San Diego Architectural Foundation

Join us, and your fellow SDAF members, for fabulous food, fascinating film and cultured company at the first official SDAF Member Mixer held the awesome, Orchid-awarded Pearl Hotel. Current SDAF Members get a generous 15% discount off their bill (please remember to tip your servers generously!). Did we mention a very special drink special? Let's just say there's likely to be some toasting involved. We hope you will join us!

SDAF is very pleased to recognize the Barrio Logan Community for their collaboration and commitment to Smart Growth, infill development. Please join us on Saturday, May 3, for a free event at the project on which the 2013 Community Vision Award is based, the Mercado del Barrio. More info here.

Graham T. "Basher" Downes
July 17, 1956 - April 21, 2013

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jon Hinkin  702-267-8354

Celebration of Life for Graham “Basher” Downes
Playoff Bound OMBAC Rugby Closes Out 2013 Regular Season on Saturday

San Diego, CA - The Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC) Rugby Team is looking to continue its winning ways in their Southern California Division One league finale on Saturday. Winners of six of their last seven matches, OMBAC is looking to improve to 8-4 with a victory over a 1-10 Back Bay squad at the Little Q on Saturday, April 27. Kickoff for the A side match will be at 1:00 p.m. with a B side match to follow at 3:00 p.m.
  
In addition to hosting the rugby matches on Saturday, the Little Q will also play host to the Celebration of Life for past OMBAC and U.S. National Team rugby player Graham “Basher” Downes. Downes helped lay the foundation for OMBAC Rugby’s great success in the 80s and 90s and has been a constant supporter of the program to the present. Basher influenced many aspects of San Diego and created friendships across industry and sport, anyone that knew Graham is invited to come celebrate. Images of Downes will be on display at the field. There will be a short ceremony and an open mic between the A and B side matches for those wishing to say a few words in Graham’s memory. A big crowd is expected as many of his USA, OMBAC and KwaZulu Old Crocs teammates, business colleagues, family and friends will be in attendance.

The Little Q is the old Chargers practice field at the South West corner of the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot located at 9449 Friars Road, San Diego, 92108.

In lieu of the usual $5 admission charge, OMBAC Rugby will be asking for a $5 donation that will go to start the “Graham Downes Scholarship Fund.”

Win, lose or draw, OMBAC will finish the season in third place in Southern California but another win would boost their confidence even further for when they travel to Sacramento on May 4 to take on the Sacramento Lions in the Round of 32 National Playoffs.

Come on out and support OMBAC Rugby and share memories of one of the greatest players to have ever pulled on an OMBAC Rugby jersey.
 

Current issues in urban planning, specifically highlighting the possibilities of designing not just for communities, but  with communities, will be discussed at a colloquium this evening, presented in conjunction with The San Diego Museum of Art's interactive installation Beneath the Moon II, Journey through the City. Speakers include Leo Orellana, Architect and Founding Director of Sirchal II; Michael Stepner, Architect and Professor, NewSchool of Architecture & Design and former City Architect; and Eric Naslund, Design Principal/Partner in Studio E Architects and Chair of the San Diego Planning Commission. James Brown of Public Architecture & Planning will serve as moderator.

More information and tickets here.

Happy Holidays!!
Tis the season to believe in something bigger than yourself, so we thought we would share some of the things we believe in - see our manifesto above.

As a architecture and design afficianado, or a member of San Diego's design community, we hope that you recognize the value of having an Architectural Foundation in San Diego, and share some of our passions.

If you are or have been a member, sponsor, or donor, we are exceedingly grateful. You have enabled SDAF to become the vital organization it is today. Help to keep SDAF active and set us up for success in 2013. Please consider enhancing your support, whether through membership or a tax deductible donation, to help us reach our year-end fundraising goal.

2012 has been another banner year for our programming and outreach. Some notable successes include:

• Presented our seventh annual Orchids & Onions program and our biggest and best O&O Awards Ceremony & Silent Auction yet! 2012 saw a revamped website with a more user-friendly interface and hundreds of nominations, all culminating in THE annual design event of the year! Event photos and the complete list of official 2012 Orchids & Onions are available here.
• Hosted our fourth year (16 events total, so far) of PechaKucha Nights, the international phenomenon that provides creative types an outlet to share their ideas, work and thoughts directly with an audience in an informal and social atmosphere.
• Debuted the first Orchid Tour, of Urban Orchids. 35 tours of 15 projects were offered over a 3-day period, all guided by the architects, designers, owners or developers responsible for creating these Orchid awarded projects.
• Self-published Urban Orchids from 2006 – 2011, a guidebook to accompany the tour. Copies of the book are still available for purchase.
• Designed and marketed the first ever Orchid plaques, now installed in numerous Orchid-awarded projects throughout the region. Be on the lookout!
• SDAF curated and hosted an original exhibition, Orchids, Onions and Opportunities (OOO) in a downtown storefront at 877 G Street. Free to the public, the exhibition consists of a series of visions for San Diego based on the realities of the present, inspiring examples from around the world of what has worked well, and the range of possibilities for the future.
• SDAF established partnerships with both Dwell Magazine and Austin-based Modern Home Tours, entitling SDAF members discounted tickets to the respective tour offerings.

We have a lively line up of events on the horizon in 2013; however, without your support, we cannot continue to make these great strides towards our mission to raise awareness about the value of excellence in our built environment. 

We urge you to act now to show your support and belief in the future of SDAF.

From San Diego Architectural Foundation to you and yours, we wish you an amazingly happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year!
 

_{Click here for event update! Love our flyers? See more at PR1ZE.com.}It's time for a pre-holiday, near-year-end PechaKucha!

Come nourish your brain with grain-fed ideaburgers cooked up on stage in the form of our 20 images x 20 seconds presentations at PechaKucha Night San Diego: Volume 16.

SDV16 will be held under the stars in the courtyard of the Orchid-awarded MXD830 (830 25th Street, 92102), and home to Counterpoint, "... an urban tavern, a place to see neighbors, see friends, to feed your body, and, hopefully, your spirit, too."

So skate, waddle or roll on down to Golden Hill, grab yourself a beverage and some yummy eats, find a seat, and let your imagination and senses feast on the organic experiences, adventures, perspectives, projects and passions that our fabulous line-up of PechaKucha presenters have to offer.

This event is generously hosted by FoundationForForm Architecture & Development. Poster created by one of the most creative people we know, Terri Beth Mitchell of PR1ZE - who also happens to be presenting. In fact, we have a fabulous line up in store. Join us!

RSVP on Facebook (recommended, not required)

^{2012 Grand Orchid, the Restoration of Chicano Park. Photo by Darren Bradley. Click on image for more info.}

The official 2012 Orchids & Onions were announced on October 11 at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. In spite of the first rainfall in months, everyone had a blast at the pre-party and silent auction, and the bids were flying! Then, the crowd of 450+ moved into Sherwood Auditorium where Sam "The Cooking Guy" Zien reprised his role as Master of Ceremonies, and the 2012 Orchids & Onions were announced. For a full recap, including awarded projects and event photos, click here.

Join SDAF for the 2012 Orchids & Onions Awards Ceremony & Silent Auction on October 11, 2012 (10-11-12). Held at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla, emceed by Sam "The Cooking Guy" Zien, and with an impressive array of Silent Auction items (which may be viewed and pre-bid on now) - you don't want to miss it!

But really - would you ever want to miss an O&O?

Get your tickets today!

_{click here for printable flyer}

O&O 2012