-By Amy Milshtein, Photography by Cesar Rubio

McMansion lovers may feel uncomfortable in Portola Valley. Sure the town boasts McMansion-levels of income, but the people who live here chose to put their money to use in other ways. Founded in 1964 to protect the western hills from development, the town has one of the most educated populations in the nation—50 percent of its 4,462 residents have earned a graduate or professional degree. These Silicon Valley and Stanford University smarties prize their open space and feel a strong connection to the natural landscape. So when the time came to build a new town center, Portola Valley citizens turned to the architecture team of Emeryville, Calif.-based Siegel & Strain and Oakland, Calif.-based Goring & Straja to create a complex that serves the environment as well as their needs.


The old town center was crammed into a 1950s-era school. Not only was the space ineffective and cramped, but also it sits directly on top of the San Andreas Fault. The townspeople knew that the situation had to change, "but they didn't know how many buildings they wanted or what the square footage should be," remembers Larry Strain, Siegel & Strain. "They weren't even sure where they wanted the new center."

They did know a few things though: No one was happy with the idea of just demolishing the old school building. And when studies showed that the best location for the new center was a mere 200 yards away from the old one, no one was keen on the idea of paying $20 million to build a complex within sight of the old building. "It took a lot to convince people that this spot was safe," says Ted Driscoll, town council member and five-time mayor. "But I have an advanced degree in geology, so I know the difference of being on a fault versus being next to a fault."

That difference was communicated effectively through a series of charettes. Another fact that came out during those sessions was the desire to be as green as possible. "Most projects start out with high 'green' expectations and then get less 'green' as they go," explains Jim Goring, Goring & Straja. "This one got more ambitious as the project progressed." In fact, after initially reaching for a LEED Gold rating, the project will most likely make Platinum, with points to spare.

The center consists of three main buildings—a library, town hall, and community hall—arranged around a town plaza and performance lawn. The reclaimed vertical redwood cladding links the complex to the two surrounding redwood groves on site. The siding also proves the town's commitment to making an attractive, green statement. "The wood was definitely a talking point between the facility people who would have to maintain it and the town council," says Strain. "In the end they got the wood because it's nicer."

Wood also is the prevailing material inside the space—but not just any wood. Materials from the old school buildings were re-milled and reused in the paneling and ceiling. Alder trees, cleared to create softball fields, now stand as columns inside the buildings. Local eucalyptus trees that had to be cleared for fire prevention were turned into flooring in the multi-purpose room. "The floor is a bit of an experiment," says Goring. "No one's used eucalyptus on a floor before, but it was cut five miles from the site and milled another 10 miles away. It's as local as you can get and holding up beautifully."

The architects reclaimed more than wood from the old school. Concrete and asphalt were ground up and used as base rock. New high-slag concrete reduces the complex's carbon footprint by keeping 100 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Some decisions were, in the words of Strain, "bonehead versus common sense ones. For instance," he says, "we put in a small air-conditioning system because it only gets hotter than 80 degrees about four days a year. Why not design for normal temperatures instead of over-designing for less than a week?"

The green enthusiasm proved contagious among everyone involved. "One of the contractors came up with a great idea," says Driscoll. "The metal roofing came in these 18-ft.-long Douglas fir crates. A carpenter salvaged them and turned them into the window sills."

The library furniture turned into another green opportunity even though it comes from a small company in Portland, Maine. "We picked one chair, and Doug Green, the owner, was so excited that he offered a discount on the rest of the furniture," says Goring, explaining that the packaging makes the selection green. "[Green] has a patent for flat packing the furniture. It all fit in half of a shipping container, and he assembled it on site."

After 10 years in the making, the people of Portola Valley couldn't be more pleased with their new town center. "This process really made me think about architecture and its lasting impact," reveals Driscoll. "I look at buildings much more critically now, and I hope that my children and grandchildren will regard these buildings with fondness."