Urban Design

Design standards, plans, and visualization that carry an idea from concept to what actually gets built.

Design intent has a way of evaporating between the concept graphic and the finished building. In California and many other states that gap has widened. Cities can no longer rely on discretionary review to fix a project late, so the quality of a place now depends on how clearly design expectations are written down in advance.

KGA does both halves of that work. We prepare the plans and visuals that let people see what is proposed, and we write the objective standards that make the built result look like the picture.

Where we help

  • Objective design standards. Height, setback, massing, articulation, and frontage standards written to be measurable, so they hold up under state housing law and still produce good buildings.

  • Concept, corridor, and downtown plans. Site plans, master plans, and redevelopment concepts tied to real parcels, real constraints, and a workable phasing sequence.

  • Public realm and streetscape. Streets, plazas, parks, and open space designed around complete streets policies, accessibility, and how people actually move through a place.

  • Visualization and graphics. 3D models, renderings, and diagrams that make a proposal legible to a council, a commission, and a neighborhood meeting.

  • Design review and application support. Evaluating development applications against adopted standards, and advising on public realm improvements delivered through private projects.

Who we work with

Cities and counties that want design expectations written into the code rather than negotiated project by project. Project teams that need a proposal explained visually to a decision-making body. Agencies planning a downtown, a corridor, or a public space who want the design and the implementing regulations to come from the same hand.

Why KGA

Most firms either draw or regulate. KGA does both. The standards we write are informed by having designed to them, and the designs we produce are informed by knowing how a city will read them and build them.