The innovative office complex prioritizes occupant comfort, creates a strong connection to nature, and offers long-life flexibility as well as access to the Bay Area’s multi-modal transportation network.
Courtesy of KPF
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) recently celebrated the groundbreaking of Platform 16, a 1,200,000-square-foot, three-building office campus in Downtown San Jose, California developed by Boston Properties. Located on a 5.4-acre site adjacent to Google’s planned eight million square foot transit village and Diridon Station, a major Bay Area transportation hub, Platform 16 will include multiple outdoor terraces, active pedestrian plazas, expansive floorplates, and 15-foot floor-to-floor heights, prioritizing the experiences of diverse occupants.
Courtesy of KPF
On Platform 16’s main façade, three module orientations—center, left, and right—create a sense of depth and texture by breaking down the building’s scale and shimmering like sequins in the sun’s reflection. The project’s low, horizontal mass recedes from the street as it steps up to create large terraces at every level. Providing significant outdoor space for tenants and unobstructed views of San Jose and the nearby Guadalupe River Park, these terraces are positioned and oriented to bring daylight deep within Platform 16’s interiors. Bronze in color, the terrace façade contrasts the main wall in materiality and scale, evoking an organic composition that also points to the project’s sustainability. Accessible on each level, the terrace space promotes wellbeing outside the traditional office setting.
Courtesy of KPF
“Our goal for Platform 16 is to create a responsive, generous, and healthy building that will stand the test of time thanks to its inherent flexibility,” said Trent Tesch, KPF Design Principal. “We prioritized occupant wellness and comfort by creating significant outdoor space at each level of the buildings, carving away the form at key moments that also, along with a dynamic façade, create a visual variety along the street.”
Courtesy of KPF
“Our design for Platform 16 leverages San Jose’s warm, dry climate to create a cutting-edge and sustainable indoor/outdoor workplace and campus,” said Lloyd Sigal, KPF Managing Principal. “The project’s large interior floorplates extend to generous outdoor terraces, introducing ample daylight through an innovative and environmentally designed facade system.”
Courtesy of KPF
“This in an exciting milestone for Platform 16, one that reflects a very close collaboration with our friends at Boston Properties, TMG, and Devcon, who each played an integral role in the execution of this visionary project. This project will be the beginning of a new marker for what downtown San Jose will be – an engaging, workplace oriented and environmentally responsive place,” added Angela Wu, KPF Director of West Coast Operations.
Courtesy of KPF
In addition to Platform 16’s dynamic design, the project is highly energy efficient. Current energy use projections for the development show it outperforming the AIA 2030 Commitment goal of an 80% reduction against its baseline, a feat achieved through a number of sustainable design strategies. The combination of a high-performance facade, passive cooling systems, and high efficiency lighting systems will minimize the building’s energy demand, while design provisions for a solar PV roof covering 20% of the building demand will further reduce the building’s emissions. Additionally, the project’s traditional central core system creates flexible, efficient floor plates along with desirable floor-to-floor heights that provide ample space for reconfiguration to cater to any future tenant.
Courtesy of KPF
Platform 16 not only maintains visual connection to its surroundings but also provides immediate pedestrian access to the neighborhood and transit access to the Bay Area at large. Its location on Howard Street and Old West Julian Street increases connectivity through pedestrian and bicycle access for employees, visitors, and the public. On its south side, San Pedro Square becomes a flexible and dynamic public realm with convenient access to the city’s financial center, the SAP Center arena, and Diridon Station. This intermodal transportation hub services Caltrain, VTA Light-Rail, along with the planned BART and California High Speed Rail station.
Courtesy of KPF
“Platform 16 emerges at the intersection of so many important Downtown San Jose assets—the Guadalupe River Park, Mineta San Jose International Airport, the Shark Tank and our central station,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “It is the vanguard of a wave of office space that is changing the trajectory of Downtown as Silicon Valley’s urban center.”
Courtesy of KPF
Courtesy of KPF
“We are looking forward to expanding our presence in the South Bay,” said Bob Pester, Executive Vice President at Boston Properties. “San Jose is at the heart of the region’s innovation and growth, and we are proud to support the needs of the business community and the exceptionally talented workforce that reside here.”
The first phase of construction on Platform 16 is expected to be completed in 2023.
News courtesy of KPF