They’re pushing 90, but these grande dames of San Diego architecture still look great.
They look particularly fresh when rendered by North Park designer Michael Scott.
Scott creates architectural drawings of classic San Diego buildings like Balboa Park’s Museum of Man and Downtown’s Santa Fe depot.
For now he’s putting the drawings on T-shirts. The San Diego Architectural Foundation plans to sell his shirts as a fund-raiser for its Built Environment Education Program. For details, call the local American Institute of Architects chapter at (619) 232-0109.
The museum building and the depot were both built for San Diego’s 1915 exposition.
Scott is also working up drawings of two other classics for his project: the 1888 Hotel del Coronado and the 1929 Serra Museum.
His drawings are reminiscent of blueprint elevations, though Scott adds some very black shadows for a three-dimensional effect. He finishes out his work with some discreet and very contemporary design elements.
Scott is principal with MLS Designs International, which also does architecture and interior design. He can be contacted on the Web at mlsdesign@hotmail.com.
He recently returned to San Diego from the Bay Area, where he also worked to incorporate elements from older buildings into his graphic design. Clients there included Pacific Bell and the American Automobile Association.
While he’s confining himself to T-shirt prints now, Scott hasn’t ruled out posters or other means of reproduction.
And even in the age of computer-aided design, Scott prefers to work by hand.
“I’m not as happy with the (computer design) process,” he said, adding he feels the hand-drawn end product just looks better.
