The return of the pedestrian: a metropolitan approach to high-rise office in Sunnyvale. 100 Altair revives an existing plaza and welcomes the public with an indoor / outdoor lobby.
Natural light, operable windows, and material sourcing strategies, along with bike parking, showers, and an easy walk to public transit all contribute to the building’s ambitious sustainability goals.
Above the ground floor, north facade is a fully transparent curtain wall system. Operable windows are arranged in the field of glass, providing natural ventilation. A private balcony on the fourth floor carves a multi-story void directly above the main building entry and breaks up the primary facade. A large public interior space invites both outside pedestrian use and office users with informal meeting and lounge spaces.
With a full height green wall and sculptural seating, 100 Altair’s lobby brings the outside in.
At the property line, the south facade houses many of the primary building core elements. Punched openings provides light to the usable office space. The deep recesses of these punched openings shade the interior from direct sun. Core elements near the center of the building are highlighted by a high-quality panel siding system.
A generously-landscaped roof deck above the top floor provides a place for informal gathering and respite for office users. A trellis extends from the elevator lobby to provide shaded outdoor workspace. Planters within the roof deck area are bermed to provide soil deep enough to host small trees. Plantings will reduce peak rates of storm-water runoff.
The pedestrian experience along Altair, anchored by the open interior space, is further enhanced by a curbless streetscape transition from the existing sidewalks with modular pavers, attractive light bollards and detectable surfaces, with tall living walls stationed between full-height storefront glass walls. Vertical fins allow the just the right amount of sunlight into the east and west facades.
General Contractor: South Bay Construction | Structural: Structural Engineers, Inc. | MEP: New Age Electric, Terry Mechanical, Silicon Valley Mechanical | Civil: Kier & Wright | Transportation: Nelson Nygaard | Landscape: SWA Group
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