UCSD parking structure wins award. | Rendering courtesy of UCSD

UC San Diego was one of six California winners in the 2009 International Parking Institute’s Awards of Excellence Competition. 

The 27th annual awards program took place in Denver in conjunction with the International Parking Institute Conference & Expo held in May. The awards honored those whose parking structures exemplified design and creativity.

UCSD’s Hopkins Parking Structure was honored with the Category 5: Award for Architectural Achievement. The seven-level, 1,400-space structure includes open stairs, a concrete canopy, landscaping and solar trees — canopies of photovoltaic solar panels that supply sustainable energy for electric vehicle charging stations and the campus.

The project team included Melanie Arias, senior planner at the University of San Diego, and Michelle Wendler, AIA, an architect at Redwood City-based Watry Design.

— Molly Pappas

Public Safety Building Includes Firing Range, Crime Lab

Gafcon announced that construction has begun on a new public safety building in El Cajon. A groundbreaking ceremony was held June 23.

Adjacent to City Hall, the 119,400-square-foot building will feature five stories and 212,750 square feet of parking dispersed on three levels.

Within the building will be administrative and operational office space for all divisions, a joint police and fire emergency operations center, community meeting room, up-to-date communications center, indoor firing range, crime laboratory, property processing and storage space, short-term custody area and central data center.

The 5.7-acre project at 100 Civic Center Way is estimated to cost $40 million and is being funded by Proposition O. The project is slated for completion in June 2011.

— Molly Pappas

Architect Lands More Work From Stanford University