Orchids & Onions: A 50-Year Report Card on San Diego Architecture

Orchids & Onions is celebrating its 50th anniversary at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park on Saturday, October 17. If you've lived here a while, you've probably heard the name: it's the city's annual architecture awards program, and this year marks a half-century of naming the region's best and worst.

The format is as simple as the name suggests. The 'Orchids' go to the projects that get it right, and the 'Onions' go to the ones that come up short. And it's not just about buildings. The awards cover landscape architecture, historic preservation, lighting, signage, urban design, and public policies, with projects in both San Diego County and the Tijuana metropolitan area eligible. It's a broad look at everything we build and live around in the region.

Two of the program's founders, Kevin deFreitas and Mike Stepner, will share the podium for the occasion. Both are FAIA—Fellows of the American Institute of Architects—and they've spent decades in local groups working to raise the quality of San Diego's built environment. Together they'll trace the history of the awards and talk through the current state of design in the region.

The event is at the San Diego History Center, Casa de Balboa, 1649 El Prado, in Balboa Park. Refreshments run from 10 AM to 10:30 AM, and the program follows from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. Admission to the museum is free, though donations to the History Center are welcomed; a $5 donation to the Friends of San Diego Architecture is requested.