevations changes within the space create trip and fall hazards with nearly each event. The seating at the second level is built with stair so steep that most people turn away once they look down from the top level, the designated and only approachable path of travel. The glass panels at the 2nd level completely eliminate any modesty from anyone wearing skirts shorter than ankle length. The same effect occurs from the top looking down onto the first few rows of seats.

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Second Street Studios is a 10,000 sq. ft. mixed use development located in downtown Encinitas consisting of the adaptive reuse of two adjoining auto repair facilities integrated into a new complex of offices, studio space and residential units on the second levels. Ecological considerations were paramount from the initial design stages; including reuse of existing structures rather than demolition, carefully arranged commercial and residential spaces, and low energy use through natural daylighting, ceiling fans and cross ventilation/cooling with coastal breezes. Exterior materials were chosen for permanence, low maintenance and compatibility with surrounding buildings. No bamboo floors, waterless urinals or LEED people were consumed during construction. With the inclusion of the Encinitas Visitor Center as a prime tenant on the street corner, Second Street Studios has served as a further catalyst to the dynamic, walkable street scene in downtown Encinitas.

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This ugly mishmash of styles and architectural features are assembled as though from several incompatible Lego kits.

1. An existing craftsman house was "saved" by tearing it down and rebuilding it from scratch.
2. The scale of the 5 story condo hovers over and totally overwhelms the craftsman.
3. The condo attempts to look like four different buildings on a relatively small lot.
4. The south wall is particulary pink, blank and ugly.
5. Why the ice-cream inspired color palette? It could have had a more natural palette inspired by the colors found in Balboa Park - only a block away.

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This 14-story tower sits on the edge of the manicured grass of Balboa Park, in a very prestigious location. Although not completely finished construction, we already have this one pegged as an Onion. 

It's not the fact that it is a tower that's the problem. It's an appropriate place for a tower since it's crammed up against one of the few high-rise condos in Hillcrest, The Del Prado.

For a development which claims to be "the most prestigious and exclusive residential tower in all Southern California” , it is no architectural gem.

The tower has one residential unit per floor - alluding to the exclusivity once more. It's profile appears to simply be an extrusion of the floor plan, though thankfully it is very slim.

The age old architectural concept of base, middle and top has been thrown out the window as the tower smacks into the ground with no more grace than a rocket crashing back to earth. Oh well, maybe they'll throw some pretty plants around the base and call it done. And can anyone find the entrance? It certainly doesn't address either Upas or Sixth.

Minimal effort has been paid to the articulation of the south facade. The other facades are so flat and bland that they bear as striking resemblance to the high rise federal prison in Downtown San Diego.

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This monstrosity towers over Friars Road. The scale is painful, 7-8 stories of "luxury" apartments carved out of the hillside. Its downtown density that is out of scale with the "neighborhood" (I admit to using that term loosely), and that exists as a brilliant example of a developer's ability to squeeze every square inch of usage out of a space, good design be damned.

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