View from The Confluence Park
Urban Confluence Silicon Valley
Competition | San Jose, CA | 2020
Sky Garden is a true icon for the future of the Santa Clara Valley: an environmentally-minded park that inspires visitors to expand their horizons to the future without forgetting the details of the past that lay right in front of them by creating two unique view planes. As a living bridge decorated with the most sustainable and environmentally friendly green infrastructure strategies, the living bridge creates a truly unforgettable experience without destroying the environment in which it is placed. Sky Garden serves as a living bridge that creates an iconic connection between river, city, and sky.
Existing and Proposed Diagram
Design Diagram
Aerial View
San Jose deserves a landmark that reflects the natural beauty of the Santa Clara Valley. Currently, the low-lying urban fabric contrasts sharply with the grandeur of the surrounding mountains. This site presents an opportunity to introduce an icon that bridges the cityscape with nature, establishing a visual and experiential connection to the mountains and sky. Here, visitors can be elevated from the horizontality of urban life into the complexity and ever-changing beauty of the natural world.
Perspective Section
The Sky Garden
Spanning across Los Gatos Creek and the Guadalupe River, the San Jose Sky Garden functions as both an architectural landmark and a living bridge. Just as Silicon Valley bridges the past, present, and future, this structure unites the East and West sides of the site. The living bridge offers visitors a unique opportunity to engage with the area’s rich ecosystem, learning about its diverse flora and fauna without disturbing the fragile habitats below. Designed with green infrastructure and powered by renewable energy, it serves as a vibrant, sustainable gathering space—one that embodies the region’s spirit of innovation and limitless potential.
Sunset over the Sky Bridge
A Bridge with Two Views
The bridge provides an opportunity for two opposite views: an expansive panorama to the north which, takes in the full panorama of the Bay Area and the many inspiring geographies that drive the innovation economy. The bridge also creates an interior view and amphitheater, which draws attention to the confluence of two rivers and inspires visitors to reflect on the natural beauty right in front of them. This second view inspires visitors to learn more about the history and the past and provides ample opportunities for reflection and introspection which also motivate future leaders and change makers. Together, they form a bridge with two views: a striking park by day and an illuminated crescent ridge at night.
Concept
The centrality of the site’s location creates a centerpiece in an otherwise sprawling urban fabric. A visual icon ties the newly developed Google campus with San Jose’s downtown.
Context Diagram
View from the Confluence Point
The Sky Garden’s plan responds to the confluence of the Guadalupe River and Los Gatos Creek, forming an arched shape that frames the panorama of the Santa Clara Valley. The stepping terraces are shaped and oriented based on solar exposure: the concave north-facing side provides natural shade and spectacular views, while the convex south-facing side embraces vistas over the Confluence Point and Arena Green Park.
Site Plan
Elevation along Santa Clara Str
The ramps with multiple landings meander through the lush greenery of terraces leading to the top terrace with a spectacular view over the Santa Clara Valley, Guadalupe River basin and the city of San Jose.
Longitudinal Section
The great overhangs of the stepping green terraces provide not only ample shading and viewing platforms, but also dampen and diffuse noise from the San Jose Airport’s air traffic, creating an much calmer and comfortable place for rest and recreation.
Birds Eye View
