Urban Design
Younglandia
In an industry where women rarely take center stage, Julie Young has quietly become one of the most significant and thoughtful urban developers in the region—crafting exquisitely curated projects that bloom like defiant wildflowers in the concrete jungle. And now, through sheer tenacity and savvy scrappiness, she may just have unlocked the mystery to attainable housing that aspires to forward-thinking design as much as affordability. It’s a beautiful day in her neighborhood, indeed.
Chow Bella
Willow serves up love, Southern Italian style, with a side of colorful and texture-rich decor. After three tough pandemic-impacted years, the downtown restaurant scene is looking up.
Snap, Crackle & Pop Culture
A new cereal bar opens in Old Sacramento and serves up everything from Corn Pops to Instagrammable backdrops
Walking on Air
In Duisburg, Germany, and Pohang, South Korea, two massive works of “walkable art” have brought new life to their respective waterfronts. As a city trying to reinvigorate its own waterfront, Sacramento should walk this way too.
Get a Room!
Call it a room boom. Over the past year, three new marquee hotels have flung open their doors in Sacramento, each mixing historic charm with modern flavor. Look for local art, high design and restaurants with noteworthy culinary pedigrees. And more are on the way. So pack a bag, book a show, and turn a date night into a date weekend. Why should we let the tourists have all the fun?
Sitting Down with a Good Book
Many cities have combined street furniture with great literature to beautify urban landscapes and improve literacy. Let’s take a page from that book.
Double Vision
With their new Sacramento-centric HGTV home design series, premiering March 12, Land Park’s Kele Dobrinski and Christina Valencia are helping couples find their aesthetic middle ground. And when they’re not swatch-buckling on a national television show, the husband-and-wife duo are helping redefine and reinvigorate both the private and public spaces where locals want to spend their time—from a jazzy new patio for an East Sacramento restaurant to a complete rebranding strategy for Broadway’s Tower District. Their story-driven work has led to the cornerstone of their design philosophy: making memories.
A Star Is Born
Nearly 15 years in the making, the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity is ready to open a portal to both the past and the future on the banks of the Sacramento River, pairing a historic 1912 power station with Northern California’s most advanced planetarium. Its mission: Reinvigorate the waterfront, position our region as a tech and health sciences powerhouse, and ultimately inspire generations of kids from all walks of life to dig deeper, reach further, dream bigger and discover for themselves that the sky’s the limit.
Can’t Touch This
With a Covid-inspired business model, one Fair Oaks-based tech firm has its finger on the pulse of the future.
Local designers envision open-air greenhouse dining in the age of COVID
As restaurants try to navigate the changing rules of safe dining, one Sacramento design firm proposes a glass-half-open idea.
Radio Activation
Over the next year, the visionaries behind a new downtown headquarters for Capital Public Radio will transform a long-empty mid-century building into a living, breathing physical manifestation of the station’s news-and-music format. Behold the ultimate audiovisual room.
The Ice Blocks Cometh
It is, by all appearances, an urban utopia. Come this spring, more than 500 people will work there, more than 200 will live there, and thousands more will dine and shop there. Its innovative tenant mix ranges from an insanely popular “doughnuterie” to a gourmet dog food shop and an Internet-based boutique where you don’t leave with the clothes you buy. And this bustling village within a city—elevated by art and cutting-edge architecture—all exists within a two-block span in the coolest district in town. Could the Ice Blocks be the new model for modern living in Sacramento?
The Scene Setter
If dining out is a theatrical experience, then Sacramento interior designer Whitney Johnson may be the city’s leading set designer, crafting visual feasts to complement the edible art on our plates. From the Shady Lady Saloon’s lush Gold Rush bordello look to Hook & Ladder’s hipster-historic vibe and Kru’s Tokyo-inspired elevated elegance, she’s curating the culinary environment for some of the city’s most accomplished chefs and bar masters. And she’s just getting started. With a bevy of savory new projects about to be launched, the 31-year-old Rocklin native is more poised than ever to design and conquer.
Modern Classics
With a new landmark study, Sacramento is officially recognizing the mid-century modern structures that define a critical period in our city’s architectural history. Here are five retro-cool gems—from Gunther’s to Eichlers—that deserve a deeper look into what makes them both time-specific and timeless.
Made in the Shade
A new global study conducted by MIT affirms Sacramento’s status as the City of Trees
Raising the Barn
On the banks of the mighty Sacramento River, an instant architectural icon has sprouted from the earth, connecting the natural landscape of the riverfront to its modern neighbors ashore, all while making a bold statement about our region’s history and our new civic identity. Here’s how our newest urban landmark was born.
Bruce Monighan Q&A
In December, local architect Bruce Monighan took on the role of Sacramento’s Urban Design Manager. He shares his vision for creating a distinctive regional style, using steel shipping containers in architecture, attracting the next generation of downtown dwellers (hello, flexible micro-apartments), and building a city for the 22nd century.
Designs Within Reach 2014
Thanks to some big thinkers and talented designers, our region’s architectural profile is poised to rise in the next few years, both literally and figuratively. Here’s a preview of some of our faves.
Bright Lights, Big City
The effort to save the Kings proved that we’re a city that can come together when we want to. Now we have a chance to show how bright our future really can be.
A Competitive Spirit
A novel concept behind the new arena campaign (public input) and a strategy for a revamped Capitol Mall (a design competition) are steps in the right direction toward great civic design. But they’re just a start.
Catalyst for Change
The recent design competition to reinvigorate Capitol Mall is a big step in the right direction. But now that the ideas are on the table, let’s make sure we’re viewing the situation from the right vantage point (preferably a high one).
On Sale Now!
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