Google's San Jos Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan approved by city council

Google is seemingly everywhere, yet it considers the San José, California area home. Inasmuch, the company has been in the planning stages to develop an 80-acre campus since 2017, and discussions have been in the works between the city, the citizens and the company. Recently, the San José City Council gave the go-ahead for Google to pursue its San José Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan, which is set to be the largest multi-modal transit hub on the West Coast.

The lead designer on the project, SITELAB Urban Studio, created a concept that is an extension of downtown San José, an area rich with culture and connections with nature. Rather than making a stuffy commercial space, the plan welcomes the community with a major transit hub and copious opportunities to engage with the environment along 15 acres of green spaces and parks.

rendering of people walking and biking on streets

Even with thousands of houses, 7.3 million square feet of office space and up to 500,000 square feet of retail, cultural, arts, education and gathering spaces, the 80-acre compound aims to achieve a net-zero target.

rendering of kids playing on outdoor courtyard

The approved Downtown West project incorporates nearly all-electric buildings and will rely on a microgrid to serve the area. It will host 7.8 megawatts of onsite solar generation and energy-efficient utilities to be shared between buildings. All of these systems will help to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Water-saving features are also part of the plan with an onsite water reuse facility and the implementation of a water recycling system for all non-potable uses.

rendering of people on bridge looking at river

The micro-community will be set up to support bike and foot traffic to minimize car emissions with the goal of having 65% of all trips be made by bike, foot, public transit or carpool. The massive project plans to break ground in 2023 but will be constructed in stages over a timeline of 10 years. In the end, the project aims to earn LEED ND Gold for the project as a whole and LEED Gold for all office buildings.

rendering of buildings lit up at night

Google said, “Over three years we’ve spoken to thousands of residents and stakeholders to collectively imagine how Downtown West can contribute to the future of the Diridon Station Area and the City of San José. We heard a consistent message and request: create a community that has housing alongside jobs, that is part of San José and not a corporate campus. We took that as a call to action and are excited to share the fruits of our collaboration with the release of Downtown West’s Social Infrastructure Plan.”

+ SITELAB Urban Studio

Images via SITELAB Urban Studio and Google

from INHABITAT https://ift.tt/3ju7o7l
via IFTTT

Comentarios

imagenes del medio ambiente para dibujar

5 Benefits of Drip Irrigation Systems

If you want a stunning yard and a low water bill, a drip irrigation system could be for you. Image: Jacky Parker Photography/Getty Images If you live in one of the parts of the country that’s been struggling with drought (or you just don’t want to spend a fortune on your water bill), you’ve probably felt that you face a choice with your outdoor areas. You can either be water conscious or have a beautiful, lush yard, right? When you’ve opted for traditional irrigation systems like sprinkler heads, that’s often true. But, good news, that’s not your only option as far as types of irrigation systems go. If you want a beautiful yard without the high water usage — and resulting bill! — a drip irrigation system could be just what you need. What is a drip irrigation system? This way to water your plants uses dripped water. A drip irrigation system runs either a perforated hose or drip emitters (connected by a hose) under the soil throughout your planting bed. Water drips through sma...

New riverside development in China will be an urban renewal

Architects VenhoevenCS have won a major riverside redevelopment in Shenzhen, China . They hope to protect large areas of land from flooding while also creating a vibrant new urban identity for the Bao’an district. The Pailao River Blueway Project constitutes a new biodiverse landscape along the central Pailoa River, an area under rapid urban development where rainfall intensity is increasing. Architects are using this project to design with the water instead of against it. It includes elements such as ponds, green roofs, urban farming plots, wetlands and soft banks, contributing to a natural sponge effect to absorb excess water from the river . Related: 100-year-old railway yard turned into a green space VenhoevenCS also has their sights set on integrating urban regeneration in the area. They have planned cultural and social spaces, including pavilions and parks for cyclists and pedestrians. The design illustrates their nature-inclusive approach, reshaping how human...

Say hello to the new Toyota electric vehicle, the bZ4X

Toyota is trying to win the electric vehicle game with a stylish new SUV loaded with techy features. The all-electric bZ4X will be rolling onto the lots of U.S. auto dealers this spring. If the name doesn’t immediately strike you as catchy, it might help to understand that “bZ” stands for “beyond zero.” The bZ4X is the first of seven in Toyota’s new line of bZ vehicles. That’s seven out of 15 BEVs, to throw another acronym at you. BEVs are battery electric vehicles, as opposed to HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) or PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). Related: Consider these factors before buying an electric vehicle All these Vs will help speed Toyota toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Already, Toyota has more than 20 million models on the world’s roads. The company has pledged to invest another $70+ billion in EVs over the next nine years. So, back to the bZ4X. According to Toyota, the new “BEV-dedicated platform, a first for Toyota, was developed wi...

NASA to test the world's first electric airplane

NASA has shared details of its new all-electric plane that is set to take off to the sky this fall. The plane is designed to run fully on electric batteries , departing from the tradition of fuel-powered planes. If all goes well, this will be the first step toward achieving a cleaner, cheaper, and quieter future for aviation. Known as the X-57, the plane is lightweight compared to traditional planes . Its weight helps it use less power over the same distance compared to its equal fuel-powered planes. Further, the plane produces less noise as compared to fuel-powered options. According to NASA, the plane is currently being prepared for initial tests, which will be conducted in the desert east of Los Angeles. Related: Rolls-Royce unveils prototype for world’s fastest electric plane The plane borrows its design from a four-seater plane constructed by the Italian Tecnam corporation. The main reason for this is to help in comparison of the two models of the design. The experts at NA...

Biomimicry house hints at a solution to the climate crisis

Houses separate us from nature. At least, that’s the idea we’ve had until now. Architecture that uses biomimicry , permaculture and related practices to keep nature in our building spaces offers a green alternative. B+H Architects Director of Biomimicry Jamie Miller is an advocate of sustainable building practices like biomimicry to help with the climate crisis. Biomimicry creates an architectural option that keeps us connected to nature, without removing the biodiversity from the spaces where we live and work. Now the B+H Architects’ newest residential project shows us how a home can blend right into nature itself. Related: It looks like a shark fin and helps urban river flooding A house that disappears into the landscape “Imagine stepping inside a house that disappears into a forest all without ever leaving the city,” B+H said. A landowner in Bengaluru, India wanted to achieve just that, connecting his home to nature within a dense urban area. He didn’t ju...

What are stellar earthquakes that make stars move?

What are stellar earthquakes that make stars move? The Gaia mission of the European Space Agency revealed the earthquakes that occur thousands of light years away. Argentine astronomers explain the scope of this space telescope and its discoveries. In 2013 the European Space Agency (ESA), launched a unique space mission: the Gaia space observatory, a spacecraft designed specifically for astrometry: the science that measures the positions, distances and motions of stars with a precision never seen before. Scientists say the mission aims to build the largest and most accurate 3D space catalog ever made of the observable universe, with a total of approximately two billion astronomical objects, mainly stars, but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars, among other fascinating objects in the vastness of space. This week, ESA released a new update of data collected by Gaia in the last three years, after having observed 10 million stars and space objects, which led to the publication of s...

Bananatex launches a sustainable material revolution at Milan Design Week

A party of three has collaborated to create a multi-purpose material sourced entirely from banana leaves. Swiss bag brand QWSTION, a yarn specialist from Taiwan, and a Taiwanese weaving partner spent four years developing the new material, which is being revealed at the 2019 Milan Design Week. The strong, flexible material, called Banantex, offers a new universal option in the search for sustainable materials . Beginning at the source, the banana leaves come from a natural ecosystem of sustainable forestry in the Philippines. The banana trees grow naturally without the use of pesticides or other chemicals. Plus, they do not require any additional water. The banana plants are a boon to an area previously eroded by palm plantations, bringing back vegetation and a livelihood for local farmers. Related: See how banana trees are recycled into vegan “leather” wallets in Micronesia With a long history of creating materials from sustainable resources, QWSTION saw the strength and ...

Iconic Farnsworth House gets a conceptual, sustainable redesign

As a design exercise, California-based architecture firm Jeff Barrett Studio has reimagined Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Farnsworth House for the modern times with a sustainable redesign that includes onsite renewable energy and modular construction. Conceived as a case study for sustainability that would still pay homage to the original architectural style, the proposed design follows the same building footprint while introducing a new materials palette and energy-saving features. Located in Plano, Illinois, about an hour west of Chicago, the Farnsworth House is recognized worldwide as a masterpiece of International Style of architecture. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed and constructed the 1,500-square-foot structure between 1945 and 1951 as a country retreat for his client, Dr. Edith Farnsworth. Built with two slabs, a series of steel columns and expansive floor-to-ceiling glass throughout, the minimalist home was created to usher the natural landscape indoors. The building was ...

Dibujos de como cuidar el medio ambiente

Dibujos de como cuidar el medio ambiente Hola a todos, ¡bienvenidos a mi vlog! En este episodio, quiero hablar sobre algo muy importante para mí y para nuestro planeta: el cuidado del medio ambiente. Como muchos de ustedes saben, la situación actual del medio ambiente es crítica, y es necesario que todos hagamos nuestra parte para protegerlo. Una de las formas más divertidas y creativas de concienciar sobre este tema es a través de dibujos. En este post, les mostraré algunos dibujos que pueden inspirarlos a crear su propia obra de arte y, al mismo tiempo, a difundir mensajes sobre el cuidado del medio ambiente. Algunos de los temas que podemos abordar en nuestros dibujos incluyen la importancia de reciclar, de no contaminar el aire y el agua, de proteger a los animales y de reducir nuestra huella de carbono. Además de ser una forma divertida de pasar el tiempo, los dibujos pueden ser una herramienta poderosa para sensibilizar a otros sobre este tema tan importante. Así que les animo a ...

Eco Vlog News

Welcome to my Vlog about the environment and general news related to it. The advancement of technology and the expansion of the human being are inevitable and an essential mark left by progress as a race, but it is important in the process not to lose respect for the environment and the world in which we live. Become aware of its deterioration as an initial measure to begin to become aware of how to take care of it. For these reasons, our little grain of sand as a contribution to an ecological blog in which we offer you the latest Internet news as a reference so that you can inform yourself and become aware of it. In the articles you can find the respective news sources and most current magazines on which the subject in question is being addressed.

Eco-Vlog

Buscar este blog