West Valley Library

The West Valley Branch Library is a new 20,000 square foot addition to the City of San Jose's Library System. Located within a large residential neighborhood, the site’s design incorporates several mature trees that are representative of the region. A major aspect driving design decisions is a City ordinance requiring that the entire facility meet a L.E.E.D. Silver Rating for sustainable design.

IVY served as the Landscape Architect in charge of decorative planting and hardscape design, irrigation and conceptual grading.

Among the principal program elements, the existing pine, oak and redwood trees dominate and condition the placement of the other amenities. These include the parking lot, exterior community areas and the utility and service areas.

The landscape concept recalls the site’s agricultural past of stone fruit production. A grove of ornamental plum trees defines the principal exterior courtyard. The design also incorporates a staff and community view garden and an exterior community patio that is designed for use directly in conjunction with an interior meeting room. Drought tolerant and low water use plantings, the protection and reuse of most existing trees on site and the incorporation of state-of-the-art automatic irrigation design are all important contributions made by IVY Landscape Architects towards meeting the City’s goals of achieving the L.E.E.D. Silver Certification.