Moffett Place High Garden by DES Architects + Engineers

Turning classical non-places in the city into green spaces: this project by DES Architects + Engineers has transformed the rooftop of a multilevel car park in Silicon Valley into a real landscaped park.



A few weeks ago we saw the design of the childcare centre by German firm querwärts on the rooftop of a multilevel car park in Stuttgart, Germany and today we're showcasing the High Garden by DES Architects + Engineers (DES A+E), in the heart of Silicon Valley.



Like their German colleagues, the American design team from Redwood City repurposed what would have been a parking space for 250 cars - 8093 square metres on the rooftop of the two-level garage - and created an amenity for the community working in the Moffett Place Campus, rented by Google.





The High Garden has become the heart and soul of the still-expanding campus, providing a place for up to 650 people to hang out and use it for recreation. It integrates individual and team sports facilities like basketball and volleyball courts and an elliptical running track for active users with passive uses such as a community vegetable garden, a meditation garden with meandering rows of bamboo, or just a place to take in the gorgeous views over the Santa Cruz Mountains and the neighbourhood.





DES A+E selected lots of different species of trees, shrubs and vines to celebrate the biodiversity of the Californian landscape and to reduce irrigation needs, where only reclaimed water is used. Some plant varieties were chosen because they attract insects and birds to create a real natural habitat. The green rooftop also helps improve storm-water management and the local microclimate by reducing the “heat island” effect.



The approach of DES Architects + Engineers means people can enjoy nature even in the workplace and it drastically reduces the impact of the building on the urban fabric. This rooftop park was so successful that the architects are designing four additional “roof gardens” in San Francisco and the highest of these will rise up nine stories - we can't wait to see them!

Christiane Bürklein

Projecz: DES Architects + Engineers, http://www.des-ae.com/
Location: Silicon Valley, California, USA
Year: 2016
Images: © Gregory Cortez, courtesy of DES A+E  - courtesy of v2com