D A V I D & L U C I L E P A C K A R D F O U N D A T I O N

3 4 3 S E C O N D S T R E E T , L O S A L T O S SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE DESIGN:

• WATER MANAGEMENT

• REGIONALLY-SOURCED MATERIALS

• CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS

JONI L. JANECKI & ASSOCIATES, INC.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

515 SWIFT STREET, SANTA CRUZ

(831) 423-6040 / WWW.JLJA.COM

P R O J E C T O V E R V I E W

© 2012, Jeremy Bittermann

• The project’s key goals include:

- achieve Net Zero Energy Use

and LEED Platinum certification

- be a “good neighbor” to the

surrounding community by fitting

into neighborhood scale and

prioritizing the streetscape

- provide indoor/outdoor work

spaces

- orient the buildings on site to

maximize natural light inside

- use locally-sourced materials

- use native and regionally-

adapted plants that are drought

tolerant and require minimal

amounts of fertilizer

- design a landscape that provides

habitat for birds and butterflies

D E S I G N C O N C E P T

• Pull the building apart to create a

central courtyard that...

- maximizes daylight to interiors

- provides outside views for all offices

- allows for interior/exterior flow and

work spaces

• Courtyard whose main features are...

- stone drainage channel that provides the

seam between the buildings

- two distinct California landscapes on

either side of the seam: woodland and

grassland

- large deciduous trees that cool the

building in the summer

- flexible seating that encourages use of

the courtyard by small and large groups

Sketch by EHDD

L A N D S C A P E P L A N V I E W

Staff Parking Lots

Second Street / Rain Gardens

San Antonio Rd.

Courtyard

Expansion

Space Entry

Roof

Garden

Visitor

Parking Lot

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E L A N D S C A P E - Visitor Parking Lot

• Repetition of materials found throughout the site leads visitors to building entrance across the street

• Use of colored concrete pavers with a Solar Reflectivity Index greater than 29 reduces urban heat island effect

• Paving drains to a vegetated swale along the parking edge to capture stormwater run-off

• Placement of elevated photovoltaic panels and trees required careful planning to avoid competition

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Entry

• Entry experience is

inviting and welcoming

• Incorporates materials

found throughout site,

reflecting entire campus

• Stone paving carefully

laid to assist in way-

finding, leading visitors

from parking lot to entry

• Entry oak anchors

building and ties

landscape to larger

California landscape

• Oak was grown in Clear

Lake from an acorn

collected in San Mateo

County 20+ years ago

Photo by Kris Knutson

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Roof Planting

• The green roof is a reflection of California’s

unique micro-climates – an eddy in the larger

campus landscape

• The lightweight planting medium, minimal soil,

extremes of heat and cold as well as sun and

shade, and episodic water meant that roof

plantings could not replicate the grassland or

woodland plant palette present on the rest of the

site

• Soil depth starts at 6” next to the building and

builds to 10” at outer edge

Photo by Kris Knutson

JLJA selected a tapestry of succulents, plus one grass

species, to provide flexibility in case any particular species

did not survive the harsh environment.

• Echeveria imbricata (Hens and Chicks)

• Festuca glauca (Common Blue Fescue)

• Sedum sediforme (Pale Stonecrop)

• Sedum spathulifolium (Broadleaf Stonecrop)

• Sedum spurium ‘Voodoo’ (Voodoo Stonecrop)

• Thymus praecox arcticus ‘Elfin’ (Creeping Thyme)

• Thymus pseudolanuginosus (Woolly Thyme)

• Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme)

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Roof Planting

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Courtyard

• Courtyard plantings --

grassland/meadow on one side

of the seam, woodland on the

other – reflect two distinct

California landscapes and

respond to different light

conditions

• Multiple seating options allow the

courtyard to be tailored to a wide

variety of uses by individuals,

small groups, and large

gatherings

• The infiltration trench is key to

stormwater management:

- courtyard paving pitches

towards trench

- below-grade trench collects

and holds water so it slowly

percolates down into the soil

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Courtyard

• London plane trees were selected two

years before installation and contract

grown specifically for this project.

- Trees are deciduous for building

climate control: providing cooling

shade in the summer and more sun

and light after leaves drop in winter

- Size: tall enough to shade building,

but not to block rooftop solar panels;

wide enough to fill space, but not to

overwhelm

- Roots: not invasive or prone to

pavement upheaval

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Expansion Space

• The Packard Foundation was

particularly concerned with

the site’s edges and its

relationship to its neighbors –

the Expansion Space was

crucial to maintaining a

welcoming, pedestrian-

friendly site

• The large area needed to be

appealing from a variety of

experiences: groundplane,

second story of building, and

pedestrian and vehicular

views along San Antonio

Road and Second Street

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E L A N D S C A P E - Green Streets

• Curbside, flow-through rain gardens capture stormwater from

Second Street, slow it down, filter it through vegetation, then

allow a fraction of it to exit into the city’s storm drainage system

• Planters designed to preserve existing street trees in order to

maintain neighborhood feeling and scale

• Rain garden plant selections thrive with periods of seasonal

flooding and drought

- Aquilegia formosa (Western Columbine)

one of Mrs. Packard’s favorite flowers

- Heuchera maxima (Island Alum Root)

- Heuchera micrantha (Coral Bells)

- Iris douglasiana (Pacific Coast Iris)

- Juncus patens ‘Elk Blue’ (California Gray Rush)

- Ribes viburnifolium (Evergreen Currant)

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E L A N D S C A P E - Green Streets

• The entire site can manage 90% of annual

rainfall on-site through a combination of:

- rain gardens

- vegetated swales

- unlined retention basins

- underground infiltration trenches

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E L A N D S C A P E - Water harvesting: cisterns

• Two 10,000-gallon

underground tanks

capture rainwater from

the roof

• Cistern water is used to

flush the building’s

toilets and meets 90%

of demand

• Cistern water is also

used for irrigation

• The municipal water

company supplies any

additional water needs

Diagram by Integral Group

E X T E R I O R S P A C E S - Detention Basin

• Overflow from the

cisterns goes to the

detention basin

• Water is held for up to

48 hours and allowed

to absorb into the soil;

excess then exits to

the city’s storm

drainage system

• The detention basin is

planted with plants

that tolerate periods of

drought and

inundation

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E L A N D S C A P E - Native Plants

• Native plants reflect the Packard

Family’s values concerning

conservation and sustainability

• 90% of the plants used are

native to California

• Why plant native plants:

- They provide valuable habitat

for birds, insects, and bees,

creating a miniature

ecosystem on the Foundation

campus

- They thrive without fertilizers,

pesticides, and herbicides,

thus ensuring a flourishing

ecosystem

- They translate to an irrigation

savings of 30%, based on

plant choices alone, compared

to a ‘traditional’ landscape

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N

Visit the David and Lucile Packard Foundation website for more information

about the LEED® Platinum and Net Zero Energy Building certified

headquarters.

View the list of plants used on the Foundation’s campus.

Visit the Joni L. Janecki and Associates, Inc. website.