Comstock's magazine 1117 - November 2017 | Page 75

foot facility will be completed at the end of this year and will
include two theaters, rehearsal space, an expansive lobby,
full-service café, living roof and rooftop deck.
Since founding VGA in 1995, Vrilakas has enjoyed re-
gional success — while encountering his share of frustration
with some notable commissions going to firms outside the
region. He uses the recent flurry of mid-rise housing proj-
ects done by outside firms as an example. “There are a whole
lot of these projects that some are going out of town for, and
I think that is unfortunate and disappointing. Local firms,
including ourselves, can do them and do them better than
outside firms, because we understand our neighborhoods
and our climate and our city,” he says. “The building of the
urban city is underway. And we really need local talent to
develop that and make Sacramento its own place.”
Nick Docous, principal with long-standing Sacramento
firm Lionakis, believes clients will get architects from out-
side the region for a number of reasons. “First and foremost,
as a client, you have lots of risk, so you want to find the best
team that’s done this before,” he says. “So experience has a
lot to do with it.”
In Docous’ estimation, large projects like the Golden
1 Center are so specialized, only three or four firms in the
nation are qualified to take them on. The Golden 1 Center’s
architect AECOM has designed some of the top sports arenas
in the world. But Docous sees a solution for projects that fall
within this category. “On these big projects — the ones that
the local firms can’t do or somebody has really specialized
experience — Sacramento architects can bring a lot of per-
spective regarding politics, community, social sensibility,
emerging trends, community input and outreach,” he says.
Docous gives an example: The Sacramento International
Airport’s modern Terminal B wing was designed by Denver
architect Fentress and Dallas architect Corgan, who both
have extensive airport experience. Corgan brought Lionakis
on as a consultant to weigh in on the design and provide
green-building expertise in pursuit of LEED Silver certifi-
cation. Corgan also contracted with local firm Dreyfuss +
Blackford to assist with some technical and ancillary work.
“One of the things the airport challenged us with was
how to create a sense of place that is Sacramento,” says Brent
Kellye, Corgan principal. “While we always do our research,
interviews and analysis, there is something you can’t cap-
ture in asking people a question, versus somebody who has
lived it and has an understanding of what the community is
about. That’s the benefit we saw in working with Lionakis.”
Lionakis was part of a co-located team with Corgan staff
that regularly met to address design decisions and technical
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