Packard Foundation 343 Second Street / JLJA was part of a team of designers selected to design a new home for the Packard Foundation that would both showcase sustainable building practices and complement the neighborhood fabric. Highlighting two native plant communities of the region, grassland and woodland, the 1.9-acre landscape consists of a series of outdoor meeting spaces and courts. Native and regionally-adapted plants offer year-round interest with minimal water and fertilizer, while coast live oaks, many grown from acorns gathered nearby, punctuate the landscape. A roof garden of succulents and grasses decreases energy use and reflected glare. Innovative curb-side flow-through rain gardens, vegetated swales, unlined retention basins, and underground infiltration trenches manage stormwater to minimize impact on Los Altos’ storm drain system. The project received LEED® Platinum certification and is registered as Net Zero Energy Use, evidence of the Foundation’s and design team’s commitment to conservation.

Photo: Jeremy Bitterman

Client: The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Location: Los Altos, CA
Dates: 2007-2012
Size: 1.9 acres
Cost: $37.2 million
Owner's Representative: Rhodes/Dahl Inc.
Architect: EHDD Architecture
Civil Engineer: Sherwood Design Engineers
Mechanical & Plumbing Engineer: Integral Group
General Contractor: DPR Construction
Arborist: Barrie D. Coate & Associates
Recognition: "The Drought Will Tell", by Mill Marken, Landscape Architecture Magazine, March 2015 View article >
Merit Award for Sustainability, 2013, American Institute of Architects, California Council
Site Design Award, Private, 2013, Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program
LEED® Platinum, 2013, U.S. Green Building Council
Best Green Project, 2012, ENR California
Best Green Private Project, 2012, Structures Awards, San Jose Business Journal

Photo: Jeremy Bitterman

Photo: Jeremy Bitterman

Photo: Kris Knutson

Photo: Kris Knutson