Establishing a Vocabulary

As Phase 1 of the larger Oakland Medical Campus, the design of the Medical Office Building landscape establishes a vocabulary of landscape elements intended to maintain a continuity of materials and forms that extend those of the building into the landscape, and vice versa. Setting a precedent for the quality and design commitment for the new Kaiser Permanente Oakland Campus, it builds upon the relationship to Mosswood Park to the south of the Medical Office Building by extending the perception of this borrowed amenity.

Meadows for Rehabilitation

Integrated circulation ramps merge—visually and materially—into walls and plantings along the public facades of the medical office. To the west, there is a two-acre restorative garden providing both a place for rehabilitation therapy and an amenity for staff members and the families of patients. The garden is an extension of the Native Creek restoration on the northern stretch of the property and continues its palette of primarily native species, creating a giant meadow area which filters and retains roof stormwater.

 

A Sense of Place

INTERSTICE Architects developed a vocabulary of built elements and plant materials that provide a strong sense of place and serve as a functional navigational tool in the space. Landscape elements and plantings are used to purposefully engage changing environmental conditions including wind movement, stormwater capture and filtration, daily lighting, and seasonal changes.

• CAMPUS/CULTURAL
• Landscape