Alhambra Center

Mace and Alhambra Boulevards
Davis, California

The project consists of 2 one-story buildings and 1 two-story building totalling 62,000 square feet of much needed and communtiy desired Retail Space with small single bedroom apartments . The project is designed to serve both neighborhood and City at large. Its location at a major arterial intersection is highly visible to and for the entire City of Davis while the projects is specifically scaled to appeal to its immediate neighbors. The Design of the project is influenced by the original “Alhambra” in Granada, Spain which is a Moorish Castle consisting of multiple buildings built in the 1300’s . The “Alhambra”, Arabic for “The Red”, served as a point of departure for our design via inspiration not facsimile. This influenced our project in many ways including: overall siting, massing and landscaping. The building massing juxtaposes large and small scales. Towers are larger gestures toward the Alhambra and Mace “arterial” streets and heights are similar to the neighboring Covenant Church and Seville Apartments. Decorative columns in arcades are scaled for pedestrians. Wrought iron and brick “pedestrian gateways” are located at walks connected to the bike paths along the streets while wrought iron fencing with climbing vegetation screen the parking lot from the adjacent Seville apartments to the west. The landscape is generous as the original “Alhambra” is most noted for its gardens. The landscape features ornamental Palm trees, fruit bearing Orange Trees, and colorful Crape Myrtles at various parts of the site. Fountains throughout the plaza’s are influenced by the extensive presence of water in the original “Alhambra”.