For the past 49 years, Sasaki Associates has combined creativity and problem solving to provide clients with exceptional planning and design services. Our approach grew out of founder Hideo Sasaki?EUR(TM)s belief that the most successful planning and design is accomplished by a team of experienced professionals from an array of design disciplines who work closely with the client to achieve the best solution. Sasaki offers integrated design services including planning, architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, civil engineering, and graphic design services to private and public clients in the United States and abroad. Hideo Sasaki established the firm in 1953 in Watertown, Massachusetts. The original professional staff included landscape architects and planners who had studied with Mr. Sasaki at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. As the practice flourished, architects, civil engineers, urban designers and environmental scientists, interior designers, and graphic designers brought additional breadth to the firm?EUR(TM)s capabilities. The firm?EUR(TM)s offices are in San Francisco, California and Watertown, Massachusetts with 35 and 235 planning and design professionals, respectively. We are acknowledged leaders in planning and design for college and university campuses; resorts and leisure developments; urban environments; roadway and transportation projects; waterfront developments; corporate and commercial investments; parks, gardens, and other public spaces; and fairs and exposition sites. Our appreciation for context?EUR"which broadly encompasses physical setting, natural environment, history and culture, and the particular opportunities and constraints of the program?EUR"consistently shapes and inspires our work. Organized to serve the individual client, our Principals play a leadership role in every project, working personally with other senior professionals to assemble, inspire, and direct the best team for the client?EUR(TM)s needs. Our offices work collaboratively when special expertise is required and we associate with other professionals to ensure that all aspects of a problem are fully addressed. The firm?EUR(TM)s senior professionals have developed client relationships with many public and private organizations spanning years and, often, decades of continued service. Planning and Design in an Urban Context / Revitalizing the City Sasaki?EUR(TM)s landmark master plan for the San Jose Civic Plaza encompasses a seven-block urban district of new and existing buildings, unified by an urban landscape of streets, pedestrian walks, courtyards, fountains, and plazas. Major program elements for the Plaza include a new City Hall (designed by Richard Meier & Partners), a public plaza, a performing arts facility, a childcare center, structured parking, and ancillary office, retail, and food services. The goal is a unified district of civic buildings and public spaces that merges with the surrounding neighborhoods to encourage continued redeveloment of the downtown area. The Guadalupe River Park Master Plan Update focused on the portions of the 27-mile linear park affected by the redesign of the Corps of Engineers Flood Control Project. Sasaki?EUR(TM)s master planning effort, which included community and committee meetings, addressed changes in political, technical and environmental conditions, and riparian habitat preservation. A key component of this downtown recreation corridor is the continuous pedestrian and bike trail that links the regional trail system with major public facilities, such as the Children?EUR(TM)s Discovery Museum, McEnery Convention Center, the Center for the Performing Arts, and the HP Pavilion. The restoration of the legendary Hotel De Anza was a key project in the early redevelopment effort of Downtown San Jose. Sasaki participated as landscape architects in the renovation effort lead by local architect, Kenneth Rodrigues, FAIA. The facilities were modernized, while the architectural integrity of the building was preserved. A new courtyard was added to complement the restored historical landmark, providing outdoor dining and event space for the hotel. Regional Transportation The conversion of the Guadalupe Parkway from a four-lane roadway with signalized intersections to a six-lane freeway will complete the Route 87 corridor through San Jose. Envisioned as a gateway to the City, the multi-million dollar project is jointly funded by Caltrans and the city, with Sasaki providing urban design guidelines. A consistent design vocabulary of forms and materials was established for the freeway elements, such as planting, walls, columns, bridge structures, and signage, to define the visual character and continuity of the corridor. The planting theme reflects the native landscape of the adjacent Guadalupe River. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has continued to upgrade and extend its light rail transit network serving the San Jose region. Drawing upon our wealth of transit planning and design experience, Sasaki analyzed the urban design of the existing stations in the San Jose downtown transit mall and provided recommendations for the Guadalupe Line Retrofit. Included is the new Vasona Line which will provide service between Downtown San Jose and the Campbell by late 2004. Additionally, Sasaki is working with the City of Campbell to develop conceptual designs for the three light rail stations within their city limits. Campus Planning and Design To plan for a new 21st university of the California State University system, Sasaki provided campus master planning, architectural, landscape architectural, and environmental graphics services for CSU Monterey Bay - a 1,300- acre site within the former Fort Ord Army Base. The master plan established the campus character and development directions of a sustainable campus environment including the integration of technology into the learning, working, and living environments of the institution. The Five-Year Capital Plan for Santa Clara University strategically addresses expanding programmatic needs for the years 2002 through 2006. The plan sensitively guides the location of new facilities to enhance the unique character of the 103-acre campus. By addressing campus planning goals and development guidelines, the plan serves to strengthen the campus?EUR(TM)s physical character and, in turn, support the quality of life of University students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community. Sasaki is currently designing the Evergreen Valley College Performing/Visual-Arts Center in southern San Jose. The program includes a 450-seat Performance Hall; a 125-seat Black Box Theater; teaching/studio spaces for the Performing Arts and Fine Arts Departments, as well as a Gallery/exhibition space, with associated exterior open spaces and campus landscape surrounding the facility. A key goal for this project is utilizing green design for both the building and the landscape.