Oakland-based landscape office Hood Design Studio has created two "treehouses" covered by an expansive photovoltaic trellis on the campus of a software company in Silicon Valley.
Located on a four-acre site between two buildings, Hood Design Studio designed the project to provide an outdoor working space for employees of the software company NVIDIA.
▲ Hood Design Studio在硅谷园区内设计了两个高架座位区
Hood Design Studio has created two elevated seatings areas on a Silicon Valley campus
场地中央的两个高架圆形平台上配有弯曲的木制长椅和用于户外办公的座椅。
负责人Alma Du Solier表示：“这两个树屋，也可以说是‘鸟巢’，摆放在地面上，鼓励人们来到室外”。
Two elevated, circular platforms at the centre of the site are outfitted with curved wooden benches and additional seating for outdoor work.
"Two treehouses, or nests, form pieces on the ground to encourage people to come outside," said principal-in-charge Alma Du Solier.
▲ 项目采用了具备光伏板的藤蔓结构
The project features a trellis with photovoltaic panels
在座位区平台上方的大型藤蔓形态的结构提供荫凉，其中的透明光伏板还能为附近建筑发电。
藤蔓形态的结构让阳光透射到下方的植物上。
Above the seating area platform, an expansive trellis provides shade while generating power for neighbouring buildings through translucent photovoltaic panels.
The trellis also allows sun rays to pass through to the plants below.
▲ 项目栽植了能适应场地新形成的微气候的本土和非本土植物
Native and non-native plants were chosen to adapt to the new microclimate created on the site
负责人解释道：“大型藤蔓结构就像一棵树，向外扩张，而不是向内收拢。”
座位区通过一系列高架走道与周边建筑相连，也通向铺有硬质材料的地面层。
景观设计中，起伏的小山丘是对加利福尼亚湾区周边农业区的致敬，这里农场和牧场占地230万英亩。
景观设计工作室在“迷你版”的小山丘上种植了适应项目所创造的新微气候的本土和非本土植物。
"The large trellis is much like a tree," said Du Solier. "A structure that opens up and out rather than focused inward."
The seating areas are connected to neighbouring buildings by a network of elevated walkways, which also lead down to the hardscaped ground level.
The rolling hills of the landscape design are representative of the agricultural legacy of the surrounding Bay Area of California, where farms and ranches cover 2.3 million acres of land.
The studio topped the "miniature version" of the hills with non-native and native plants and trees fit for the new microclimate created by the project.
▲ 各类座椅的布局鼓励合作和户外工作
Various seating arrangements encourage collaboration and outdoor work
The selected trees were strategically placed to create organic forms from a distance, but upon closer inspection, follow a grid layout.
"Two types of red oaks and cultivars specific to this area were chosen for their low branching to create a treed landform at eye level," explained Du Solier.
▲ 场地的建筑历史遗产在景观的起伏小山丘中得以体现
The architectural legacy of the area is reflected in the rolling hills of the landscape
The ground floor design was completed with private seating areas to accommodate solo workers or groups of up to 14. Concrete pathways guide pedestrians through the site.
The NVIDIA Campus project is one of several completed in the area, which has seen massive development generated by the area's large amount of technology firms. Others include BIG's Google campus designed in collaboration with Heatherwick Studio.
