Even when the building industry is in the dumps, the Pacific Coast Builders Conference finds laudable projects to single out in its Gold Nuggets – Best in the West contest, the results of which were announced Thursday in San Francisco.
“Re-urbanization” and “sustainability,” as well as the usual high-priced bells and whistles that get the jurors' attention, highlighted the 520 entries in 55 categories.
“We all know the pendulum has swung to 'green,' ” said one of the judges, Tom Doucette, president of Doucette Homes in Tucson, Ariz. “But now we are going past the buzzword and seeing thoughtful, interesting design work that takes sustainability as its guideline.”
Of special note this year were two winners from Chengdu, the southern Chinese city rocked by powerful earthquakes last month. Luxe Hills Pebble Beach Villas won a merit award for builder-architect Chengdu Wide Horizon Real Estate Development Co. Ltd. and architect Dahlin Group Architecture Planning, based in Pleasanton. Gold Nuggets producer Peter Mayer said the villas were unaffected by the earthquake.
The other Chengdu winner, Luxetown, received a grand award for site planning. The 1,500-unit, multihigh-rise project is being developed by Chengdu Wide Horizon Investment Co. Ltd. and designed by McLarand Vasquez Emziek & Partners Inc., based in Irvine. Chek Tang, a principal in the architectural firm, said construction is under way on four 30-story first-phase towers but the earthquake did not result in any damage.
San Diego builders and projects always come away with lots of gold in the contest, and this year was no exception. Six grand and 18 merit awards went to local projects. In addition to the Claybourne and Solara projects, highlighted on Page H1, the judges had this to say about the four other grand winners here:
Shops at San Miguel Ranch, a 103,548-square-foot shopping center in eastern Chula Vista patterned after an Italian hill town: “The design team reordered the standard shopping center configuration, setting a series of smaller articulated buildings at the edge of the site, with varying roof forms, building massing and striking Mediterranean architectural detailing, evoking images of the inspirational hilltop towns . . . The result is a center that challenges the conventional standards of design and sets itself apart.”
Ranch House at Del Sur in State Route 56 Corridor, a 3,000-square-foot community center given LEED Platinum sustainability certification by the U.S. Green Building Council: “The building is very unself-consciously at one with its site. The very handsome landscape complements the overall theme and native plant materials are showcased extensively.”
Smart Corner, a 301-unit condo tower in East Village with office and retail space: “The bold form and juxtaposition of the landmark buildings immediately set this project visually apart from other high-rises in downtown San Diego. The projecting triangular decks are an eye-catcher and are in stark contrast to the cubism of the street front . . . I would love to live here,” said one judge.”
Casa Familia, a 3,498-square-foot home in Point Loma with extensive energy-saving and sustainability features: “The aesthetics of this contemporary home are enough to win it an award based on good looks alone, but its design is also ethical.”
Roger M. Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com
