How can we better develop San Diego for our residents?

Please answer in comments below…

Orchids, Onions & Opportunities (OOO) is an offshoot of Orchids & Onions, an interactive, community-based program of the San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF). Orchids & Onions is a public design awards program, its objective is to raise awareness and promote practical discourse in …

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center.  After a decline in manufacturing, Baltimore shifted to a service-oriented economy.  The challenge was to bring the population …

The Hotel San Diego was built in 1914 by

developer and millionaire John D. Spreckles

and was completed for the opening of the

1915 Panama-California Exposition.  Despite

its historic designation and its value as low

income housing, the landmark was demolished

in April 2006 …

When the 2007 Orchids & Onions jury

determined the Onion-worthiness of a surf statue

in Cardiff called Magic Carpet Ride, little did

anyone know what a big splash it would

ultimately make.

Citing criticism from surfers, locals and just …

This land along the Ohio Riverfront in Cincinnati used to be one of the main hubs for freight rail traffic in the United States. In 1997 the citizens of Cincinnati decided that the abandoned rail yards would be the …

Copenhagen’s harbour is in the midst of a transformation from an industrial port and traffic junction to being the cultural and social centre of the city. The Harbour Bath has been instrumental in this evolution. It extends the adjacent park …

Federation Square was one of the most complex and ambitious construction projects ever undertaken in Australia. The result of an international design competition, this public square is the size of a city block, surrounded by cultural and commercial buildings and …

Toronto’s waterfront was once an active waterfront port, but as land prices increased, factories relocated leaving a graveyard of abandoned and polluted industrial buildings. In addition, a freeway had been build along the waterfront that created a physical barrier between …

San Diego’s Convention Center has been a prominent feature on the bayfront since 1989. It has been criticized by many for blocking access to the bay. The existing structure requires a mountainous ascent to gain direct access to the bay …

What would make San Diego a better place?

 …

To prepare for Balboa Park’s Centennial Celebration in 2015, the City of San Diego has approved a plan to remove all vehicles from the Plaza de Panama, the heart of Balboa Park, and restore pedestrian accessibility.

The project, spearheaded by …

The San Diego Chargers have been itching to get a new stadium for years, with threats of moving to LA or further if they don’t. Sites from all over San Diego County have been considered, with the fledgling residential community …

In November 2011, the USS Midway Museum formally presented their proposal for constructing a park on Navy Pier. The park is planned as mitigation the partial obstruction of waterfront view corridors from the placement of the USS Midway. Since that …

For years San Diego’s iconic County Administration Building (Orchid, 2000), known as the ” Jewel on the Bay”, has sat in a prime location on our waterfront straddled by surface parking lots. Finally it is getting its due.

An area …

This long-planned private development is in a prime location where Broadway meets Harbor Drive, on the former site of Lane Field, home to the Padres from 1936 to 1957. Since the 1960’s this 5.8 acre site has been a surface …

This waterfront park would likely never have happened were it not for a forward-thinking husband and wife design team with a vision for San Diego. Lloyd Ruocco, a noted local modernist architect and his wife Ilse, a designer and artist, …

Despite encompassing only three blocks along San Diego’s downtown waterfront, this first phase of the North Embarcadero, which broke ground in January 2012, is more significant that its size implies. More than 15 years in the planning and design stages, …

Brooklyn Bridge Park is a result of more than two decades of design, planning and community activism. Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park transforms 85 acres (1.3 miles) of post-industrial waterfront into a thriving civic landscape composed of …

The Oslo Opera House was built as part of a design competition to provide a home for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Owned an operated by Statsbygg, an agency of the Norwegian government, the building covers a total area …

Millennium Park is a 2.5-acre public park located near the Lake Michigan waterfront in Chicago, IL. It was originally intended to celebrate the millennium, when construction began in 1998, but it wasn’t finished until 2004. The park includes several different …

The wave decks in Toronto are a part of a greater revitalization project of the Toronto waterfront. A major focus of this revitalization was a continuous pedestrian path along the waterfront and a consistent design signature. When Toronto was used …

“Embracing the water at its center, it is a loop focused on the water, an observation point for the sky overhead, the water below, and the city skyline beyond.”

This proposal is the winning design in an international competition to …