Contextual Research for San Jose

In June of 2018, the City of San Jose selected us to design an illuminated work of art at the Coleman and Bassett underpass, in the developing North San Pedro area. This development includes many different types of housing and the new residents of this area would be passing under Coleman Avenue to get to the St James area and downtown beyond. As it is now, this is a dark and rather unpleasant experience.

At a site visit, Vicki conducted a thorough review of the site and its surrounding context, documenting, with photographs, the contextual conditions. This gave us a better understanding of the site and its challenges, the neighborhood and its opportunities. Our next step was to do a deep dive into the history of the area, searching for site specific inspiration.

By placing a historical 1891 Sanborn map over the modern day site, an interesting synchronicity appears. The modern railroad tracks correspond to the alignment of the historical railroad tracks that once fed the Union Depot. Also known as the Market Street Depot, this was the main train station for San Jose from the 1880’s through 1935. In the lower left of the image, one of the lawns of the Depot lines up exactly with our site.

The lawns of the Depot were mostly grass with thick Washingtonia Palms, ornamental flowers, and orange trees. While the Depot and its lawns are long gone, the neighborhood still has orange trees. We used this historical and contemporary link as inspiration for our beacons to be placed under the bridge, on the site of the former orange trees.

As a part of her photographic documentation of the neighborhood, Vicki found this local orange tree continuing the heritage of those once found at the Depot. This powerful link to the site and its history serves as inspiration for our illuminated “Orange Lanterns.” The process of turning this inspiration into design can be found here.

Team Credits:

Vicki Scuri SiteWorks

Alexandr Polzin

Landscape Architect: SWA

Client:

San Jose Arts Commission