California Cathedral by Atlas Lab
15th and K Streets, Sacramento, CA. Photo by Kevin Fiscus
About Atas Lab
From the website https://atlaslab.com/
"Our team brings years of experience working on award-winning and influential projects built across the country. We are proud to be woman and minority owned practice, and are focused on improving the lives of community members through design. To that endeavor, our voice is represented on a spectrum of scales, through leadership and volunteer roles with local and state non-profits as well as national associations."
Kimberly Garza
Kimberly Garza is the Founder and Principal of ATLAS Lab Inc, a woman and minority-owned, mission-driven landscape architecture, urban design, and public art studio. With a steadfast commitment to effecting conscious change in the built environment, Kimberly spearheads initiatives aimed at fostering accessible, positive, and progressive impacts on communities.
With twenty years of experience in the field, Kimberly is a seasoned landscape architect, artist, educator, and keynote speaker. Her portfolio spans private and public developments nationwide, with her work being internationally recognized, published, and exhibited.
Kimberly’s dedication to innovation and leadership has earned her accolades, including being named the 2023-24 Landscape Architecture Foundation Fellow for Innovation and Leadership, as well as being recognized as a 40 Under 40 Urban Innovator by NextCity.org and a 40 Under 40 Honoree by the Sacramento Business Journal.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Kimberly contributes to various organizations, serving on the Board of Directors for the Crocker Art Museum, Downtown Sacramento Foundation and the Design Advisory Board for Landscapeforms. Additionally, she shares her expertise as an educator, having taught at esteemed institutions such as the University of California, Davis Department of Human Ecology and Harvard University’s Career Discovery program.
Kimberly’s commitment to her field is further evidenced by her past roles, including serving as the President of the ASLA Sierra Chapter and as a member of the Midtown Association Woman in Placemaking Committee and ULI Sacramento.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Registered Landscape Architect: CA 617
View from inside the California Cathedral.
Artist Statement
California Cathedral showcases and reinterprets California's iconic redwoods, pines, cedars and firs that comprise most of the state's mountain landscape. With the loss of 147 million trees due to shifting climate patterns, the work's intent is to bring awareness to California's threatened landscape.
The sculpture is comprised of a series of wood planks from salvaged trees lost due to climate change, supported by cylinder frame, that echoes a tree form. The public can interact with the sculpture through an internal experience. From inside looking upwards, wood planks frame a view of the sky, as the soaring trees do in the landscape—evoking a contemplative and uplifting experience.