Qualcomm, Photo museum, Segal win design awards
The annual design awards from the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects produced three honor recipients Thursday, fewer than the usual number granted during the past 56 years.
But the non-local jury heaped praise on them all as models for other architects and developers to follow.
Steve Shinn, chairman of the awards committee, said the winning projects generally reflect a design approach that tells passersby what a project was made of — wood, concrete, metal — instead of trying to hide the “bones” behind fake walls or using manmade rather than natural materials.
“What I saw from the jury in terms of projects selected was a focus on clean, contemporary architecture with a strong focus on the use of authentic materials and an expression of materials and a focus on craft and detail,” said Shinn, an architect at the architectural firm Gensler, which won two awards.
He said while the jury judged from afar using photographs and floor plans, it also looked at how architects approach energy and water sustainability and incorporate features that promote health and wellness.
The institute’s executive board also granted a legacy award to Qualcomm Stadium in a continuing campaign to speak out against razing the 49-year-old facility if either of the two stadium-convention center ballot measures passes on Nov. 8.
“The AIA San Diego board felt it was important to acknowledge a San Diego landmark that is at risk of demolition,” the board said. “The stadium design has received local and national recognition, and it has been instrumental in placing San Diego on the national map. It is important to recognize buildings that have contributed to the legacy of our city.”
Shinn noted that institute members have expressed a preference for keeping the proposed East Village stadium site available for commercial and residential uses and renovating and adapting Qualcomm to the modern needs of NFL game venues.
“It is a gem within a desolate field of asphalt,” he added, “and if there is a way to change that, I think it could become a much more urban, engaging, mixed-use environment around it.”
The Chargers and other proponents of the ballot measures said East Village development would be hastened by a new stadium-convention facility and that Qualcomm Stadium cannot be easily renovated to meet current NFL standards.
Winners of the Honor Awards were:
- Qualcomm’s redeveloped Pacific Center Campus in Sorrento Mesa, designed by BNIM.
- The Museum of Photographic Arts’ redesigned lobby area in Balboa Park, envisioned by Gensler.
- Mr. Robinson, a 36-unit apartment building in Hillcrest, by architect-developer Jonathan Segal.
The jury, chaired by architect Andy Rockmore of Denver-based Shears Adkins Rockmore, also selected five merit awards.Ten other awards went to individuals, projects and firms.
More than 200 people attended the awards ceremony at the Scripps Research Institute auditorium on Torrey Pines Mesa.
Besides Rockmore, the other jurors, all from the Denver area, were Andrew Nielsen of Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Sarah Semple Brown of Semple Brown Architects and Designers, Tom Hootman of MKK Consulting Engineers and Erick Sommerfeld from the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning.
Here are some of the comments the jurors made about the Honor Award winners:
Mr. Robinson: “The elegant concrete and glass forms create a provocative and exciting sense of community anchored to the urban fabric. This building successfully leverages the many benefits of the San Diego climate with a simple and bold execution.”
Pacific Center Campus’s research and development building: “This project displays beautiful integration of passive strategies, such as shading, daylight, natural ventilation and thermal mass, with well-crafted details throughout.”
Museum of Photographic Arts: “This project is an exercise in sublime simplicity. Contrasting the richly complex historic exterior (a reconstruction of the original 1915 exposition building) is a stark white modern interior, superbly detailed and beautiful yet minimal enough for the exhibits to take center stage.”
The other award categories and winners were:
- Merit awards went to Bee Squared Apiaries in Colorado by Rinehart Herbst; Central Plant Club (a fitness facility) by DES Architects + Engineers in Rancho Bernardo; Los Angeles Valley Monarch Student Center by LPA; and The Press in Costa Mesa by LPA; and LPA’s architectural firm office by LPA.
- Divine Details: Mission Beach Boardwalk reconstruction by IS Architecture; and the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park by Gensler architects.
- Energy Efficiency Integration Awards: Petco National Service Center by Smith Consulting Architects, and the Poway Unified School District’s Design39Campus in Del Sur by Nowicki Design Studio.
- Legacy awards (over 25 years old): Salomon Apartments at 3200 Sixth Ave. in Hillcrest by architect Henry Hester and Qualcomm Stadium by Frank Hope Jr. and Gary Allen.
- President’s awards: San Diego Unified Port District integrated planning effort by HKS and architect Christian Rice for his sole-practitioner work and service on Coronado’s Design Review Commission.
- Young Architect of the Year Award: Matthew Geaman.
- Patron of the Year (for developer’s hiring of AIA architects): Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Earlier this month, Pacific Center and Mr. Robinson received Orchids recognition at the Orchids & Onions event, which was sponsored by the separately run San Diego Architectural Foundation. Unlike the Orchids & Onions program, which awards Onions for what judges see as bad design, the institute only praises what it deems to be outstanding work.
roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
