California Scheming: Nine Unsolicited Design Ideas for the Secret City of Solano County
For the last five years, a Silicon Valley supergroup has been plotting a secret city in Solano County, Calif., spending $800 million on 50,000 acres of land. Then, in August, The New York Times broke open the story, and the truth poured out. The project—dubbed “California Forever” and financed by a who’s who of tech investors—sought to build a newer, better urban experience in an area currently dominated by grazing cattle and wind turbines.
But what would this fantasy city actually look like?
To fill this vacuum of information, we asked three parties—creative production agency Transparent House, which does imaging work for Nike, Apple, Samsung and others; architecture firm Kennerly Architecture & Planning, known for its leafy reimagining of San Francisco Civic Center; and The Information’s own graphic design, Clark Miller—to imagine what the secret city of Solano County could actually look like—if it ever sees the light of day.
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Several California Forever investors have been vocal advocates for green energy. In August, one of them, Stripe co-founder John Collison, called out the Irish government for blocking development of a massive solar farm project. “Has anyone ever surveyed Irish people on whether they actually want all the red tape and ecological paperwork that prevent housing, energy infrastructure, transit and other important works from being built?” Collison tweeted.
Above and below, Owen Kennerly and Sarina Bowen Kennerly, the principals of Kennerly Architecture & Planning, imagine how California Forever could use Solano County’s naturally hilly landscape to create green energy. “The top part of the hills would remain open as wildlife corridors and for wind-power generation,” Owen said. The city could be built on the hillsides, and the foothills could provide a natural draining point for rainwater. “You end up with more flat land that’s great for community uses,” he said. “You could have soccer fields or community farms.”
Sramek wants to turn Solano County from a bedroom community, where most residents have to travel to nearby suburbs for work, into an economic hub in its own right.
Owen Kennerly believes the best way to accomplish that goal in this sparsely populated corner of Solano County is to import an anchoring institution, like a college, a company headquarters or a hospital. His firm created a “Central City” (above) that includes a marina, a ferry terminal and a College Hill topped by a Tower of Learning. The goal is to provide residents with both jobs and a communal gathering place.
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Read the full article, California Scheming: Nine Unsolicited Design Ideas for the Secret City of Solano County, which originally appeared on The Information on October 6, 2023.