Reso 2001-020 RDA 2001-002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Appendix -Design Guidelines Appendix: Design Guidelines Design guidelines expand upon the Phase I "Design Principles," particularly those listed below. In general, the intent is to promote development that en- couragesnew residents and employees to walk to downtown shops and tran- sit,and to ensure an architectural character that is complementary to the many attractive older residential and commercial buildings in the greater down- town San Leandro area. Design Guidelines Principles a. Buildings Shall Face Streets and Provide Attractive Main Building En- trances, Porches, and other Welcoming Architectural Features. b. Surface Parking Areas and Garages Shall not Dominate Street Frontages. c. New Buildings and Renovations Shall Reflect the Traditional Building Forms and Materials of Attractive Older Residential Buildings in the Vi- cinity. 1) Office/R&D Guidelines In general, buildings should be designed to be sensitive to an inflll context, rather than the "stand-alone' characteristics of a business park. Main build- ing entrances should be prominent and located on a street-front facade or a street-fronting building corner. Large buildings should incorporate breaks or accents in the building mass that reflect the parcel widths typical in older surrounding areas. Windows should be provided in individual recessed open- ings and/or window groupings or bays, rather than long, undifferentiated "ribbon' windows. A. BUILDINGMASSING -Building mass and/or facade composition should vary in modules of 50 feet or less for smaller-scale buildings, and 100 feet or less for larger-scale buildings. This module maybe created in a num- ber of ways: changes in roof line and window groupings, projecting or recessing wall surfaces, and/or placement of surfaced pilasters, piers or columns. B. MASSIVE SINGLE BUILDING PROJECTS -are not recommended. A grouping of smaller buildings should be developed instead; see C, be- low. C. MULTIPLE BUILDING PROJECTS -Buildings should be grouped and arranged to shape distinct and memorable open space(s) between, as is common on campuses. Squares, malls, crescents, and other clearly de- finedspaces are recommended for large green areas; courtyards, paseos, and plazas are recommended for smaller paved areas. Special architec- tural and site features (e.g., towers, fountains, landmarks) should be used to focus and accent spaces by framing entrances, providing a focus for axial views, highlighting central focal points, etc. D. SPECIAL ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES -Architectural features (such as gables, turrets, towers, and loggias) should be used to accent build- ings at major street corners; at the terminus of a street corridor, lane, or pedestrian way; at driveway entrances; and at other highly-visible build- inglocations. E. FACADE COMPOSITION -Buildings should have a defined base, a clear pattern of openings and surface features, a recognizable and distinctive. main entrance, and an attractive roofline as described below: 1. Building Base -This may be created by an ornamental or visually "heavier" wall surface for the lower portion of the ground floor (or for the entire ground floor of a two- or more story building), a slight setback of upper floors, a substantial cornice, or other techniques that provide an architectural foundation. 2. Pattern of Windows, Doors, and Surface Features -Windows, doors, and wall panels should be based on a module derived from the build- ing's structural bays. Features based on this module should be car- ried across windowless walls to relieve blank, uninteresting surfaces. Door and window openings should be aligned and composed verti- cally to create an orderly and attractive facade. In general, first-floor window openings should be larger, with upper-floor window open- ings smaller and somewhat different yet complementary in form. 3. Building Entrances -Main building entrances should be prominent and easy to identify: a. Main building entrances - At least one of the following ap- proaches is recommended: (i) The entrance should be marked. by a taller building mass above, such as a tower, and/or within a volume that protru- des or is recessed from the rest of the building surface; -Al-