Miller Hull

Everyone knows awards season is actually year-round, of course, so it’s no big surprise that it’s time for this year’s Orchids & Onions architecture and design awards, the annual event when San Diego County’s pre-eminent urban planners, engineers and draft-board types trot out their favorite — and least favorite — new local developments.

The fine folks running the awards put it this way: “Orchids & Onions is an educational and fundraising program of the San Diego Architectural Foundation, a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization with a mission to educate and promote outstanding architecture, landscape, interior and urban design to improve the quality of life for all San Diegans,” a news release connected to this year’s awards states.

Sure, that and occasionally throwing some high-end shade.

The winner of 2020’s Malone Grand Orchid was the Center for Novel Therapeutics, in La Jolla: “This is structurally fascinating. Elegant and engaging. The use of materials is incredible. Innovative design, also encouraging innovation within. High-performance all around — generous, well-lit common areas, patient-centered design. Very well detailed.”

This year’s Grand Onion went to the apartment building at 1836 Columbia St., in Little Italy. The judges didn’t mince words: “It has absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. The way it touches the ground is so bad it can’t even be fixed. Looks like a bubble diagram that skipped the architecture/design part and went directly to construction.”

For the first time, Orchids & Onions handed out a Teen Choice award Orchid, which also went to the Center for Novel Therapeutics. And it was a grand slam for the Teen Onion, which went 1836 Columbia St. as well.

In addition, organizers were set to reveal the first-ever People’s Choice Awards on Thursday night, which will be announced at the virtual gala that kicked off at 9 p.m.

Read the full story at NBC San Diego