Woodbury University Architecture Prof. Wins 2013 Orchid Award For La Esquina Multi-use Project in Barrio Logan
As Both Designer and Developer, Hector M. Perez Lauded for Embracing Multicultural Neighborhood with 'Great Spirit'.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) October 31, 2013 - Woodbury University (www.woodbury.edu) today announced that Hector M. Perez, a professor in the School of Architecture, has received the 2013 Orchid Award for Architecture.
The award recognizes Perez's contributions to La Esquina (The Corner), a multi-use project in San Diego's diverse Barrio Logan neighborhood. He served as both designer and developer on the project, which exemplifies the principles and skillsets of the School of Architecture, as embodied in its Master of Real Estate Development degree.
La Esquina provides live/work spaces for seven units, as well as an art gallery. By building on a formerly vacant lot, Perez had a blank slate on which he engaged the surrounding neighborhood in the form of material, design and treatment. The building embraces the multi-cultural, multi-form and multi-use neighborhood around it, while maximizing natural light and blurring the indoor/outdoor divide.
The jury admired the project's "great spirit" and its "clear and vigorous diagram." Members expressed appreciation for "the sensitivity and scale" of the white live-work units, which remained playful with splashes of color, textures, materials and open patios or decks. As one commenter noted, "this building is a beautiful collage of the colors and materials of Barrio Logan, assembled masterfully, in a contemporary architectural form." The jury concurred that the single lot development goes beyond the lot's boundaries; the architect cultivated a small community yet there is still a sense of belonging to Barrio Logan at large, they noted.
"At Woodbury, we emphasize the importance of design that accommodates space, existing relationships and contextual scale and palette," Norman Millar, dean of the School of Architecture said. "Hector not only leads our graduate programs at the School of Architecture in San Diego, but he also embodies our approach both in the classroom, in his own practice and when approaching the world around him. We are thrilled to have him working with us and teaching our students from his own singular experiences."
Perez serves as Graduate Programs Coordinator at Woodbury School of Architecture in San Diego, and is also a Principal at De-Arc, a boutique architecture studio in La Jolla. He has previously taught at the Southern California Institute of Architecture; California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (CPSLO); New School of Architecture + Design; and Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He holds an MSArch from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BArch from CPSLO.
Orchids & Onions, the awarding body, is an interactive, community-based awards program that relies heavily on San Diego's community to respond to the built environment around them. While the public can vote online to commend their favorite submissions, the final awards are granted by a jury of professionals. Orchids & Onions serves as the educational and fundraising program of the San Diego Architectural Foundation a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization dedicated to education and the promotion of outstanding architecture, planning and urban design throughout the San Diego region.
Woodbury University School of Architecture is a network of hubs strategically sited within the Southern California megalopolis: Los Angeles, Burbank, Hollywood, and San Diego. Together, these sites form a critical infrastructure for architectural investigations. The school's undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture and interior architecture train students as entrepreneurs, architect citizens, and cultural builders. Explore the program at architecture.woodbury.edu.
About Woodbury University
Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Organizational Leadership. The San Diego campus offers bachelor of architecture, Master of Real Estate Development for Architects (MRED), and Master of Science in Architecture, Landscape, and Urbanism degrees. Visit www.woodbury.edu for more information, and Reflections on Excellence, the new twice-monthly blog written by Woodbury University President Luis Maria R. Calingo, Ph.D.
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