San José Redevelopment Agency & Strong Neighborhood Initiative

The new community center was designed in a series of participatory workshops, conducted in Spanish and English by the design team. The main program rooms are organized around a generous porch and a south-facing courtyard flanked by two existing stands of mature redwoods.

The project’s green and sustainable features are integral to the design and intentionally rely on approaches that require minimal maintenance, technology and cost. The south-facing porch capitalizes on the area’s temperate climate and protects the program spaces from direct solar heat-gain and glare; high windows provide daylight and natural ventilation; small, efficient heat pumps and a super-insulated building envelope contribute to very low energy use.