It was time to duck and cover Thursday night for architects in San Diego.

San Diego County’s annual Orchids and Onions competition awards the best in local architecture with an Orchid — and the worst with an Onion. Only five Onions were given this year, so most architects avoided the notorious distinction during the awards ceremony Thursday.

The competition is now in its 43rd year, with the goal to make the region a better place to live. It was started by the local American Institute of Architects, but has been handled by the San Diego Architectural Foundation since 2006.

A committee of 11 jurors evaluated 118 nominations. There were also two People’s Choice awards, decided by online voters.



The top prize, called a Grand Orchid, was given to the Palomar College Maintenance Operations Complex . For the first time this year, the award is named for developer Ed Malone and his wife Barbara. Last year, judges said no single project was good enough to receive the Grand Orchid.

The jurors this year were Miti Aiello, James Brown, Matthew Ellis, David Hecht, Amber Lake, David Malumuth, Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio, Jessica Pope, Brian Rickling, Heather Ruszczyk and Regina VanderWerff.

