I
t’s a brisk morning just before 8 o’clock in the Highlands, a slice of suburban calm that sits above the coastal Highway 101 in Encinitas. It’s barely humming with any kind of a.m. commute.
LEFT Each of Field X Studio’s four townhome units offers 2,100 square feet of living space spread across two floors and a basement. ABOVE The F Street Residences are a rare new addition to Encinitas’ long-standing Highlands neighborhood, a suburban enclave of primarily single-family homes. BELOW The townhomes court sunlight from every possible angle.
Despite its quaint setting, this idyllic perch is a quick, one-block trek away from the transit, bars, restaurants, and retailers of the city’s downtown. Close as it is to the action, the Highlands neighborhood takes pride and staunch ownership in its enduring suburban status, and its dwellers are wary of any new developments encroaching on that sacred, residential space—especially if views are at stake. As I stand on the corner of F and Cornish, a Highlands resident saunters up with two curious dogs in tow. He’s called Encinitas home since the 1940s, and he’s happy to point out the patchwork of styles that have given the neighborhood its longevity and charm, including the library and two homes with deco- era, Egyptian motifs. But when asked what he thinks about the F Street Residences, the new, two-story townhomes on that aforementioned corner, he replies, “It’s double ugly.” Taste is subjective, but it’s no secret that established beachside communities, like Encinitas, are resistant to topographic shifts—particularly when height and population density are involved. The question is how to mitigate the fear of change with the necessity of housing in these legacy communities. Scott M. Maas is the principal architect at Field X Studio, the firm behind the F Street Residences. He concedes that there was accrued ambivalence from both the citizens and the city.
49 SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
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