The Related Companies is bringing its vision of a ground-up, architecturally unified neighborhood to the West Coast, and has tapped Foster + Partners to design and master plan the 9.2-million-square-foot, 240-acre first phase of an $8 billion development in Santa Clara, California. Santa Clara sits in the heart of Silicon Valley, abutted by San Jose, Mountain View, and Cupertino, where Google, Apple, and other tech titans are headquartered, and Related is banking on the need for offices, hotels, and apartments in the area. The unnamed development is the result of a public-private partnership between the city of Santa Clara and Related to transform a golf course into a mixed-use hub. The plan includes 5.4-million-square feet of new office space; 1,280 new apartment units, 170 of which will be affordable, and 400 “extended stay” apartments with amenities; an Equinox hotel (Related owns Equinox) and a 440-room business hotel; and 1-million-square-feet of retail and restaurants. In future phases, Related has also blocked out up to 4-million-square-feet of space for a potential corporate campus on the site’s eastern end. Foster + Partners is responsible for the site’s master plan and the design of the project’s first phase, with Gensler serving as the executive architect. The development is being pitched as extremely walkable and environmentally conscious, and indeed, the neighborhood is sited with links to Caltrain and BART, the Capitol Corridor Amtrak route, and VTA bus and rail lines. The project also neighbors the extant Levi’s Stadium and the convention center. From the renderings, it seems that Foster + Partners is leaning heavily on timber, as the arched trusses and swooping canopy of the “Global Food Market,” the “loft offices,” and other buildings prominently integrate mass timber. A 30-acre public park, of which Related will kick in $5 million towards the construction of, and numerous hiking and biking trails have also been planned. The project was first announced in 2013 and has been working its way through public feedback and the city approval process ever since. As such, site work can begin immediately, and Related expects vertical construction to begin early next year. The development’s first phase is expected to open in 2023.

Project Summary by Arquitectonica

Highlights 

(Awards | Exhibitions | Publications)

• Dezeen, “Foster + Partners designs new neighbourhood for Santa Clara” by Bridget Cogley (ISSN N/A), 2019

Overview

• Mixed-Use, 495,000 ft² (46,000 m²), 150 ft (45 m) - 10 floors, 422 units

Tasks

• Project Designer (Design Team: Concept - SD Phase)

• Design team member.

• Development of design studies, presentation materials.

• Development of construction documents and detail drawings for submissions.

•  Incorporating feedbacks from consultants into design.

• Supervision of intern designer’s work.