The landscape at 500 Santana Row commercial office buildings enhances the pedestrian experience by connecting the new office structure to the existing shopping district, while also providing an outdoor meeting space and rooftop amenities with site-wide stormwater treatment. The landscape is situated primarily over structure, with all planting either in raised planters or recessed into structure below the first level. The planters are clad with wood to create a wood-lined, barge-like container, supporting a series of smaller outdoor rooms. Wood seating is integrated into the patio for a retail space and under the solitary oak tree where refuge from the hot summer sun is found.
The new street tree planting on Olsen Drive and Winchester Avenue and the plantings throughout the project is predominantly native and/or climate-adapted planting including a native oak, under-story grasses and perennials, and ground-covering plant types.
Location: San Jose, California
Owner/Client: Federal Reality Investment Trust / WRNS Studio
Scope: Entry Plaza and Streetscape
Status: Completed 2016
Photography: Matthew Millman