The RAMCO gas station in Julian was remodeled with no regard to the town's historic character or to the signage requirements of the Julian Architectural Review Board. The station's plastic orange signs and cluttered lot contrasts with Julian's Gold Rush atmosphere. The station's architectural offenses are made to look all the worse because it sits next to the "Julian Coffee House," a quaint and period correct building that enhances the historic quality of Main Street. (See photos of RAMCO and Coffee House.)

Image

Beautiful, graceful titanium & stainless steel wind-driven kinetic sculpture. 15 feet tall. Located in front of main entrance to Scripps Hospital Encinitas, 354 Santa Fe Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024. Installed spring 2009; created 2008.

Image

Trail system throughout Balboa Park mesas and canyons has been rehabilitated, expanded. New signs, path maintenance creates a great urban park trail system.Allows public to enjoy the unique geography of San Diego.

Image

Vacant for many years, the Wonder Bread building has undergone a major renovation and historic preservation through the vision and design direction of Graham Downes, Founder and Principal of Graham Downes Architecture Inc and BLOKHAUS INC, the design-build developer. Appropriately renamed the WonderHaus building, this icon of East Village, San Diego, consists of three contiguous historic warehouse structures and is the foremost landmark of the district. The extensive project took over three years to complete due to unique challenges faced constructing the required improvements to the buildings, including complete seismic, life-safety and universal design upgrades, and assembly occupancy capacity enhancements, all while retaining the sites historic designation. Mr. Downes integrated numerous sustainable design elements including: retention of existing structure with raw, uncoated finishes; extensive utilization of natural light and ventilation throughout; siting in an urban environment in close proximity to basic services and public transportation; special glazing systems; modernizing mechanical and electrical utility components. The renovation team went to great lengths to preserve the historical integrity of the building while recapturing its industrial aesthetic for new uses. The interior spaces are characterized by voluminous ceilings up to 45 feet high, generous use of natural light and skylights, original wood bowstring trusses, red brick, wood beams, raw steel and concrete. In one place the floor is inset with discarded antique manhole covers, a collection of the former developer, and massive round concrete bases that supported cylinders once used for grinding flour. The 55,000-square-foot brick bakery building, designated as an historic structure in 2001, was originally built in 1924 and contains a 16-foot-diameter, 40-foot-tall steel silo where flour was siphoned from trucks to the rooftop of the silo. WonderHaus is now home to an eclectic mix of creative and innovative enterprises and is in high demand for its recently completed event space. BLOKHAUS was founded by San Diego architect, Graham Downes AIA NCARB RIBA LEED AP, in 1998 for urban infill development projects and as a “think-tank” for undertaking special projects. These include the incubation, development and branding of unique businesses relating to progressive urban lifestyles. Downes is joined by Simon Terry-Lloyd LEED AP, an accomplished entrepreneur who focuses on management, new business opportunities and overall strategies for BLOKHAUS. The organization’s experience in urban redevelopment and revitalization primarily consist of adaptive re-use opportunities. More information about the building is available at www.wonderbreadhaus.com, the design firm at www.grahamdownes.com and the developer at www.blokhaus.com.

Image

UCSD Department of Music's new Conrad Prebys Concert Hall opened in May 2009 and gives San Diego one of the finest small concert halls in the world--a mix of astounding acoustics and Picasso-like angular forms. The hall was designed by Mark Reddington of LMN Architects (Seattle) with renowned acoustician Cyril Harris. Harris is now in his nineties and is a world-renowned innovator in concert hall acoustical design. Over the years his projects have included Avery Fisher Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, Minneapolis Symphony Hall, and Seattle's Benaroya Hall. Music critics including the Union-Tribune's George Varga have praised Conrad Prebys Concert Hall for its superb acoustics. The new concert hall (and Conrad Prebys Music Center) are a part of UCSD's emerging urban district at the heart of campus. The concert hall is also noteworthy because Harris says it is his last project, and he also says it is his best--the summation of all he has learned in the course of 50 years of concert hall design. The Conrad Prebys Music Center and Conrad Prebys Concert Hall are named for the San Diego developer who contributed $6 million to name the center, and another $3 million to name the hall. There is much more info about the concert hall and music center here: http://musicweb.ucsd.edu/about/about-pages.php?i=405

Image

This Library project with it's wonderful sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean leant itself well to producing a palette of finishes that enhanced this view. Cool colors, natural finishes and a layout that optimized the view and created a relaxing place in a public setting.

Image

Although not your typical Landscape Architecture project, the San Dieguito Lagoon Restoration Project is a worthy Orchid. This project has undergone over 15 years of planning, design, and permitting and then two years of construction. Today, the San Dieguito Lagoon is emerging as one of the largest and highest profile habitat restoration projects in southern california. The San Dieguito Lagoon Restoration project is restoring 150 acres of coastal wetland habitat. The San Dieguito Lagoon is located at Del Mar, just north of San Diego, California. Southern California Edison (SCE) is working in partnership with the San Dieguito River Park Authority (JPA) to carry out the restoration project. The San Dieguito Wetland Restoration Project has been very carefully designed so that the rejuvenated lagoon will serve as a thriving fish hatchery, a refuge for migratory waterfowl and as an open space for recreational opportunities for local and regional communities alike. A public working group consisting of agency representatives, non-governmental organizations, and interested members of the public, worked towards developing a range of practical means of restoring the San Dieguito Lagoon. Construction is nearly completed. In total, approximately 2 million cubic yards of earth will have been excavated, creating a net of 150 acres of tidal wetlands, on both sides of Interstate 5. A cornerstone of the project is to remove the sand that has plugged the river channel for many years and keep the tidal inlet open in perpetuity. At high-tide, the created wetlands already support a population of snails, crabs, amphibians, small mammals, birds and provide fish a place to spawn and grow. Approximately 400,000 wetland plants were planted throughout the marsh habitats in early 2009. This planted vegetation is already thriving and serves as forraging and nesting habitat for dozens of bird species. The river park’s multi-purpose network of public trails are under construction and will follow the marsh shoreline, punctuated by interpretive wildlife viewing platforms.

Image