Get Ready . . . Open House is Coming!

UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood. Photo by Erik Jepsen.

Mark your calendars – March 18-20, 2022, Open House San Diego (OH! SD) will provide a behind-the-scenes look at notable architecture, public spaces, and more with guided and self-guided tours and curated experiences across 7 San Diego-area neighborhoods: Barrio Logan, City Heights, Coronado, Downtown, La Mesa, National City, and new for 2022 — UC San Diego! Recognized as one of the top 15 research universities worldwide, you’re invited to hop on the new Blue Line trolley to explore our crown jewel on the mesa.

The trolley conveniently stops just a short walk from the new Design Innovation Building and the Design Lab – this will be the OH! SD Hub and information about the World Design Capital 2024 will be presented.  From there take a walking tour crossing by the Geisel Library, on to the Stuart Collection of public art (for fun, there’s even a scavenger hunt!), then along the Ridge Walk landscaped pathway to the new North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.  There’s even more in store for OH! 2022, but for a look back, here’s a fascinating chronology of the history of the campus dating back to 1903.

Ricardo Rabines and Taal Safdie

Read on to hear from our UC San Diego Neighborhood Sponsor: Safdie Rabines, the design minds behind the new North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.

Since creating the firm in 1993, we have applied our passion for an architecture that is inspired and informed by its environment, context, scale, and humanity, striving to create buildings and places that connect to the landscape and enhance and contribute to their greater community.

As the practice nears its 30th year in San Diego, our portfolio of projects has grown to include a diverse range of project typologies.  At our inception, our first projects were single-family homes, and housing today has become cornerstone of our practice, expanding to include student housing, mixed-use, and affordable housing at multiple scales.  All of these incorporating the same design guiding principles of integrating landscape with good usable outdoor space, maximizing natural light and views, while providing privacy and a sense of place.

Our relationship with UC San Diego began in our first years of practice and has continued to this day. Working on the campus at UC San Diego as offered us the opportunity to develop a wide variety of project types and scales including planning/visioning, bridges, student housing, improvements to the public realm, classrooms, research facilities and conference centers.  Our most recently completed project, the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood, is one of the most transformative and ambitious projects the university has undertaken.  The 1.6M square foot facility is an interdisciplinary environment blending academic, residential, commercial, and cultural programming.

Photo by Alex Mathews.

In the coming months, the new Epstein Family Amphitheater project will be finished, creating a new venue that will contribute to the cultural impact that UC San Diego continues to provide our region.  In addition, it is with great anticipation that we expect the opening of the new Ted and Jean Scripps Marine Conservation and Technology Facility at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, expanding their important research as stewards of our oceans and environment.

As we begin our third decade in practice, we look forward with tireless optimism as we strive to make a meaningful impact in the region and beyond.