RDC Honored by AIA San Diego with Interior Architecture Merit Award for Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center
The American Institute of Architects, San Diego Chapter, proudly announced The Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center as a 2022 Merit Award Winner in the Category of Interior Architecture. The prestigious award honors innovative design, with an emphasis on sustainability over a broad range of categories. This year had a particular focus on design excellence in San Diego- celebrating those projects that demonstrate exemplary design skill of formal, functional, and technical requirements.
Sing Tong, AIA, Project Architect and Associate with RDC, accepted the award on behalf of RDC. “Thank you to the Judges of the San Diego AIA Awards for this Honor!” Tong said. “RDC worked diligently on the Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center for close to 5 years before it opened fully this past winter. We hope that you will visit The Sky Deck often!”
Mitra Esfandiari, AIA, Senior Principal with RDC commented, “Together with our client Donahue Schriber Realty Group, we aspired to create an authentic and memorable place for the local community to gather and have fun.”
This unique gastronomic destination consists of a collection of local chef-driven San Diego restaurants and a beer garden with their own dedicated seating in one grand space. The authentic story of Maritime/industrial that was inspired from the nearby port of San Diego, became the overarching story/vision for the design. An expansive 35’ X 60’ skylight guides daylight and views of the evening sky into the center of the space.
“Our goal was to convey this vision through architecture, interior design, skylight technology, artist’s murals, curated found objects, environmental graphics, and lighting to create memorable experiences for the visitors,” Esfandiari continued. “The acknowledgement of the AIA San Diego with this Design Award is extraordinarily meaningful to our team of architects and designers at RDC.”
Photography by: @benny_chan_photography