The Hovering Outlook
Birds Eye View showing the perforated concrete deck joining the two ends of the site.
San Jose, Silicon Valley’s largest urban metropolis, is home to multiple leading industries in various sectors. Although a global icon, Silicon Valley lacks an urban landmark that defines and upholds the neighborhood’s zeitgeist. This project proposes that one does not need towering height to create a powerful iconic symbol for Silicon Valley and San Jose.
The Outlook, located in Arena Greens, is an urban perforated public space surface located off of the Guadalupe Freeway. It creates a powerful space of gathering that is low to the ground and allows the natural environment to integrate with the elliptical form and acts as a bridge that spans the two edges of the park. This large 845 ft. long ellipse acts as a slightly sloped piazza. The large length combined with the accessible low slope ramp allows the center of the space to reach 55 feet above the ground, thus creating a seamless walkway connecting the two ends of the site.
The perforated patterning not only generates interesting moments underneath, but also allows sunlight to seep into the Riparian Corridor, keeping the flora and fauna alive and blossoming. While on the top of the outlook, this seamless bridge/ramp is broken down into a series of labyrinthine sections, which unfold and loop into itself, creating interesting moments of exposure to the city’s skyline versus enclosed qualities of the maze itself. The Outlook, a serene experiential package, with light emanating from its pores, presents itself as a beacon, to the city of San Jose. 3
Plan showing meandering paths through The Outlook.
The under structure of this giant deck is a continuous space truss that runs under the concrete deck with diagonal cross-bracing, therefore balancing out the moment through the entire 845 ft. span of the deck.
Underneath the large free-standing walkway of The Outlook.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Close-Up View of one of the Meandering paths.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
