Plaza Park Tower, Sacramento CA
Designed as KMD Architects, 1990
John Ellis Project Designer with Jeff Horowitz, Rob Rothblatt, Rich Lowry, Bill Verelley
The 430,000 sq ft project commissioned by Grosvenor International is a 23 story highrise office building fronting Plaza Park and is an important landmark on Sacramento’s skyline. The design recalls the streamline Art Deco highrises of the Jazz Age and many of the city’s earlier buildings.
The building’s massing conforms to the city’s Downtown Plan by holding the streetwall up to 85’ and stepping back establishing a distinctive top, shaft and base. The tower is clad in French limestone and matching precast concrete. The two three-story entry lobbies are embellished with murals by the Italian artist Richard Piccolo depicting the four elements, Earth Fire Water and Air and references to Sacramento’s history.
Plaza Park Tower was built for Grosvenor International as part of Sacramento's Downtown Plan. The design acknowledges the tradition of American prewar era highrise towers with its stepbacks and vertical emphasis. The lower floors fill the site and hold the streetwalls, while the tower steps back above the 85' level. The building is clad in French Limestone and matching precast concrete panels.
View facing east along I Street.
View of the south elevation showing the stepback massing.
View of the tower from Plaza Park at dusk.
The stepbacks respond to the scale of the surrounding urban context and the pattern of some of Sacramento's historic buildings.
The 300' high tower is capped with a mechanical penthouse. The flat roof can accommodate a helicopter landing pad.
The three-story front and back lobbies have murals by the artist Ricardo Piccolo that depict the four elements: Air, Fire, Water Earth.
Rear lobby showing the murals Fire and Water on either side.
Perspective view of the lobby, (paying homage to a rendering by James Stirling and Leon Krier).