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On the residential front, two architects demonstrate the new guard of urban infill. Exhibit A: Kaya by architect-developer Jeff Svitak took home an Orchid in Private Architecture. e 78-unit Bankers Hill project prioritizes human connection, light, and air over maximum square footage. Framed in exposed concrete and wood, the building embraces open walkways and shared patios; at street level, its lobby and Communal Coffee open directly toward Olive Street Park. Kaya is a neighborhood anchor that's both smart and pretty. H otel. Motel. High design. If a city's worth is judged by the aesthetics of its hotels and restaurants, San Diego is winning. e region continues to flex its cultural muscle according to the latest San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF) Orchids & Onions awards. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the annual program single- handedly drives the conversation around San Diego's built environment by honoring the standouts (and naming the duds). e clear victor: CH Projects from visionary founder Arsalun Tafazoli, who has created a portfolio of more-is-more grandeur at his social boîtes and boltholes throughout San Diego (e Lafayette Hotel, Seneca). is year, CH Projects dominated with an Orchid in Adaptive Reuse for Baby Grand in Coronado, and an Orchid in Interior Design for Starlite on India Street. For Baby Grand, created in collaboration with Brooklyn-based design studio Post Company, the 31-room boutique hotel is a multi-venue tropical Shangri-La. Meanwhile at Starlite, Tafazoli partnered with original interior designers Bells + Whistles to jolt the beloved classic into a new era. With infinity mirrors, a sculptural spaceship bar, and ahem, an oculus — it reinforces dining as the experience. Downtown, e Granger Hotel in the historic YMCA building earned an Orchid in Revitalization for a $30 million renovation by NYC's INC Architecture that merges century-old architectural details with rose-colored marble, vintage furnishings, and San Diego's first-of-its-kind Spirits Salon. Further south, the Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel won an Orchid in Revitalization for transforming a 1950s hot spring into a neo-bohemian retreat. >> Starlite (opposite) won the Orchid for Interior Design. The restaurant is by CH Projects with Bells + Whistles; Downtown, The Granger Hotel (top left) by NYC's INC Architecture won an Orchid in Revitalization; Baby Grand (top right) on Coronado earned an Orchid for Adaptive Reuse. The multi- venue destination features Fallen Empire (above) @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2026 73 STARLITE, BABY GRAND HOTEL: PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIMBERLY MOTOS THE GRANGER HOTEL: PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GRANGER HOTEL FALLEN EMPIRE: PHOTO BY ETHAN JONES