KTGY Earns Recognition for Design Excellence & Innovation in SoCal Awards

IRVINE, CALIF. – September 24, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) – KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture + Planning is pleased to announce that KTGY’s wide range of capabilities in single-family detached and multifamily for-sale architectural designs have been recognized by the 2014 SoCal Awards judges. The firm has earned a total of nine Finalist honors for the architectural design of Liberty at Morning Star, Camden at Playa Vista, The Heights at Baker Ranch and Skylar at Playa Vista. The SoCal Awards program honors the best in professional achievement, sales, marketing and design throughout the Southern California home building industry.

KTGY-designed Liberty at Morning Star in Winchester, Calif., is a finalist in the category of Detached Community of the Year and Liberty at Morning Star, Plan 3, is a finalist in the category of the Best Architectural Design of a Detached Home priced under $500,000. The builder is Brookfield Residential. Liberty at Morningstar Ranch offers the ultimate in luxury and the space families needs, both inside and out. Featuring up to six bedrooms, including large secondary bedrooms with walk-in closets, first-floor bedroom suite with private entrance and kitchenette, and up to 5.5 baths; but the biggest wow at the heart of the home is an extremely oversized, light-filled great room with space for formal dining for 10 and casual seating connecting to a large outdoor room to expand the buyers’ indoor/outdoor living and entertaining. There is a chef-inspired kitchen with oversized island seating 6, an optional prep-kitchen to hide the mess, and a Costco-sized pantry. The media room is perfect for family movie nights. A highly sought-after four-car garage offers storage space for recreational vehicles and sports gear, while its traditional driveway is perfect for a basketball hoop.

Brookfield Residential’s Camden at Playa Vista (Los Angeles County), Calif., is a finalist in two categories: Attached Community of the Year and Best Architecture Multi-Family Community. Combining the traditional look of an East Coast brownstone with a “beachy” West Coast vibe, Camden’s dramatic brick architecture with dark framed windows makes an impressive statement and introduces a fresh type of attached living at Playa Vista. Three new single-level floor plan designs in a four-story, six-plex for-sale stacked flats, each level served by a nearly private elevator, offer high function and low maintenance. Each home has a private garage that connects directly to the lobby, although one home connects directly to its own ground floor entry and a 4th bedroom that can be a multi-generational suite for the flat above, or used as a family room or home office. Connected by way of a foyer and internal stair, the resident also has access to the home’s main living floor by way of the building’s elevator. This flexibility of living arrangement truly provides a unique solution for buyers of any age, at any stage of life, and can be used differently as the resident’s need changes over time.

In the category of Best Architectural Design of a Detached Home priced $750,000 – $1 Million, two residential plans at The Heights at Baker Ranch in Lake Forest, Calif. are finalists, The Cascade and The Ridgecrest. The builder is the Toll Brothers. Located with walking distance to parks and community amenities and near transit, shopping, and employment, home buyers can personalize their home with optional master retreats, California Rooms, bonus rooms, and flex spaces to tailor each home to their specific needs and lifestyle. Each floor plan maximizes the indoor-outdoor living experience with multiple outdoor spaces, lushly-landscaped courtyards, and up to 56 feet of sliding glass panels to bring the outdoors in. A spacious, covered entry opens to a superb foyer with amazing views through picturesque windows to the courtyard. A wide open kitchen offers extra large center island and abundance of counter space, generous pantry, and a desirable drop zone. An appealing great room, which features picturesque windows with views of the rear yard and a splendid staircase that runs upstairs, also includes access to a private inner courtyard and high-end landscaped rear yard. Home exteriors reflect classic Santa Barbara, Tuscan, Mediterranean, and Italian Villa architecture while interior spaces are designed for modern Southern California living.

KB Home’s Skylar at Playa Vista received finalist honors for all three of its plans in the category of Best Architectural Design of an Attached Home Plan. At Skylar, the goal was to create a housing type that would appeal to broader market of homebuyers than the traditional three-story townhome, while maintaining townhome density. By flipping the townhome product on its side, the design was able to provide three single-level living for-sale units that offered Universal Design and was surrounded by windows on all four sides. Also, a nearly private elevator provides accessible path to any floor. The groundfloor space, which was not occupied by the three 2-car private garages and building lobby, became a flex space that could either be a multigenerational suite for the flat above or a family room or home office. Connected by way of a foyer and internal stair, the resident also has access to main living floor by way of the elevator. The groundfloor suite could also serve as caregiver’s quarters should one of the family members on the main floor above require assistance. This flexibility of living arrangement allows residents to gracefully age-in-place regardless of their needs. Generous living and dining areas with large glass windows and optional accordion glass doors to decks provide seamless indoor-outdoor living and entertaining; open decks with glass guardrail system allows transparency to the outdoor open spaces. Skylar’s LEED PLATINUM Certification maximizes market appeal, reduces expenses and optimizes health.

Presented by the Greater Sales & Marketing Council of Southern California and Building Industry Association (BIA) of Southern California, the prestigious SoCal Awards pays homage to the industry’s best and brightest throughout the region, and encompasses all facets of professional achievement, sales, marketing, merchandising and design. The SoCal Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 27th at the Grove of Anaheim.

Founded in 1991 in Irvine, Calif., the award-winning KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture + Planning, is one of the nation’s leading full-service planning and architectural design firms. Known for its entrepreneurial spirit and unique company culture, KTGY devotes considerable time and money to qualitative and quantitative consumer research. KTGY challenges its design teams to use the R&D to develop new and innovative living solutions – all based on proven consumer trends and preferences in both for sale and for rent markets. See KTGY.com