The School & Corporate Campus Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. 600-650 Gateway is one of several great projects we are excited to showcase on LandscapeArchitect.com.

 
600-650 Gateway is a 7.5-acre multi-tenant campus in South San Francisco. In collaboration with Perkins&Will, the design team was tasked with re-envisioning and unifying the three existing buildings on site into a single campus. The project vision included improved building entrances, enhanced site connectivity and wayfinding, a central outdoor gathering space, and a more climate-appropriate landscape.

Materials used throughout the site resonate with the area's history as an old ship, stock, and railyard set on former tidal bay lands. In short, "ships, steak, and steel, with an oyster chaser" became the project's guiding inspiration. Each of the three new lobby plazas features a distinct paving pattern in black basalt that abstracts these themes, complemented by a network of oyster shell pathways and weathered rail ties. The central courtyard provides flexible café seating, defined by a series of basalt benches and bands and punctuated by kinetic art and shade trees.

Plant selection proved essential, as strong prevailing winds, intense solar exposure, and copper-rich post-industrial soils presented significant challenges. In response, the design team developed a plant community that is not only resilient and climate-responsive but also actively remediates the existing soils on site. Meadow grasses form the foundation planting, while ornamental perennial drifts express the site's microclimates: gold hues dapple sun-filled areas, while deep purples and reds characterize the shaded zones. Stormwater runoff from adjacent buildings is treated through a series of vegetated planters that soften and frame the parking areas. Native and drought-tolerant trees further enhance the campus microclimate, creating much-needed windbreaks, shaded zones, and seasonal variation.

To see more School & Corporate Campus projects, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/landscape-articles/sneak-preview-of-the-school-and-campus-issue

For more information about submitting a project, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/research/editorial/editorial-submissions.php