Designing on the Edge in Southern California

As California’s population increases, pressures from traditional suburban development threaten adjacent natural environments. Even during these economic times, this state is still adding one person per minute, so there will always be a need for housing, jobs, infrastructure and continuous growth. Infill development should be stressed, but unfortunately new development in undeveloped areas will have to occur to accommodate the growing population.

The real question is: What will these developments look like and how can we minimize our footprint on the natural environment?

Last week, the Urban Land Institute of Orange County hosted a charette to explore edge development. Over 50 professionals from the development, design, and environmental fields participated to produce a new vision for future development. Discussions and topics ranged from wildlife habitat, wildfires, community agriculture, sustainable living, local production, reducing vmt (vehicle miles traveled), and social equality as the group was divided into 4 teams.

Each team was given a site on the edge of urban/suburban development and had to come up with a rational plan that considered all of these topics. The sites varied in size, terrain and context, but the results were mostly the same.

Located on our group’s site was a National Wildlife Refuge and estuary so we had to be extremely sensitive to this area. We decided to expand the wetland and create fingers of open space, which could also be used by the people living there. We were able to provide and expand habitat while still creating an urban development consisting of various residential types, village centers, high end jobs, and localized food and energy production.

While very impressed by the collaborative effort of all the different professions, I was a little concerned that the natural landscape was not really considered in a few groups. Some groups created a very nice ‘sustainable’ village, but completely disregarded the idea of the charette to blend the natural environment with the human environment and minimize our impact Below are a couple pictures of our group in action.


Image 1: begining of our group session, identifying values.



Image 2: Concept ideas for the development of our site.



A New Vision for Edge Development in Southern California
Innovations Workshop
ULI of Orange County
June 25 and 26, 2009

High School Field Lab with no Educational Value

The San Dieguito Union High School District values saving money more than its student’s education.

Enrollment growth didn’t meet expectations, so the district is now currently paying over $130,000 a year in fees back to the government for an empty lot in La Costa Valley because the district has not been using the land it purchased 10 years ago as a middle school, its original purpose.

So, instead of continuing to pay this fee, the district decided to build a small educational facility there consisting of a black top, a shade structure, and a storage shed, to make it an outdoor field lab. As long as some education is taking place at the site, the fee no longer needs to be paid. The idea is that students will use this facility to survey the site and learn about their natural local environment.

Great idea! Sort of….

10 years ago, the 4 acre site was graded into two levels so it could be ready to be built when needed, one level 20 feet above the other. What remains now is an open grassland of non-native annual grasses, a few Coyote Bushes, some California Sage, and maybe a few patches of ice plant. Little bio-diversity.

The site, while this is an intrinsically beautiful site in its recovery to a naturalized state, is not much of an educational opportunity for high school students. Wouldn’t it be better to send classes to a local lagoon or preserve that hasn’t been flattened and removed of all native life? This lack of educational opportunity is not justified by saving the district money.

However, this response is better than the original idea for the site. For now the site will remain an open space in the middle of a dense suburban development instead of an intensive use educational facility, a win for the preservationists and wildlife using the site!



Image 1: Lower half of the two tiered site.



Image 2: Facility where students conduct their work? Not exactly sure.


Image 3: Maybe it is a detention facility for all the kids who act out.

San Elijo Lagoon Mouth Opening

Last week, dredging of the San Elijo Lagoon mouth began in an effort to increase the tidal flow from the ocean. Overtime, sediment from the 77 square mile watershed collects in the lagoon and lagoon mouth, so periodic dredging is required to maintain a balance of fresh and salt water. The mouth is dredged once every few years.


Image 1: panorama of lagoon mouth at Highway 101 (click for larger image)

The process to dredge the lagoon mouth is very involved and requires heavy machinery. The tidal flow is stopped for several days by plugging up the lagoon with sand so the flow of water won’t interrupt construction. This means that the lagoon isn’t being flushed with salt water twice a day by the high tides, so the health of the estuary is compromised during this process. However, the sand removal only takes a few days so this project will enhance the health of the lagoon in the long run.



Image 2: barrier created so the equipment can move the dirt.




Image 3: Heavy equipment used to move sand and sediment.



Image 4: The sand is placed on the beach to be distributed by the waves.



Image 5: Lagoon mouth plugged up on east side of 101.

Solar Tree Parking Garage Installations at UCSD

As a part of UCSD’s sustainability initiative, Solar Trees designed by Envision Solar have been installed on top of two parking garages on campus. According to Envision, each of the Solar Trees, which use Kyocera photovoltaic modules, will generate "17,000 hours of clean energy per year, which is enough to power more than four single-family homes," which equates to 13.2 metric tons of carbon emissions per year.


Image 1: Panels placed atop parking garage near Rimac Arena, UCSD

These solar trees are big enough and are placed to provide convenient shade to park in. They have one central trunk and have 4 ‘limbs’, which support the solar panel plane. They were developed by Envision Solar with a partnership through Kyocera for a prototype parking lot in Kearny Mesa in an effort to make San Diego a leading region for Solar Power and green energy. These installations at UCSD are the most recent use of the prototype.

In 2008 UCSD adopted a new Environment and Sustainability Initiative with the goal of becoming the greenest university in the US. Photovaultaic panels installed on most campus roofs, other forms of clean energy such as wind and biogas fuel cells will soon create 7.4 megawatts of electricy which is approximately 10 – 15% of it’s annual energy use.

Three partners are working with the university on the solar photovoltaic project. Borrego Solar, Inc., a national solar power contractor based in El Cajon, Calif., is the installer; Envision Solar, Inc., of San Diego, designer of the solar “trees” that will be built on top of UC San Diego parking structures, also is involved. Solar Power Partners (SPP™), Inc., of Mill Valley, Calif., is the financier and owner of the solar photovoltaic arrays.


Image 2: cross section of tree with cars parked under.... too bad it is cloudy today



Image 3: view from above parking lot . (photo credit)

Opening Day at the San Elijo Lagon Nature Center

Image 1: Nature Center facing west

Image 2: Panorama of Nature Center facing the lagoon. Click image for larger vie

In much anticipation, the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center opened on January 31, 2009. An all day event took place to celebrate the opening of the new building, attracting a couple thousand people. People from all over the community including bird enthusiasts, lagoon docents, wildlife experts, and Native American specialists came together to show the building and the lagoon to families and visiting public.

Downstairs, the building contains exhibits which teach about the Escondido creek and watershed which feeds the lagoon, the Kumeyaay Native Americans local to the area, and the electricity which is generated by the building’s photovaultaic panels. Upstairs there is a large meeting room, a large balcony with a panoramic view of the lagoon, a green roof, and an area on the balcony shaded by the PV panels.

Despite all the green features included in the design, the building stands as an even greater symbol of ecological preservation. On Saturday, it seemed to bring the community together in support of estuaries like the San Elijo Lagoon. As time goes on this building will continue to attract people to the lagoon and educate them about their local habitat.

Image 3: View from parking lot. PV panels shade a large portion of the balcony on the 2nd story.

Image 4: Undulating roof and window facade interacts with native vegetation

Image 5: Vegetated roof on second story.

Image 6: Exhibit room on first floor.

The Nix Nature Center, Laguna Wilderness Park

The Nix Nature Center is a modest building built to educate people about their local wilderness and wildlife. It is located on Highway 133, east of Laguna Beach and has hiking trails into the surrounding canyons and ridges. The Nature Center was completed in 2006, cost 3.4 million dollars.

Image 1

Nix Nature center during spring with lots of wildflowers in the foreground

The building is designed by Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects, and the landscape is designed by Spurlock Poirier Landscape Architects, and responds to the natural features of the landscape by framing views, and maintaining a small footprint on the land.

Image 2: Framed View of Saddleback Mountain, which can be seen from all over Orange County

Image 3: framed view of nearby hill and Little Sycamore Canyon

Sustainable elements:

- Building oriented in solar direction, with windows to the east.

Image 4: The nature center in the afternoon, shaded and protected from he sun.

- Rammed Earth (hopefully onsite local):

Image 5: Rammed earth wall on the west side of the building. It is very thick and protects the building from the heat.

- Rain-water collecting. The cistern is not visible, so it must be underground. I can’t imagine that it collects much water in this climate.

Image 6: the roof slants inward to collect water. The water goes into a cistern underground.

- Minimal footprint on the land, raised decks and board walks over sensitive areas.

Image 7: Raised decks above surrounding land allows water to run underneath.

Building as a symbol and trail head

I was not very impressed by the educational aspects inside the building. Yes, the exhibits are for kids, but there was no cohesion and fluidity, so it was difficult to understand the overall concept of the exhibits. The building seems to be more of a symbol for the Laguna Wilderness Park which is successful in attracting visitors to the park in droves.

Cottonwood Creek Park, Encinitas

Cottonwood creek park is the newest park in Encinitas, finished in May 2004. It was built on an empty parcel of land in downtown Encinitas used for storage and truck parking for the works department. Cottonwood Creek, a historic creek that allowed for the development of early Encinitas, was located in a 96” pipe underneath the property. In an effort to improve the water quality, the City of Encinitas re-surfaced the creek and built an 8-acre passive recreation park, designed by award winning Landscape Architecure firm Schmidt Design Inc.

Creek Resurfacing:

The creek emerges from underneath Encinitas Boulevard and first flows into a sedimentation pond. This is where all the impurities in the water can settle into the mud of the, once the water leaves the pond it flows for 600 feet over boulders through Willows, Cottonwoods, Sycamores and other native Californian rushes. This process helps aerate the water and clean it further. The natural daylight also gives a chance for the unwanted bacteria, which were very prevalent in the underground creek, to die.

Image 1: Sedimentation pond.

Improved Water Quality:

The quality of water that comes out of the creek onto Moonlight Beach has improved greatly since the park has been built, according to Heal The Bay, a Southern California non profit which determines water quality at beaches. The water quality has been tested at Moonlight Beach since 2002, and there is a notable improvement in 2004 when the park was finished and water began flowing through the resurfaced creek.

Image 2: Interpretive signs inform the public about how the creek cleans the water.

Permeable Paving:

The park also minimized runoff by paving most surfaces with permeable paving. All pedestrian paths are made with decomposed granite, which also allows water to filter through. The parking lot is made of a concrete which allows most water to pass through. The water that does run off the parking lot, runs through a series of gutters filled with large stones to slow the water before it enters the creek.

Image 3: most of the paving surfaces at the park.

Pedestrian Trails:

This park also provides crucial linkages and paths for pedestrians, bicyclists, and runners to get around the city. These paths encourage people to walk and exercise from Leucadia to downtown Encinitas. Pedestrians can also take a slight detour through the park instead of walking along busy Encinitas Boulevard. Paths such as this improve the quality of life for the residents of Encinitas and contribute to the social sustainability of Encinitas.

Image 4: Pedestrian access to adjacent neighborhood, notice the DG handicap ramp on the left.

Image 5: Picture taken when the park was just finished in 2004

Image 6: Picture from the same location, vegetation grown in 4 years later.

Image 7: cool detail, cobble-stone gutter that slows the water down before it enters the creek.

The San Elijo Nature Center and Lagoon

Due to be completed in March 2009, the new San Elijo Nature Center in Cardiff, California will be a sustainably constructed, energy generating building. It will showcase the San Elijo Lagoon’s ecosystems, along with the sustainable building techniques it employs. The community will use this building to learn about the Escondido creek watershed, whose output is the mouth of the San Elijo Lagoon. Also, in an effort to practice what it preaches, the nature center will teach people about the advantages of LEED and sustainable design.

Image 1: The San Elijo Lagoon is already a popular place for evening dog walks and bird watching. The new nature center will blend in with its surroundings.

The building designed by Zagrodnik + Thomas Architects is 4230 square feet, cost $4.7 million to build, and is on track to be LEED Gold Certified. Its footprint is the same as the original nature center, which didn’t have much function except to facilitate some group activities. The building also has photovaultaic panels, which supply the building with 52% of its energy requirements. Other green building elements include: radiant floor heating, green planted roof, recycled cotton insulation, certified renewable lumber, natural daylighting and ventilation, storm water filtering, native vegetation and recycled water used for both irrigation and to supply the toilets.

As a Cardiff resident and weekly frequenter of the San Elijo Lagoon, this is a welcome addition to this small community. A new superstar-building like this will hopefully bring more people to the nature center and lagoon to learn about these fragile wetland environments and green building techniques. It has already received numerous press articles and a nomination for an orchid award this year.

Image 2: The nature center facing west, still under construction. Existing native California vegetation in front of the building.

Image 3: Nature center's viewing deck with photovoltaic pergola.

Image 4: while the construction footprint is small, heavy machinery is still being used for construction.

Image 5: Architect's renderings of the finished building.

Lake Hodges Pedestrian Bridge

A 990 foot pedestrian bridge connecting Escondido to Rancho Bernardo is nearing completion. Instead of following the pedestrian trail around Lake Hodges, the bridge cuts off a 9.5 mile section, providing a direct link over the lake, making it much easier for pedestrians and bicyclists get to Poway and Rancho Bernardo from Escondido. This bridge is just a section of the 55 mile Coast to Crest Trail in the San Dieguito River Park which follows the San Dieguito River to the coast, and connects with the path at the San Dieguito Wetlands. It cost $10 million, and will be completed in March 2009.

Image1: Aerial Project Photo, Bridge is located just west of Highway 15

Normally, I think building a bridge on a sensitive habitat like a lake isn’t a good thing. However, this bridge has a very small footprint because of the way it is designed. Also, this bridge produces many positive social impacts such as promoting exercise and ecological awareness, so the bridge’s minimal environmental impact is mitigated by its social positives.

It was designed by engineering firm T. Y. Lin as a Stress Ribbon Bridge, and is the longest of its kind in the world. This stress ribbon bridge has only two footings, which anchor and support a system of pre-stressed concrete with steel cables.

Image 2: Concept Diagram of a Stress Ribbon Bridge

Image 3: Diagram from the North County Times of this Bridge

Image 4: Individual pre-stressed section.

Image 5: That's a lot of steel!

Image 6: Temporary construction Tressle on the right.

The 2008 Orchids and Onions Awards

The Orchids and Onions Awards is a San Diego based organization that is committed to promoting excellence in the built environment. It acknowledges the outstanding (orchid) and terrible (onion) built projects in the San Diego Area through an annual awards event.

The categories of the awards are: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design, Interior Design, Historic Preservation, Planning Policies, Public Art, and Urban Design.

Given the interest of this blog, I’ll only briefly describe the winners of the Sustainable Design Category. I will also discuss several of the nominees in future posts.

The Sprinter Rail: Connecting Oceanside to Escondido via light rail.

The Sprinter Light Rail line is 22 miles long, has 15 stations and serves the northern communities of San Diego: Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, and Escondido. Service began in March 2008, (when gas prices were at their all time high) and saw high ridership in it’s first few months of operation.


Image 1: Map of the line. Notice how it parallels Highway 78.

This light rail line also connects to Palomar Community College and Cal State San Marcos. A trip from Oceanside and to Escondido Costs 2 dollars, 1 dollar for seniors, and takes 53 minutes. In it’s first few weeks of operation it saw ridership at about 8,000 and ridership is expected to be at 11,000 by the beginning of 2009. In addition, it was expected to reduce round trips by car from Escondido to Oceanside by 5,000 per day but has only reduced trips by 1,600.

Another thing I like about this project is the rail trail that is planned to run along the entire rail line. This trail promotes cyclists and pedestrians to get to the station without using their car. It is already built between Escondido and Vista and the rest of the trail to Oceanside is currently being designed.


Image 2: A Section of the Rail Trail


Image 3: pedestrian bridge to the College Boulevard station


Image 4: A station. It looks like it is in the middle of no where, there should be dense development around the station so people can take advantage of the convenient rail line.


Pont Loma Nazarene University: Photovaultaic Roofing System

A 450 kw photovaultaic system is the first of it’s kind at this San Diego university. It provide 80% for six of its buildings during peak energy use. This roofing system is just a part of the university’s ambitious plan to become a carbon neutral campus. Other programs that they have initiated are: food composting, water recycling toilets, all new product purchases from recyclable products (even computers??), and to achieve a sliver LEED rating on all new buildings. Another goal of the university's program is to teach all the students about the importance of sustainable design and conservation, which is probably the most important to teach a new generation how to conserve effectively.


Image 5: The Photovaultaic panels are on the right side of the arched roof of the gym....Notice how well it blends in with the ocean!