Leaders in Design

By Rowena Kelley

Leaders in Design: The American Institute of Architects (AIA) San Diego Chapter recently announced the winners of its 2009 Design Awards and the Young Architect of the Year Award. Fellow architects from Denver, Santa Monica and Cambridge judged the 64 entries and gave the highest honors to Joseph Wong Design Associates for Jardin de Jade Restaurant and Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design for its work on the UCSD Price Center East. Other award winners include ARCHITECTS hanna gabriel wells; Luce et Studio Architects; Lloyd Russell; TANNERHECT Architecture; Jonathan Segal; Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects; Zagrodnik + Thomas Architects; and gkkworks. The panel selected Kevin deFreitas as this year’s Young Architect of the Year. For more information, call 619-232-0109 or visit aiasandiego.org.

The New Dream Kitchen: One of Arclinea San Diego’s local projects has been called “The New Dream Kitchen” by Bon Appetit. Described — and rightly so — by the magazine as smart, stylish and eco-savvy, the 255-square-foot remodeled kitchen inside an 1890 Victorian home in Sherman Heights packs a lot of punch and personality. Features include lime-green cabinets, a handy pull-out countertop, convection and steam wall oven, a built-in coffee machine, even a teppanyaki grill — a professional-strength, Japanese-style griddle. Check out this masterpiece for yourself at arclineasandiego.com.

Meow Madness: Just in time for Adopt a Cat month, the San Diego Humane Society recently unveiled a new design for its large cat habitat. Interior designer Anne Kellet completed the space after SDHS chose her design, “Cataquarium,” over those of 15 other designers and students from the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. Perhaps an even bigger feat, Kellet — who has been designing for more than 30 years and teaches part time at the Design Institute of San Diego — was given just two weeks to complete the new habitat. She is principal of A Kinder Space, 858-694-8197.

Urban Arrival: Modernists will be happy to know they’ve got one more resource for urban design in San Diego. BoConcept, Denmark’s global retail furniture chain, has opened a showroom downtown, featuring solutions for luxurious modern lounging, versatile contemporary bedroom furniture and more. You’ll even find the One chair, which beat out more than 3,000 product entries to win the prestigious red dot award. 1550 Front Street, Little Italy, 619-398-0745; boconcept.us.

New Way to Cook: Bulthaup has redefined the kitchen — and cooking — with its b2 kitchen workshop. A modern purist’s dream space, the b2 contains all key kitchen functions in three elements: the kitchen bench with work area, hob and water point, complemented by two cabinets for appliances, crockery, tools and ingredients. In conceptualizing this new kitchen design, Bulthaup put the emphasis on identifying the amount of storage space actually required in kitchen cabinets and the quantity of cooking implements, crockery and household appliances really needed. The important was separated from the unimportant, and the result allows the greatest possible concentration on the essentials and maintains everything in reach. See for yourself at Bulthaup’s San Diego showroom, 777 J Street, downtown, 619-237-5510; bulthaup.com.

Ancient Artifacts Abound: The David Alan Collection, purveyors of tribal and devotional art, furniture and decorative pieces — as well as architectural elements from the Far East — celebrated its fifth anniversary with an expansion. Located in the Cedros Design District in Solana Beach, the showroom now features three levels and more than 7,000 square feet. The collection includes intricately carved headboards, handcrafted Indonesian sleds, Chinese armoires and centuries-old pottery. 241 South Cedros Avenue, 858-481-8044; thedavidalancollection.com.