Hewlett Packard Courtyard
Palo Alto, California
The design of this courtyard for Hewlett Packard’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California is structured to cultivate innovation, nurture creativity and support programmed uses. Hedges define rooms where hook-ups for computer terminals allow programmers to take their work outside. Three-dimensional landforms ripple out from the round café addition, creating a romantic play against the beaux-arts structure of the courtyard, and dividing the space to create more intimate areas adjacent to the larger terrace for outdoor dining. The ‘disappearing’ walkways make the space appear larger than it is and respond to the axial inference of the new café.