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SD Architectural Foundation

@sdarchitecture

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🏙️ We’re a nonprofit making architecture accessible to everyone
✨ Inspiring people to explore our built environment
💬 Architecture is for all

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Help shape what’s next for architecture and design in San Diego! 🏙️

SDAF is seeking four passionate leaders to join our 2027 Board:

🌸 Orchids & Onions Co-Chair
✏️ Built Environment Education Program (BEEP) Program Champion
🎤 PechaKucha Night Co-Chair
📣 Communications & Marketing Lead

Bring your expertise, ideas, and connections to programs that inspire young minds, spark conversations, and celebrate design excellence. Work alongside architects, designers, and community leaders to make architecture and design accessible to all.

Ready to get involved? Explore the roles and apply through the link in our bio.

📅 Applications due November 16, 2026

#SDAF #SanDiegoArchitecture #SanDiegoDesign by @sdarchitecture

Help shape the future of SDAF, and how San Diegans experience design. 🏛️

From kids sketching their first buildings to a packed room cheering for an Orchid, our programs make architecture accessible, engaging, and part of everyday life.

We’re seeking architects, designers, community leaders, and passionate San Diegans to fill several open board positions. These are hands-on roles with real ownership, meaningful connections, and the opportunity to bring your expertise and network to a cause that shapes our city.

Explore the open positions via the link in our bio. Not sure which role fits? Reach out to our Community Engagement Committee at CommunityEngagement@sdarchitecture.org. We’d love to connect!

#SDAF #SanDiegoDesign by @sdarchitecture

A big congratulations to Max, age 9, the under-21 winner of our Crossing the Line / KidSketch competition! 🏆✏️

“I thought it was very fun sketching with them. Everyone was really nice and helpful. There were great choices in the buildings too. Some were harder, and I learned to not give up. And I also learned about guidelines, which has been helpful in my art.”

Crossing the Line / KidSketch invites creatives of all ages and skill levels to explore San Diego’s architecture, learn new techniques, and sketch alongside a welcoming community.

Ready to put pencil to paper? Stay tuned for our next session and come sketch San Diego with us!

#SDAF #KidSketch by @sdarchitecture

🌸🧅 50 years of Orchids, Onions, and conversations that shape our region.

Join Friends of San Diego Architecture for “Orchids & Onions: A 50-Year Report Card on San Diego Architecture,” a celebration and retrospective with Kevin deFreitas, FAIA, president of SDAF, and Mike Stepner, FAIA, one of the program’s founders.

From its beginnings to this year’s milestone gala, explore O&O’s history and the state of design across San Diego and Tijuana.

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
☕ 10–10:30 AM | Refreshments
🎤 10:30–11:30 AM | Program
📍 San Diego History Center, Casa de Balboa
1649 El Prado, Balboa Park

A $5 donation to FSDA is requested.

Come for the history. Join the conversation about what comes next.

RSVP at friendsofsdarch.com

#OrchidsAndOnions #SanDiegoArchitecture #SDAF #friendsofsandiegoarchitecture by @sdarchitecture

We’re proud to celebrate our recently recognized projects for the following awards:

Elephant Valley (our most recent Safari Park project) has received ABC San Diego’s Excellence in Construction Eagle Award, recognizing exceptional construction quality, innovation, technical ability, safety and project management.

Elephant Valley has also won an Orchid Award for Landscape Architecture, recognizing a thoughtfully designed habitat that connects visitors with wildlife and supports conservation.

CHAPEL at Liberty Station has won an Orchid Award for Historic Preservation, honoring the restoration of a historic San Diego landmark while preserving its character and creating a renewed amenities space for the community.

Thank you to our clients, design partners, trade partners and PBG team members who brought these award-winning spaces to life. We’re proud of the work—and the people behind it. by @sdarchitecture

Fifty years of celebrating San Diego’s built environment, and VESPER got to host the party. ✨

Last week we welcomed @sdarchitecture for the 50th Annual Orchids & Onions Awards Gala, an evening honoring the projects shaping our city for better (and, for some, for worse 🧅).

We’re especially proud to celebrate our sister venue, @libertystationchapel, on its Orchid Award for Historic Preservation. 🌸

Congratulations to every Orchid recipient, and a good-natured cheers to this year’s Onions. Here’s to the next 50 years of thoughtful design in San Diego. 🥂

#VesperVenue #LibertyStation #OrchidsAndOnions by @sdarchitecture

Could our next Executive Director be you, or someone you know?

We’re seeking a relationship-builder who loves connecting people, building partnerships, and exploring how thoughtful design shapes our city. This person will work closely with our Board, committee leaders, donors, sponsors, and community partners to help carry SDAF’s mission forward.

Does this sound like you? We’d love to hear from you.

Does it sound like someone you know? Send them this post, a personal nudge could make all the difference.

View the full position and apply through the link in our bio.

#SDAF #WereHiring #SanDiegoDesign by @sdarchitecture

This Saturday, we’re drawing inspiration from a San Diego icon! ✏️🏛️

Join us online for Crossing the Line / KidSketch as we explore the California Tower at Balboa Park, a fan favorite and 2015 Orchid Award winner.

It’s the perfect way for young creatives to put pencil to paper while helping us celebrate 50 years of Orchids & Onions!

📅 Saturday, October 10
⏰ 11 AM–12 PM
💻 Online
🎟️ Free!

Register through the BEEP link in our bio.

#SDAF #KidSketch by @sdarchitecture

What does cooking have to do with architecture? More than you might think.

We loved being part of the 50th Orchids & Onions Awards, celebrating architecture, design, and community in San Diego.

This one felt especially close to home, with Francesco’s background in urban planning before his journey into the culinary world.

Cucina Migrante had the pleasure of coordinating the food experience for the evening alongside an incredible group of culinary partners.

Food, design, community — exactly the kind of night we love being part of.

#SanDiego #SanDiegoEvents #SanDiegoFood #SanDiegoDesign #ArchitectureAndDesign by @sdarchitecture

Tijuana hizo historia en la gala Orchids & Onions 2026: el Santuario Frontera, un proyecto de vivienda para migrantes, recibió por primera vez la Gran Orquídea, máximo reconocimiento de la Fundación de Arquitectura de San Diego.

Reportera | @maciel.chaidez

No te pierdas de los noticieros #KSDYCanal50 de lunes a viernes a las 7pm y 11pm PST.

Visita ksdy50.com para más información.

#KSDYNoticias #Arquitectura #Tijuana by @sdarchitecture

We are so happy to share the incredible honor of winning TWO Orchid Awards at the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s 51st Annual Orchids & Onions Awards Ceremony.

We won an award for the Revitalization of the Town and Hotel, and we also won the People’s Choice Award for Interior Design.

Thank you to @sdarchitecture for a beautiful night and thank you to all who voted. This is a really big honor for us and we could not be more grateful for the recognition.

Thank you to our staff for dusting off your boots and coming out to support. You are the people who bring this hotel to life. You are the bridge from our intention to the experience of our guests. You offer people a refuge, a small piece of magic in a sometimes difficult world.
We were so proud to have you there. Jacumba rolls deep!!!

📸 @bestillephoto by @sdarchitecture

We are honored to have received the Student Choice Orchid this past Friday for our Bermeo ADU project.

A special thank you to all the students who voted and made this recognition possible. It means a lot to us, especially because it reinforces something we deeply believe in: the ongoing connection between architectural practice and teaching.

Thank you to the Bermeo family for trusting us with their home, and to everyone who helped bring the project to life.

Prismática Architects by @sdarchitecture