The Design of Toyota Motor Sales’ (TMS) South Campus landscape was based on a modern interpretation of Moorish
Garden Design, the weaving of interior and exterior spaces creates ‘garden rooms’ that are an extension of
the work environment. The South Campus Office Development consists of two new buildings in a 40-acre site, within a
total master planned campus of 135-acres. The 624,000 square feet of office space is housed in three-story buildings surrounded
by lush garden landscape.
The program from the client was to reunite their associates from rented, off-site space and build a southern extension
to their existing campus, thus centralizing their operation into a high-quality campus facility, at a cost less than the
average office lease. TMS operates under a Global Earth Charter, which makes sustainable design a priority. The challenge was
to place modest, efficient building ‘pods’ in a sustainable landscape that functions with the buildings’
interior uses, while attaining U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, LEED®
gold certification.
The client had a unique proposition: The landscape was to become the focus of the site with the line between landscape
and architecture dissolving to create a remarkable synergy. TMS wanted to humanize the large scale of the project by making
the exterior accessible. To provide a unique experience, exposure to the landscape is maximized which promotes the associates’
encounters with the landscape through the daily arrival, via office views, and as respite in the ‘garden rooms’.
Open space becomes a sequence of experiences one encounters as they move through the site. Planning produced the development
of ‘U’ & ‘L’ shaped buildings, which created a strategic circulation spine that connects
campus functions via outdoor gardens and courts.
The design vocabulary, planting palette, and outdoor spaces
unite the existing campus with the new southern portion of
the campus, while providing way-finding to help link all departments
together. These spaces are accessible to pedestrians and allow
for multiple functions to occur. The gardens throughout the
campus are designed for active and passive uses and provide
an environment that focuses on the associates’ access
to the grounds. The gardens are also devoted to the use of
scale and climate; they were designed to be pedestrian scale,
easily accessible, and distinguished by simple, orderly outdoor
rooms.
Each of the offices in all of the buildings looks into a
garden space. Each garden is accessible to the associates
and is specifically designed to provide accompanying break-out
space and allow for traditionally indoor activities to be
brought outdoors. These courtyards were developed to reflect
distinct needs, which are accomplished with unique furnishings
to support the program.
The Main Courtyard is a formal space for campus events, celebrations,
and functions. Located near the campus café, it also
features a grove of Date Palms, which represents a California
oasis. A large fountain provides the background for a stage,
which greets the visitor while influencing microclimate and
provides a gentle sound. Along with the water feature, a grid
of palms form a living trellis and creates dappled light.
The plaza north of the main entrance is used by executives
to deliver periodic addresses to Toyota associates and for
‘all hands’ gatherings. Tents can also be installed
on the plaza for special events. This courtyard was equipped
with provisions for power, water, audio, visual, and event
lighting.
The Garden Court is a densely planted scent and visual garden
with mature Oak and Sycamore trees for contemplative respite
from nearby offices. Surrounded on three sides by building
offices, associates have a birds-eye perspective of the garden’s
geometric forms and texture, inspired by Moorish tile patterns,
for visual interest. It functions as a space for more intimate
department events and celebrations with provisions for power,
water and event lighting.
The Themed Garden is a Japanese inspired linear courtyard
with multiple bamboo species such as Bambusa v. Buddha’s
Belly, Babmusa v. Vittata, Painted Bamboo, and Pleioblastus
Fortunei (Carpet bamboo). The bamboo, combined with a gravel
Zen garden, represents Toyota’s Japanese origins. Only
steps away from internal offices, this space provides for
rejuvenation and escape from the daily routine.
The Campus Garden is an outdoor space for group activities
and impromptu office meetings in an outdoor environment. It
consists of a California Pepper tree grid with café
tables and chairs organized around small turf panels.
The entire site is connected on an east-west axis via the
Promenade. Providing an organizing element and collector for
parking lot traffic to all buildings, the promenade is a pathway
lined with flowering cherry trees and accent planting. Metal
portals anchor the ends of the spine directing pedestrians
towards the building’s entrances.
The Arrival Courts utilize geometric patterns in landscape
and paving which demarcate the main entry and visitor’s
drop off. These are functional gateways for the vehicular
arrival sequence and connect to the main courtyards and plazas.
The arrival courts provide exterior spaces at major building
entries with seating, bike racks and a campus shuttle stop.
They feature potted grasses such as pennisetum setaceum and
pennisetum s. ‘rubrum’, with permeable paving
via decomposed granite.
The South Campus’ landscape design was one of the most
important features of the site planning. The landscape architecture
reflects the campus’ relationship to California’s
environments through symbolic references to redwood forests,
native oak chaparral, and urban parks. The abundance of landscape,
and particularly the many trees, represents Toyota’s
commitment to the environment. The design of each courtyard
is complemented by a regional approach inspired by the site’s
Mediterranean climate, creating spaces that make people feel
comfortable. The use of native and drought tolerant species
was extensively incorporated in the plant palette. By using
a wide range of scales in the courtyards, the use of native
and drought tolerant material was balanced with more traditional
ornamental material in certain spaces. This relegation of
different elements based on scale and use in the landscape,
meant that material with higher water demands could be selectively
used as “jewelry” to suit TMS’ goals and
landscape functions, while the goal of reduction in irrigation
water use was still attained. The irrigation design implemented
extensive use of drip irrigation, and when coupled with recycled
water, the campus demand for potable water was reduced by
more than 50%. California’s Mediterranean climate was
complimentary to a Moorish planting palette. Through scale
of spaces and variety of plant materials, a distinct identity
was achieved for each garden space. The fountains and lush
vegetation aided in giving human scale and regulating the
temperature of both the gardens and the buildings while setting
up interesting glimpses and views.
The client elected to pursue LEED® certification to reduce
its impact on the environment. When it opened on Earth Day
of 2003 in Torrance, California, it was the largest private
facility in the United States to receive a LEED® Gold
Certification. Approximately 80 percent of all building materials
used in construction contained recycled content; landscapes
utilized recycled plastic edging and Polysiteã lumber.
Structural and reinforcing steel used on-site was made almost
entirely from recycled automobiles. A unique solution to recycle
the temporary concrete casting slabs for the ‘tilt-up’
concrete walls was to crush and grind up the concrete and
reuse it as sub-base for on-site parking lots. The larger
pieces of the broken casting slab were later recycled as accent
paving at the outdoor courts, the joints were filled with
either decomposed granite or groundcover planting.
Existing on-site soil has very high clay content, making
site drainage difficult requiring extensive soil amendments
to support the use of drought tolerant plants. The site’s
highly expansive soil required the use of geotechnical moisture
sensors on the irrigation controllers to regulate water. The
project was planned and designed to generate long-term life
cycle operation savings, ‘Green’ elements such
as reclaimed water usage for irrigation system, plumbing,
and cooling were employed. The client installed a vast amount
of landscaping, greatly reducing the solar heat load on the
building without radiating heat into the atmosphere, thus
reducing the ‘heat island’ effect on the building’s
microclimate.
Pedestrian and vehicular circulation had a direct impact
on site design and LEED® certification. The South Campus
circulation system separates pedestrian and vehicular traffic,
and isolates deliveries and recycling pick-up routes from
the rest of campus traffic. The pedestrian circulation system
was integrated into the campus wide landscape design to encourage
walking rather than short car trips between different campus
buildings. A decomposed granite jogging trail, based on the
concept of an oak woodland trail, encircles the south campus
and ties into the existing North Campus, strengthening the
project’s direct relationship with the rest of the campus,
and completing a campus-wide loop. A walkway with canopy trees
and 12 relocated 132” box Sequoia trees provide direct
pedestrian links to the main campus. In all, over 26 Sequoia
trees were saved from demolition due to new construction,
and transplanted on-site for the new design. The concept of
reducing fossil fuel consumption was also supported by the
careful selection of shrub materials and the judicious use
of turf areas, thereby reducing green waste, and the need
for fuel-consuming mowers and maintenance equipment. The project
team delivered the project on time and within budget while
embracing all LEED® practices, methodologies, and commissioning.
The underlying theme of the Moorish gardens was instrumental
in achieving TMS’ goal of social sustainability. The
design style of creating small intimate courts and large gathering
spaces provided TMS with spaces that are functional and vibrant.
The variety of outdoor spaces takes into consideration all
of the associates’ needs for interaction, quiet seclusion,
and connection to nature. The traditional Moorish gardens
were designed as much for function as well as beauty. TMS
sought to provide these elements in their courtyards for physical
and mental well being for their associates.
The goal of TMS at the South Campus was to blur the line
between outdoor and indoor space and provide functional restorative
spaces. The Campus has focused on portraying the corporate
ideals of responsibility in the environment while creating
a more sustainable environment for their associates.
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