Palo Alto, California, USA

Applying its expertise in converting drab existing conditions into graceful and functional spaces, the Form4 Architecture design team led by John Marx, commissioned by Sand Hill Property, reimagines an old corporate building into a beacon that improves wayfinding by standing out and offering a sophisticated image for the tenants.

The Ethereal Intervention project has recently been awarded a 2023 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The client’s idea and desire was to split it into two separate commercial life-science tenants.

The project scope was to convert drab existing conditions into graceful and functional spaces to transform an unwelcoming back entrance into a dynamic, museum-quality main entry experience for one of the building’s tenants.

Previously, the second entrance was an unceremonial indent within a dismal, dark-brown, metal-and-glass facade.

The project design provides a colorful entry experience from the road through the parking lot, leading to an elegant, light, and airy two-story glazed lobby.

Framing and shading the new entrance is a 35-foot-high by 80-foot-wide-open structure clad with composite aluminum panels on the outside, lined underneath with wood laminate panels that add warmth and a sense of welcome.

Lantern-like clerestory windows wrap the lobby on all four sides, celebrating light and openness.

Brighter composite aluminum panels replaced the existing dark brown facia flanking the updated entrance.

Deep exterior overhangs and metal louvers control the amount of sunlight entering the lobby as needed to lower HVAC energy consumption.

CALGreen standards were met for the lobby’s design, while the ceiling height was dictated by seismic code and metal studs were used for fire-rating compliance.

White and gray finishes for interior walls and flooring help amplify the natural light, and the same wood-look laminate paneling from the exterior is embedded behind planters to satisfy the client’s request for biophilic design elements while lending texture and enhancing the indoor-outdoor connection.

Wafting through the lobby amid abundant natural light is a tenant-provided mobile of bright-blue folded metal triangles.

The lobby offers a seating area as well as a long glowing counter for impromptu meetings and receptions.

Collaborating with the landscape architect created a colorful, engaging entry procession to the building from the street.

A new colored-concrete drive aisle leads from the existing parking lot and provides a formal sense of arrival along with newly planted trees and foliage.

COVID-19 and other factors caused soaring material prices and procurement lead times, prompting the use of locally available metal-panel solutions.

Perforated aluminum panels and solid aluminum composite panels were used with the wood-appearing laminate siding for the building’s interior and exterior, keeping the project on schedule and within budget

Project: Ethereal Intervention
Architects: Form4 Architecture
Lead Architect: John Marx
General Contractor: Coulter Construction, Inc.
Client: Sand Hill Property Co. LLC.
Photographers: John Sutton Photography