The Purple Garden: The Next Phase for Zizhu, Shanghai, China

The Purple Garden, Zizhu | Shanghai, China

In 2016, McCullough was invited by Gafcon to be the landscape architect for the Zizhu Hi-Tech Industrial City. Zizhu is a new urban innovation city in Shanghai China. The project began as an education and technology hub just south and adjacent to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University Minhang.

BRINGING INNOVATION AND BEAUTY TOGETHER  

A joint collaboration between government and corporate development has subsequently enhanced the education experience, while simultaneously stimulating technological innovation for the region of Shanghai.

Today, this new city is home to innovative technology corporations including Scandisk, Intel, and Microsoft, as well as to research and manufacturers of automation machinery, biotech, energy, smart vehicle, and semiconductor technologies.

Phase one of Zizhu includes a lake, known as the Purple Lake, surrounded by residential towers, yacht homes, a commercial district, lake gardens, and a luxury hotel. After the design and plan preparation for phase one was completed, McCullough and Gafcon were invited back for phase two, which included enhanced amenities and features. These include:

• Work force housing

• Business hotel

• Family hotel

• Health center

• Senior housing

• Educator housing

• Equestrian center

• Library tower

• Mobility system (including a sky tram)

• Indoor sports/sky facility

• Family entertainment park

• Aquarium

• Arboretum

• Artist community (with sculpture gardens, exhibition spaces, workshops, etc.)

Currently, these first two phases are well under construction with the Gafcon/McCullough team collaborating for the optimal project outcome.

A LUXURY HOTEL AMID ACRES OF LUXURIOUS GARDENS

Recently, Gafcon was asked to evaluate and assess the specifics of a luxury business hotel on an island at the east end of the Purple Lake. Gafcon retained McCullough to study the gardens that will surround the hotel, which will eventually be the “Purple Garden.”

The garden will be comprised of a series of spaces that will encapsulate the hotel at the perimeter of Purple Lake. Since the hotel is on an island, the garden sits along the edges of the island’s perimeter, which spans across a planned canal on an adjacent island that sits directly between the hotel and a future library tower. 

The gardens, spanning nearly 100 acres, will be located approximately 32 kilometers south of downtown Shanghai on the Huangpu River. The Chinese government ultimately has plans for an ongoing multibillion-dollar river park system that starts just north of Shanghai at the river’s heel.

A GARDEN WITH A MULTITUDE OF INNOVATIVE USES

The anticipated outcome of the project is that it will connect both sides of the river for miles with an unparalleled and world-renowned pedestrian-focused park system. Purple Garden will be this park system’s terminus, as well as the terminus to what will one day be one of Shanghai’s greatest modern environments.

The Purple Garden will serve as an amenity for a luxury business hotel, the new town of Zizhu, and several other southern Shanghai districts. While McCullough is currently in the planning process for the Purple Garden, some of the amenities and features of the garden will include:

• The Sky Tram terminal station

• An immersive interactive walk-through adventure

• An imaginarium

• A black box studio

• An indoor arboretum

• An executive leadership and team building facility

• Food and beverage facilities

• Butterfly pavilion

• An aviary

• A reptile experience

• Botanical gardens

• Children’s playgrounds and adventure zones

• An art academy

We are pleased that Gafcon and their client has been very happy with the work we’ve performed and trust us to continue with the next phase. We are grateful to be involved in such an exciting, highly creative, and cutting edge project and welcome and the challenge!

Currently, phase one is well under construction, so stay tuned as we share more on our blog with the project’s progress.

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Please note our offices will be closed December 23 through January 3, 2021. We look forward to working with you in the New Year!

Luxury Housing in the Heart of La Mesa

Jefferson La Mesa is a 4.77-acre luxury housing development located in the heart of the city of La Mesa. This contemporary garden-style community will add life to an old, abandoned lot that once housed an auto repair business. The multi-level apartments will offer live-work units and will be enhanced by a myriad of amenities:

• Resort-style pool and spa

• Poolside cabanas

• Outdoor fire pits

• Barbeque

• Pet park with a grooming station

EASY ACCESS FOR RESIDENTS

The development is a short walk from the La Mesa Boulevard trolley station, nestled between El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue along Baltimore Drive.

Within close proximity to the bustling La Mesa downtown village and a quick commute to downtown San Diego, home to multiple job and entertainment centers, this new development will bring a renewed spirit to this thriving community.

LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY

We had the privilege of collaborating with a great team, working through challenges that projects bring to us to successfully resolve. This project has been in the pipeline for several years prior to breaking ground, giving us the time to thoughtfully consider how best to address the concerns of the local community.

Our process included having a number of meetings with the city and community. This part of the project is vital to hear what local businesses and residences request so team members can address and find solutions early in the project’s development.

CREATING A PLACE FOR THE COMMUNITY

During the course of these meetings a variety of concerns were raised, such as increased traffic noise and pedestrian safety. As Jefferson La Mesa is a project designed for residents of the local community, we addressed their concerns with a creative solution—a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare along Baltimore Drive with charming planted parkways separating the vehicular traffic from the pedestrian pathway.

Additionally, bike lanes were added connecting to the north across El Cajon Blvd. Planted medians were designed to be incorporated within the project boundaries. This will create a visual buffer from automobiles and will minimize the environmental sound pollution.

A pocket park along Baltimore Drive featuring a live planted wall, seating areas to enjoy the outdoors, and bike racks to lock up your bike will provide a breathing space for pedestrian use.

Additionally, the plantings around Jefferson La Mesa create a lush contemporary garden aesthetic. Drought tolerant and native plantings are used to blend the perimeter of the site to its context. A layering of plant texture is created along the front of the building, combining fine leaf with broader leaf plants, wispy plants mixed with long-blooming plants, creating a dynamic visual experience. The pool area, located at the front of the building along Baltimore Drive, is accentuated by a grove of majestic Medjool Date Palms. Once inside the pool area, a lush blending of vertical plants with deep green hues help soften the building foundation, providing privacy while giving the experience of an urban oasis.

McCullough and the rest of the team prioritized the community’s wishes - to create a desirable, luxury housing development in the growing city of La Mesa.

THE TEAM

Client: JPI

Architect: ARK

Civil: Latitude 33

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Client of Month:
Meridian Development

Poway Commons, San Diego

PROJECTS FOR THE COMMUNITY

Meridian Development, a San Diego-based land development and asset management firm, is McCullough’s Client of the Month for November. The company was established in 2014 on a “people-centric philosophy” that guides every step of their endeavors. Principal partners Guy Asaro, Todd Galarneau, Rey Ross, and Sean Cogswell started the company with a singular purpose:

“To create projects and communities that enhance the lives of people who live, work, and shop there.”

Meridian Development takes tremendous pride in aligning their business relationships with like-minded companies, who also value the responsibility to develop lasting, environmentally friendly communities their customers are happy to call home. Thankfully, McCullough’s approach and purpose for our projects are mirrored in Meridian’s values.

BRINGING TOGETHER DECADES of EXPERIENCE

Prior to starting Meridian Development, each of the owners held senior-level positions at Corky McMillin Companies. Meridian Development benefits from their diverse skills, unique expertise, and large portfolio of real estate experience.

Collectively, the team has played an active role in creating and implementing several major development projects across the nation, resulting in over a billion dollars in retail land sales. Today, Meridian Development is combining their resources to create a full-service land development firm that specializes in:

• Initial site acquisition and finance

• Complex land entitlements

• Processing of environmental and government permits

• Large-scale physical land development

• Build-out construction

RELATIONSHIPS BUILT ON RESULTS

Meridian Development uses a relationship-oriented approach to create local communities for families to enjoy for years to come. In doing so, Meridian Development utilizes their most successful and outstanding business practices while partnering with forward-thinking companies that share the same innovative vision of our future. It is this type of synergy that propels and empowers Meridian Development to create meaningful living quarters for the community.

Presently, Meridian Development is developing Millenia, a 210-acre urban community in south San Diego County. It encompasses nearly eighty city blocks in a pedestrian-friendly grid system.

Millenia, a two-billion-dollar project, is estimated to be one of the largest construction sites in Southern California. A few of Meridian Development’s communities include Metro Row Homes at Millenia, Trio Garden Homes at Millenia and Evo Flats and Towns at Millenia.

MCCULLOUGH DESIGNS COMPLeMENT MERIDIAN PROJECTS

McCullough was delighted to be selected for the landscape design for their projects, Genesis and Pinnacle at Millenia. These two projects were a wonderful opportunity to be a part of this large-scale project and bring our vision to life.

Our most recent project with Meridian Development is Poway Commons, a nine-acre mixed-use community with a family-oriented and pedestrian-friendly community that will provide 141 multi-family residential units and 97 market-rate townhomes and flats.

Included in the plan is 44 affordable apartments created for seniors by Chelsea Investment Corporation and 2.2 acres that are to be allocated strictly for retail usage.

On-site amenities include the following:

• Pathway along Rattlesnake Creek connecting Poway Road to a community park

• Gathering space with a private barbeque and picnic area

• Pocket park located in front of the Poway Library

“This is more than a new development. It’s a call to action to welcome a new diversity of residents who have been waiting to call Poway home.”
—Steve Vaus, mayor of Poway

To learn more about Meridian Development, visit their website > here.

Nicole Hensch
Marketing and Administrative Assistant

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Great Design:
A Balance Between Humility and Courage

Ed Holakiewicz, AIA
Senior Principal,
Architects Mosher Drew

Some weeks ago, we posted an interview with Ed Holakiewicz of Architects Mosher Drew, a leading figure in San Diego’s architectural community. We discussed COVID, design for educational facilities, and his personal goals as an architect. Among the various topics, one of the ideas that came up in our discussion resonated with me:

What kind of research or observations has informed your design process for schools during COVID times?

We’re talking about an environment for learning, much farther reaching than merely COVID. With the Biophilic Design approach, sensory awareness is created with the use of color, textures and light, and healthy environments include improved natural daylighting and filtered airflow. This is a philosophical design concept process, creating healthy environments for people. Both San Diego High School and Mira Mesa High School have embraced an indoor and outdoor learning system that takes their students beyond the classroom experience and into a brand-new multi-environment, dynamic learning setting. —Ed Holakiewicz, AIA | Senior Principal

In thinking Ed’s response over these past weeks, I had some additional thoughts.

Designers can be reactionaries, creating makeshift solutions to problems as they arise.

• Climate change? Throw some photovoltaic panels on the roof.

• Airborne disease? Let’s put Plexiglas shields between people and stickers on the floor.

We often tend to look at these piecemeal solutions as I N N O V A T I O N, when in fact they are small adaptations that do not address the problems head on. For example, the carbon footprint produced by building a large structure out of concrete and gypsum cannot be offset by simply putting photovoltaic panels on the roof. The numbers just don’t add up. It’s the old Whopper-and-a-Diet-Coke thing.

There’s a similar issue with COVID. The Plexiglas and stickers are wonderfully helpful short-term solutions. However, as we look into the future, it makes sense to recognize that humans living in this new and densely urban world will have to contend with airborne diseases as long as we continue to live within reach of each other’s breath. Perhaps if we deal with the air itself, we can obviate the need for Plexiglas screens and six-foot stickers.

Designers can go beyond a reactionary mindset to a progressive one. Let’s take bioconstruction as an example of a design framework that addresses multiple problems at the same time by working against their root causes.

Bioconstruction is the practice of making buildings out of humble materials like hay, wood, and earth. With such unassuming materials, architects have been able to build buildings up to three stories in height that do not tax the environment to the same extent that typical buildings do. Whereas concrete releases carbon dioxide while it cures, these other materials hold embodied carbon in their composition, or in the case of earth construction, they do not involve carbon at all. Additionally, a principal tenet of bioconstruction is the use of passive means to reduce or eliminate the need to produce energy to make a building thermally comfortable and well lit. These buildings have thick walls that keep heat inside when it’s cold or keep it outside when it’s hot. These buildings use glazing in careful ways to promote daylighting and avoid solar heat gain in hot climates.

Bioconstruction also prioritizes the use of local materials to build with. Most strikingly, many bioconstruction projects use material collected, grown or quarried on the construction site itself, eschewing the standard practice of moving materials across vast distances in large trucks. In Bali, for example, the design firm IBUKU has built large homes up to three stories out of giant timber bamboo sourced nearby. In the Southwestern desert of the United States, architects like Rick Joy have been building homes out of earth dug from onsite. These buildings could be left alone for a century, and they would erode or decompose, leaving little trace on the planet of our species’ real estate market’s whims and crashes. Could you say the same about the stucco and concrete boxes that seem to sprout along every road we pave?

The designers who employ and promote bioconstruction are attacking several problems at once:

• Carbon footprint of the construction industry

• Energy used to make buildings comfortable and useful

• Fuel needed to move materials to the site

• Management of demolition waste

They have created a framework, a way of thinking about architecture that goes beyond minimizing our impact on the planet and seeks to eliminate it altogether. Sure, we can put solar panels on buildings, erect green walls, and try to source concrete mix from the closest processing plant, but these are baby steps. Bioconstruction proposes a viable way of taking an actual big step forward, a way of making buildings from the nature around us. This architectural mindset is both ancient and new at the same time, and the advent of robotic construction may enable it to finally compete for cost with conventional construction methods.

Kids inside classrooms with COVID floating in the air? We can make a big fuss about improving HVAC systems and filters. Or, as Ed Holakiewicz of Architects Mosher Drew says, “we can take a biophilic approach to the problem and question whether kids should even be sitting inside all day."

Biophilic design is another framework, distinct from Bioconstruction, based on the premise that humans need sensory and physical connection to nature in order to be healthy and happy. Instead of adding widgets to an indoor classroom to stem the spread of disease, biophilic proposes a simpler solution: teach the kids outside, where the breeze can blow. No room outside to teach? Bring the outside in, let the breeze blow in. Biophilic architecture tends to make use of natural light and ventilation, ample amounts of greenery, as well as views and proximity to nature. By following this suite of design principles that engage several problems at once, architects can tackle the challenge of an airborne illness as well as provide an environment that is well-lit and comfortable. In order to combat COVID, architects could specify fancy filters to be installed in the HVAC system. To reconcile the need for ample lighting while minimizing energy use, the latest LEDs could be specified. To foment a connection with nature, architects could specify giant posters of landscapes to be pasted to the walls. Instead, they could just design classrooms that are indoor/outdoor spaces and solve all three problems with one smart move.

Benjamin Arcia, M.U.D., ASLA
Senior Associate,
McCullough Landscape Architecture, Inc.

What I appreciate about Ed Holakiewicz’s design mentality is that it demonstrates how there are two different flavors of pragmatism, the kind which puts the Band-Aid on a scraped knee, and the kind that builds a handrail so you don’t fall in the first place.

We share a similar mentality at McCullough. Whether a project involves urban design, landscape design or land planning, we are versed in the varying frameworks of thought which informs smart decision-making in each realm of the built environment. Our staff is passionate about design movements such as Permaculture, Restoration Agriculture, New Urbanism, Landscape Urbanism and Biophilic Design. We understand that we stand on the shoulders of giants, people who came before us who have tested and proven design methodologies throughout decades, and in the case of New Urbanism, centuries. Being smart enough to borrow existing good ideas from others takes humility; being ambitious enough to push those ideas into new frontiers takes courage and conviction. We find that great design lies in the balance between humility and courage.

Benjamin Arcia, M.U.D., ASLA
Senior Associate

The Next Housing Wave Builds in La Mesa

Shasta Homes, La Mesa

Shasta Homes is a suburban neighborhood located in La Mesa, California. The unique development is an addition to an aging community. It is likely the first phase of the gentrification of these multi-family, single family mixed communities gaining popularity all over America.

Housing a Working-class Demographic

Communities like these are generally a ten to thirty-minute drive off arterial freeways from major cities, mostly in urban locations. Largely constructed as a result of the rapid urbanization of cities right after World War II, industrialization was making cities less desirable. People drove their automobiles a short distance to keep the urban machine humming. Along Shasta Lane sits several large apartment communities, all built in the 50s and 60s. Within close proximity are single family homes mostly occupied by aging adults, many who have retired from their careers. The surrounding apartments are dated, but command healthy rents. They are typically for a younger, working-class demographic, and by comparison to home ownership, offer more affordable living.

The Silver Rush and Population Growth

A new trend is rapidly emerging in the historic La Mesa community. What you’re seeing is a higher end, in-fill developments, like Shasta Homes, become the next wave of residential development at least for some years to come.

The “silver rush” trend is spreading throughout real estate development in San Diego. Quite simply, the silver rush defines the growing rush of immigration to our area from other metropolitan areas.

In Search of a Healthy Lifestyle

San Diego has become synonymous with one of the country’s healthiest, outdoor lifestyle. As a result of Covid-19 and the degradation of our natural world, people are seeking a more holistic and healthy life. Places like North Park, South Park, Golden Hill, Rolando, the College area, and La Mesa have many of the amenities similar to downtown, but also offer a personal connection to nature and parks.

Shasta Homes is just a short walk to Lake Murray Shopping Center; and, it’s a short distance from the Interstate 8 freeway, the trolley and other transit hubs. Each unit is stacked like a townhome and everyone has a garage, but the density is compact. Residents have spaces to socialize, a small outdoor community area and mail delivery at a central location.

Finding the Balance Between Private and Social space with landscape

From a site/landscape perspective, our goals were simple:

• Create spaces for both privacy and socialization on a small lot.

• Accommodate spaces for several households.

• Provide residents with a simple and elegant connection to natural elements.

• Design to accommodate storm water run-off that doesn’t negatively impact neighbors.

• Maintaining the soul and context of the community.

For privacy, we choose plant material that naturally grows vertically, and placed this material strategically to provide a sense of separation in key areas. By contrast, in other areas, the design encouraged socialization.

A number of key design elements enhanced the development:

• We clustered mailboxes and placed a garden area close in proximity so that residents could open and read their mail.

• The development also sits on the edge of a small canyon. Here we provided a social area where small groups could gather and appreciate this natural element.

• We provided easy access for residents to the area, to simply unwind and appreciate the local wildlife.

To address storm water run-off, we provided several areas for storm water to drain through plant material, which has natural filtering properties. We provided permeable pavers to give water an opportunity to soak into the ground before moving off the site over hard surfaces. Another signature design element of McCullough, similar to other projects we’ve designed, was to provide a natural plant material treatment. We have found that in small confined urban in-fill developments like this, sometimes the simplest, most important thing we as landscape architects can provide works well to the overall health and wellness of the residents.

A beautiful, simple connection to a landscape that replicates nature in its fullest

From a site/landscape perspective our goals were met at Shasta Homes. As this area of La Mesa gentrifies, and becomes home to the next generation, we feel we have helped contribute towards something special here.

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Client of the Month:
De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio

Linda Vista Apartments, San Diego

This month we introduce De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio as our October Client of The Month. De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio (also known as DRBDS) is an Australian born, San Diego-based design firm, which specializes in modern design projects that incorporate dynamic and intelligent concepts to inspire the way we live and connect.

The company was founded by Pauly De Bartolo and Ivan Rimanic, who first met in 2005 after they both relocated to San Diego from Sydney. An Australian architecture and development company invited Pauly and Ivan to the United States to help start an international office. However, the 2008 recession caused the company to close up and head back to Australia. Pauly and Ivan decided they had different plans, and instead created De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio.

Blending regulations with creative solutions

De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio’s socially impactful, sustainable, and contextually sensitive solutions are what sets them apart from their competition. The firm is comprised of leading professionals who take great pride in their knowledge of community regulations to find creative solutions for their clients to maximize their investment.

Additionally, De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio’s active approach to engage ideas from clients and consultants, ensures that each design embodies the firm’s core values and aspirations as a design practice.

Today, De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio focuses on single-family, multi-family, high-rise, hotel and master planning with a variety of projects throughout California, Arizona and Texas.

Prominent projects include:

• The Point Apartments

• Greystone Row Homes

• 1400 Park One

• The Mill at Broadway

• Indiana Street Row Homes

“These two gentlemen truly care about the built environment…and are incredibly creative and professional”

We at McCullough have had the pleasure of working with De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio’s on numerous projects over the years. “I’ve known both Pauly and Ivan from the days we worked together when they first arrived from Sydney,” says David McCullough. “We had been working on hotels and residential towers for both San Diego and National City. Since then, we have worked together on projects around the world. These two gentlemen truly care about the built environment in a meaningful way and are incredibly creative and professional. Above all, over the years we have become very close friends. In many ways, I feel like we have grown up together in the industry and the projects we have worked on together are those that I am personally most proud of today.”

A large mixed-use development in Linda Vista

Our most recent project with De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio is Linda Vista Apartments, a proposed five-story mixed-use development in the Linda Vista community that boasts nearly 50,000 square feet for residential dwelling units.

Three of those units are dedicated to very low income (VLI), in addition to a hotel SRO component, and a retail space. The central area of the space consists of a large communal courtyard area surrounded by lush landscape, providing a unique shared amenity space.

Some of these amenities include an outdoor space for grilling and dining, a setting for neighbors to socialize and enjoy a sense of community. A large stairwell creates outdoor amphitheater-style seating which is perfect for holding larger events.

We look forward to working with De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio in the years to come and sharing the completion of Linda Vista Apartments. To learn more about De Bartolo and Rimanic Design Studio, visit their Instagram @dbrds.

Nicole Hensch
Marketing and Administrative Assistant

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Innovative Architectural Features That Improve a Public Space

Micro Suites at Alexandria

By Skylar Ross, Contributor, Innovative Building Materials

If you own a building in the heart of a bustling city, you know just how valuable the public space around it is. Sidewalks and other public areas contribute a lot to the buildings they are near, and never has this been more true than right now. The pandemic has changed a lot about how we view these public spaces near our buildings, prompting many to innovate and improve them as these areas have taken on new responsibilities during Covid-19. With the restrictions on indoor gatherings and activities, as well as the weakness of Covid-19 to sunlight and fresh air, public spaces are now being optimized to help us combat Covid while returning to a semi-normal state of living. 

In case you’re interested in optimizing a public space with architectural features, let’s take a look at a few popular choices right now that many building owners are turning to.

Pergolas

When it comes to outdoor relaxing, dining, or entertainment, pergolas are a top choice. Featuring a roof of some sort and no walls or attachments to nearby buildings, a pergola provides the perfect spot to dine or lounge in fresh air. 

Social distancing is made easy in a Pergola, and the occupants of yours can enjoy feeling connected to the public space around them without being dangerously close. There are a ton of unique pergola design ideas to fit your needs, no matter what kind of building or business you own. 

Exterior Building Grilles

Architectural grilles work to filter pollutants from the surrounding air and reduce noise pollution while adding an element of style. For those of you with a public space nearby, the benefits of installing architectural grilles on your building are numerous. 

In addition to improving the look of your space, these grilles can also help hide bulky mechanical equipment and reduce air pollution in a public space. 

Copper/Bronze Surfaces

You may not have known this, but copper, bronze, and brass are all antimicrobial. They can kill a variety of different harmful microbes in less than two hours, and are very efficient at doing so. One way to improve your public space with architectural features is by implementing copper surfaces as often as possible. 

Copper can look great when paired with certain materials or colors, and the antimicrobial properties are just too valuable to pass up if you’re looking to make a public space as safe as possible during this pandemic. 

Protect Your Public Space with These Innovative Architectural Features

The earnestness of people to get back to normal combined with the fact that Covid-19 does not survive very well outdoors means that public spaces have grown immensely in their importance to us. 

By installing architectural grilles, pergolas, and copper surfaces on and near your building, you can optimize your public space and keep it as clean as possible. Providing a safe public place to enjoy socially-distanced interaction is easy as long as you implement innovative architectural features such as these.

Skylar Ross is a contributor to Innovative Building Materials. He is a blogger and content writer for the architecture industry. Skylar is focused on helping architects and building designers discover new techniques, find ways to save on costs and discover new modern innovative materials to use in their next project.

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CREW San Diego Features David McCullough as Panelist in Upcoming Event on COVID and Design 

Join David and other experts for an in-depth discussion sponsored by CREW San Diego on October 29. They will focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on design, outdoor use and perceptions of public spaces. As experts in urban, landscape, and architectural design, they will discuss:

• The hypothetical predictions on our relationship with public space

• Updates on government ordinances and restrictions

• Flex space and modular designs of large gathering space

• Transformation of public space design and accessibility 

Panelists include:

Howard Blackson, Urban Design & Planning Director, AVRP Skyport
Chris Bittner, Principal, OBR Architecture
David McCullough, Principal, McCullough Landscape Architecture, Inc.
Alyssa Muto, Deputy Director, Environmental Policy and Public Spaces

Moderator: Penny Maus, Department Manager, Port of San Diego

Location

Virtual Program: Zoom link will be sent in a follow-up email

Date and Time

Thursday, October 29, 2020

11:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Networking in Break Out Rooms

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Panel Discussion

Fee

CREW Members are FREE; Non-members: $25; Students: FREE

Registration closes October 28, 2020 > Register here.

Oscar’s Brewing Company: Reinventing a Classic American Restaurant

Oscar’s Brewing Company, Temecula

John Sarkisian is one of the founders of the Pat and Oscar’s restaurant chain and Encontro in North Park. Back in 2016, John and Matthew Ellis, an architect and principal at PGAL, got together to talk about an idea for a new concept restaurant in Temecula, California. John’s plan was to use an existing Pat and Oscar’s and rebrand with an entirely new approach for the popular chain of restaurants. The restaurant is located in an ideal spot overlooking the charming Temecula Duck Pond in the heart of Temecula.  

Breathing new life into a tired brand

Matthew was chosen for his forward-thinking design with the intent that his vision would breathe new life into the rebrand. McCullough, having worked with Matthew and PGAL for many years, was brought into the project early to collaborate with the team. A slick renaming, OBC (Oscar’s Brewing Company), sprang from the collaboration along with Matthew’s extraordinary contemporary architecture. I was fortunate enough to use my design skills to bring the exterior landscape architecture to life.

What we have found with our collaborative relationship is we thrive in a mutually beneficial creative environment that leads to incredible innovation in every project.
Our ideas often evolve into ideas that are completely new and fresh.

Early in the design process, our charrettes uncover new ideas, concepts and possibilities. When we hit on concepts that seem interesting, everyone contributes to build on that idea. It is an exciting and innovative process that translates into built environment spaces that are creative, visually surprising and draws the user into a place they want to be.

Innovative ways to repurpose

One example of the process and outcome for newly named OBC, was an early discussion about someone on the team having an old VW bus. The conversation started around how this relic might be a fun and unique addition to the project. It quickly evolved into an object to be placed on an exterior patio, in an area where children can play while parents socialize, eat and drink. That turned into an entire new space, a children’s discovery zone, just within eyeshot of neighboring parents.

On a previous project with PGAL, another example of this process began with an existing, dated chain restaurant building that would have otherwise been demolished. We discussed salvaging the building and decided to repurpose the structure, ripping off the walls, windows and doors, opening up the building’s space and turning it into an entirely new outdoor experience. McCullough then brought in full-grown native plant material, placed in and around the building. The user experience that resulted was a restaurant and bar nestled in an old building, overtaken by nature. This restaurant became incredibly successful, in large part due to the unique experience that we designed.

Pat and Oscars gets a makeover in OBC

The new OBC is now a modern, edgy family restaurant that gives customers a unique dining experience. It was an honor and a pleasure to have collaborated with John Sarkisian, Matthew and the entire design team on the first concept restaurant, OBC in Temecula.

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Client of Month: Murfey Company

Secoya on Fifth, San Diego

We are happy to announce Murfey Company as McCullough’s September Client of the Month! Located in San Diego, Murfey Company, a well-known real estate development company, has a wide variety of services. Using state-of-the-art technology and fueled by their passion for all things in the built environment, the company brings their cool lifestyle brand into their projects, capturing the So Cal vibe of coastal communities.

With a well-rounded and diverse group of qualified professionals, the company is positioned as a clear-cut leader in the areas of development, investments and construction.

Broad Portfolio of Notable Projects

Because Murfey Company has a multi-faceted background, they work on projects in many sectors including mixed-use, multi-family, restaurants, retail, medical, hospitality and residential.

All of their services are managed in-house including:

• entitlement

• project management

• construction management

• property management

• brokerage

• leasing

• financial management

Their wealth of experience helps them to walk in the shoes of the owner and properly manage a quality project with the goal to “Create Your Lifestyle.”

We are proud to collaborate with Murfey Company on their project Secoya on Fifth. It is an eight-story mixed-use development that includes 46 residential units in the heart of the uptown community in San Diego.

Ephemeral Jacarandas Bloom and Shade the Landscape

The project features open ground-floor commercial spaces that visually connect the street life by beautifully framed storefront glass windows. The streetscape along both Fifth Avenue and Redwood Street is directly enhanced with thoughtfully designed parkways, featuring low-growing and architecturally engaging shrub forms that provide seasonal interest and showcase the project’s commitment to water conservation. Jacarandas planted along both streets provide shade for pedestrians, while lighting up the streets with a display of much-anticipated lavender blooms every summer.

A multitude of carefully designed outdoor features include:

• On the ground-floor, a densely planted oasis greets residents as they enter off the lobby

• A unique, ADA-accessible outdoor BBQ island gives residents the ability to host events and cook-outs

• The BBQ area is complemented with a table for residents to dine in comfort

• Tucked into a verdant corner is an accessible spa where residents can enjoy a soothing dip under the dappled shade of a large canopy shade tree

• An intimate seating area around a circular fire bowl is a host for memorable conversations

• On the Level 8 amenity deck, residents are treated to a spectacular view of the downtown skyline and surrounding neighborhood  

• As one exits the building corridor, they step out under the shade of an overhead pergola into an outdoor living room complete with comfortable seating, an outdoor TV, raised planters and a low fire table for both daytime and nighttime use

• To the side is a large communal dining table enveloped by a raised planter, featuring flowing grasses and shrubs that glow in the setting sun and follow the warm San Diego breeze

• As one looks out over the neighborhood, they will immediately appreciate the low planter with grasses and shrubs which screen out the busy city streets below and help to create a focus on the beauty of San Diego’s skies

Secoya on Fifth is a breath of fresh air in this community, while contemporaneously highlighting the area’s surrounding traditions.

To read more about Murfey Company visit their website at www.murfeycompany.com.

Nicole Hensch
Marketing and Administrative Assistant

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How School Design is Evolving Post-COVID-19

Howard Pence Elementary, San Diego

Ed Holakiewicz (left), Benjamin Arcia (right)

Benjamin Arcia, Senior Associate at McCullough, recently called Edward Holakiewicz AIA, Senior Principal of Architects Mosher Drew, to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting school design. Ed gave some very interesting insights which we are sharing on our social networks.

Tune-in next month to read Ben’s article how McCullough is advancing the approach to landscape architecture to embrace the changes happening now and in the future of school design. 

1. What design interventions and use of durable materials can ensure social distancing with standards that stand the test of time in a school setting, including use of indoor/outdoor classrooms, HVAC systems, and the like?
   
   We are constantly researching materials and adhesives that do not emit unhealthy off-gases, that are non-allergenic and are maintainable. We do spend an extensive amount of time researching sustainable products alongside our product manufacturers. In fact, we have seen tremendous response over the last number of years in creating an environmentally sensitive partnership with our manufacturers. For example, panel systems that we are now utilizing are created from a plant-based biochemical resin. These organic panels that can be used outside, are recyclable and environmentally friendly. Kudos to our clients that recognize the need to follow a LEED protocol with an increased use of environmentally sound materials.
   
   “Policy is the floor, technology is the ceiling.” Imagination means that there is no ceiling.” Ben said and Ed added, “But there is no real ceiling, because imagination keeps technology moving up.”
   

2. What kind of research or observations have informed your design process for schools during COVID times?
   
   We’re talking about an environment for learning, much further reaching than merely COVID. With the Biophilic Design approach, sensory awareness is created with the use of color, textures and light, and healthy environments include improved natural daylighting and filtered air flow. This is a philosophical design concept process, creating healthy environments for people. Both San Diego High School and Mira Mesa High School have embraced an indoor and outdoor learning system that takes their students beyond the classroom experience and into a brand-new multi-environment, dynamic learning setting.
   

3. Can design go too far in attempting to shape people’s behavior?
   
   The whole COVID issue is seven months old. School districts and the entire education sector are still trying to figure out what steps to take. We don’t really have a comprehensive answer, though social distancing is an important issue, however, there are many discussions yet to be had in this regard. The way that I look at this is from a positive standpoint; we need to address the big picture - how to tackle the spread of germs and increase awareness of hygiene. This is an enormous undertaking, with tens of thousands of kids out of school. It will require a multitude of adjustments and a long period of time to make these adjustments. It has started with touchless sinks and soap dispensers and sensor-activated hand dryers. Changing our culture, is ultimately what we need to address.
   

4. Has the process of redesigning school spaces for COVID made you question our current academic paradigm? Has it sparked any larger scale visions of what school could be, if you could redesign our process and venues for educating children from the ground up?
   
   Education is learning by doing, and by learning in groups we develop the skills required to work with other people. The best solutions come from group thought processes. As Ben Franklin was quoted:
   
   “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
   
   In the future there may be no desks in a traditional sense, but instead group activity settings. With constant technological advances, our learning environment has gone digital, however, with this significant change, we are faced with the loss of personal engagement and involvement in the learning process.
   

5. How can you tell if a design intervention works or doesn’t work? Are you collecting data or observations post-installation? Can there be a lab setting to test things, rather than the traditional setting for designing something, then allowing a few years to see how to works?
   
   We need to exercise patience. We are trying to enhance lives and not dictate how to live them. Every education system is in the process of testing ideas to come up with solutions. Our focus has shifted to a multi-discipline learning; the State of California is providing some funding for this process. We are seeing an increased shift towards career technical education and a makerspace movement in education, adopted by San Diego High School and Mira Mesa High School and others.
   

6. I dream of things I’d like to accomplish, their feasibility and how they could work and change the world. What is yours? What deep questions do you ask yourself?
   
   I have had the honor of working in architecture almost 40 years, and I have been an educator and an architect for most of that time, so I look at what lessons I have learned over the years and how each of these have inspired me.  
   
   I see my value in teaching others to find their path. I have taught and mentored over 1,000 students and professionals, guiding them on a path towards a network of people, in the quest to create greater change. On a personal level, I take joy in watching how projects impact people both personally and in their professional activities.
   
   I choose to look on the positive side and what I’ve observed in the last six months, with this immense spectrum of issues to contend with, there is no simple diagnostic. The conversation that addresses distance learning is so immense and complex. I respect those that are in the process of interpreting the most favorable steps to transition people back into to the classroom, balancing group-learning with personal hygiene. Lastly, safety and well-being, whatever it might be, needs to be friendly and inspirational.

Benjamin Arcia, M.U.D., ASLA
Senior Associate

COVID-19 and Public Space: Why does it feel so good to have street-side dining?

On August 4th, San Diego’s City Council unanimously voted to approve Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s Economic Relief Measures for Small Businesses. This allows gyms, restaurants, hair salons and religious services to operate outside on private property, on sidewalks, even on street-side parking.

This is a fortuitous reversal of a decade-long prioritization of parking over seemingly all else in the urban environment. This initiative now places people and their livelihood as a priority above parking.

Lack of Cafe Culture

Although it has countless other endearing qualities, San Diego is seemingly most famous for its pleasant weather. Despite our storied climate, according to urban planner and local expert Howard Blackson, commercial outdoor dining, not enveloped in Plexiglas barriers, was prohibited by the San Diego municipal code until 2015.

Even with changes in the municipal code, there are still barriers to outdoor eating and commerce. Small businesses tend not to have garden space, and zoning laws mostly keep restaurants and retail out of residential neighborhoods.

However, land is even scarcer in European cities that famously boast vibrant street life. So, scarcity of private space cannot be the scapegoat for explaining our comparative lack of cafe culture. One key difference is that their sidewalks are often wider and more useful than ours. It’s not just Europe. Whether in Medellín, Istanbul, Mexico City or Buenos Aires, the more I travel and trade stories with others, the more I realize that the United States is exceptional in respect to the emptiness and uselessness of our typical 5’ to 6’ wide sidewalks. Without 15’ to 30’ sidewalks, there is not enough space for tables, kiosks, benches and all the other fixtures of street life.

Despite our storied climate, commercial outdoor dining not enveloped in plexiglas barriers was prohibited by the San Diego municipal code until 2015.

We have an unusual relationship with public space, and we are resistant to take ownership of it. Because most of our cities are molded by automobile travel, our sidewalks are narrow. We give up 8’ to 9’ on either side of commercial streets to park our cars. Try to envision all that area in a typical city, and then add the additional parking on private land—the strip malls and Home Depots and shopping centers.

Mobility expert John Rossant estimates that up to 200 square miles of greater Los Angeles are dedicated to parking cars. Pardon the pun, but we build lots of parking in the U.S. Despite its ubiquity, parking is sacred in America and many a neighborhood-planning meeting simmers with passion when parking comes up for discussion.

Pandemic Altered Priorities

It took a world-stopping airborne disease and its accompanying economic shockwave to convince us that perhaps parking space is more valuable than we always assumed. The space we use to park cars is too valuable, in fact, to be relegated to such a low use. Parking has the potential to be reimagined as a barbershop, beer garden or bingo parlor.

San Diego’s usually bustling Gaslamp Quarter was a ghost town during quarantine. The recent permission to close off Fifth Avenue from car access and to allow tables to spill out across the entire street has brought the city’s main bar strip back to life. As I pedal my bike through South Park, North Park and Hillcrest, I spot barbers trimming beards on the sidewalk, while restaurants have reclaimed street-side parking with hastily built parklets.

Taking it to the Streets

These makeshift, overnight interventions are inspiring because they call to my memory the scrappy entrepreneurialism of city life in Latin America, where public space doubles readily as commercial space. There is a simple excitement of seeing people doing their everyday things out on the street.

People watching people is a timeless joy that we’ve regulated away.

We go on vacation to cities where the streets host musicians, mimes, juice stands and food vendors, and then we come back home to a city where the sidewalks are narrow and empty. The impromptu adaptations we are seeing in San Diego hint at local residents’ latent ability to take ownership of public space and enjoy it, given the right pressure and clear permission. I say we lean into this further.

…improvements that could cement a prioritization towards people instead of cars.

In Santa Monica, the city has placed 4,000-pound concrete barriers between the street side parking and the travel lanes on Main Street. This has allowed restaurants to put tables in parking spots with peace of mind for their patrons’ safety. This kind of change is a vital half step towards the kinds of permanent capital improvements that could cement a prioritization towards people instead of cars. Conventional wisdom dictates that business cannot survive without parking, but these recent evolutions show the weakness of such conventional thinking.

These are all examples of more enriching ways we can use and bring life to the public space around us. Additionally, consider how much more a parking space is worth in commercial rent paid to the city instead of parking revenue.

Parking Versus People

Simply put, parking is worth more, and should BE more. This pandemic is forcing us to confront how much space we squander, next to the street and on the street itself. As we take broad swaths of our streets back for human instead of automobile use, we are, in one way or another, working to solve our original problem of lacking sidewalk space in urban settings.

Perhaps one day, today’s parallel parking spots will be poured over in concrete and be given permanently back to human beings. We need to remember that we lived without cars and parking for longer than have lived with them. We can get rid of some spots and still be just fine.

I hope this lesson sticks.

I wish that when things get closer to normalcy, we remember just how much we enjoyed eating at a bistro table on the sidewalk, or getting our hair cut on the asphalt, under the trees and in the thick of it all. I hope we remember the way we felt strolling down the middle of Fifth in the Gaslamp Quarter, the double yellow lines on the road under our feet, without worries of getting run over.

Hopefully a vaccine can drive us back together with each other without driving us back indoors. Old habits die hard, and street life dies easily. Let’s do what we can to keep it alive.

• Is Restaurant Dining on Sidewalks and Streets Here to Stay?, San Diego Magazine

• Santa Monica’s Sidewalk Street Project, Santa Monica Daily News

• San Diego Getting New Outdoor Movies…The San Diego Union-Tribute

Benjamin Arcia, M.U.D.
Senior Associate