Sitting along the banks of the Guadalupe River, near the confluence of the Guadalupe and Los Gatos Creek the Adobe Systems towers create a stunning backdrop to a rather innocuous downtown San Jose. Comprising nearly the whole city block (save a required park and the Pacific Gas and electric Building), the buildings add an enormous amount of office space to the downtown market. But how do these buildings (and the infrastructure that surrounds the buildings such as the park, roadway, etc) reflect well on San Jose and are they good for the city? Do they add value to the downtown community?
Although the company has done very well in establishing their bona fiddes with regards to all things
green, a closer look reveals otherwise. At the main entrance (if there really is a main entrance), the company proudly displays both the
Energy Star plaque as well as their "
Bay Area Green Business" certification. It certainly is entertaining to watch the windmills spinning in the afternoon breeze, but does this development add value to the downtown area?
The claim is that 20% of employees use public transportation, but unless this is all Caltrain riders, the number seems suspect. Not only is there not a bus stop located in the front of the building on Park Ave., but it is highly doubtfull that Adobe employees "ride the bus". See
some simple calculations to figure out parking and employee
mode share.
First of all in evaluating the surrounding area, the intersection of Almaden Blvd. and Park Ave. what one notices right away is the suburban office park feel to the site; a wide boulevard, high speed corners, vacant buildings and civic and park structures that draw minimal use to the area. Almaden Boulevard and Park Avenue are both 105 feet wide on the building's south and east sides slightly less than some city blocks in New York, San Diego, or Portland. High speed corners on with radii of 80 feet are seen more in suburban office parks than on downtown streets. This creates a need to put pedestrians on islands where they must push a button to signal their intent to cross. The crosswalk at the northern part of the intersection is 165 feet long making a commitment to cross the street almost as procedural as the filing of a flight plan.
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The city didn't require
street level retail,
so Adobe didn't
provide for it. |
The building reflects the cities goal of requiring parking but making no provisions for on street retail giving the building a dead look at street level even during the work week. (New York City requires street level retail.) To enliven the street side look the company, similar to computer screen wallpaper, has but up geometrically inspired graphics on the windows but it only cheapens the look even more. What the city does require is substantial parking within the building, making the wide subterranean parking entrance the most notable aspect of the "front" side of the building. All in all the look is one of a modern fortress housing the colonial inhabitants to the downtown area. The only time employees seem to leave the comfortable confines is to go outside for a smoke break or within the safe encapsulation of their Volvo's, Audis, and Escalades.
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Employees leave the
security of the fortress in
packs of 10. |
But why would you even need to leave the fortress except to get in your car and go home. The company provides a well stocked restaurant open most hours of the day with views of the Guadalupe. With the company paying the costs of employee lunches and with downtown restaurants almost a days hike away there is little incentive to leave the fortress. The closest restaurant, Peggy Sues is over 800 feet away or about 3 or 4 New York city blocks. The new development at San Pedro Square Market with its many new restaurants is almost 4,000 feet away (about 3/4 of a mile). This is why on many occasions when I have notice employees leaving the fort, the do so in packs, groups of 8-10 or more. Its as if they were leaving the safety of the fort to go hunt for food in the American wilderness.
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The garage entrance;
more noticeable than
the street entrance. |
But as I have mentioned in another post on the propensity for blank walls, gates and fences in San Jose. The Adobe Towers add to the norm with its walls and covered windows. Walk the entire perimeter of the building and you will not see one person. or evidence of only two working pedestrian entrances. As mentioned by writers such as William Whyte and Jane Jacobs this leads to only the most undesirables inhabiting the space. On any given day you will never see an Adobe employee at the park located next to the building. In their place you will see the backpacks and shopping carts of the new park residents, (as Jane Jacobs calls them) the "leisured indigent". By taking all eyes of the street and off the Guadalupe at street level only the long term "parkers" will use the city maintained park.
