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ORACLE EDUCATIONAL FACITITY, REDWOOD CITY, CA Updated 04.07.2016
Oracle Education Foundation – Proposed Public High School
PROJECT OVERVIEW The proposed project will be a partnership between Oracle, Oracle Education Foundation, and Design Tech High School.
Oracle
Oracle is a Fortune 100 corporation headquartered in Redwood Shores. Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center.
Oracle Education Foundation Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) is a nonprofit organization funded by Oracle. It is a private foundation as defined in IRC Section 509(a). It engages Oracle employees as volunteer instructors, coaching high school students in multiday projects at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM) disciplines.
All OEF projects combine skill building with design challenges. Students learn coding and electrical engineering, and then apply these skills to problem solving. The problem-solving approach is Design Thinking, which promotes empathy with the user, creativity in generating solutions, the value of failure as necessary to learning and innovation, and rationality in fitting solutions to the context of the problem. OEF projects are fun and teach creative confidence, as well as persistence, resiliency, and grit.
Many projects are designed to demystify the basic science underlying today's technologies and tomorrow's innovations. They use open hardware to introduce students to the most fundamental building blocks of engineering and show that technology is not magic—it’s accessible science that students can learn and use to author amazing, previously unimagined solutions.
While inclusive, OEF's program pays particular attention to girls and other populations historically under-represented in STEAM careers.
The Oracle Education Foundation is partnering deeply with Design Tech High School (d.tech), to implement, refine, and scale the program described here. In d.tech, we have found an extraordinary partner that shares our values around the importance of teaching innovation and design thinking, the power of diversity and inclusion, and the necessity of reinventing education.
399 Bradford Street Redwood City, California 94063 Tel 650-364-6453 Fax 650-364-2618 www.des-ae.com
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We want to provide this exceptional school with a permanent home on the Oracle headquarters campus.
Design Tech High School Design Tech High School is a California public high school currently authorized by the San Mateo Union High School District. Two principles guide the d.tech model: extreme personalization and putting knowledge into action. The school holds every student to the same high standards, but allows each student to move at his or her own pace to achieve those standards. Additionally, d.tech teaches students to solve real-world problems using a Design Thinking approach similar to that taught at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). Together, these two approaches provide students with a problem-solving model they can use throughout their lives to make positive contributions to a constantly changing world.
At present, d.tech leases space on the Mills High School campus for approximately 140 9th- grade students. The school is adding a grade per year and will be at full capacity, with around 550 student’s grades 9-12 and 30 full time employees, by the start of the 2017-2018 academic year.
Our Collaboration Oracle Education Foundation will construct the new facility for d.tech on a currently undeveloped parcel on the Oracle Headquarter campus. The building will be approximately 64,000 SF in 2-stories with the associated site improvements and landscaping. Approximately 35 parking spaces will be provided for staff and visitors. Design considerations will include environmental sensitivities associated with the Belmont Slough, interface between the school and the Bay Trail, as well as adjacency to the larger Oracle campus for joint use of facilities such as the gym, convention center, and kitchen.
PROJECT SITE, EXISTING CONDITIONS AND OWNERSHIP The project is located on a 4.81 acre portion (per TM plan set) of Oracle-owned property in Redwood Shores, just north of Oracle Parkway. An existing parking lot is currently located where the new Design Tech High School would be located. The remainder of the property is undeveloped – grassy fields with sporadic trees. The property is bounded to the north and west by Belmont Slough and on the south by Oracle Parkway. A power line runs roughly north south along the westerly border of the site.
Oracle acquired the site in 1996 and completed the construction of the existing parking lot in 1999. Prior to this, the site was undeveloped except for landscape improvements along Oracle Parkway.
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The BCDC 100 feet shoreline band covers 2.5 acres of the project site and is approximately 1,200 feet in length. This area will be taken into account when designing new and replacement improvements. An existing bay trail (10’ wide) runs atop the levee along the Belmont Slough. It is part of the larger bay trail system at Oracle Campus and Redwood Shores area. This segment of the bay trail has three outdoor exercise stations and is connected to a vehicle turnout and sidewalk at Oracle Parkway. The vehicle turnout currently provides 14 parking spaces for bay trail users.
SITE IMPROVEMENTS The site improvements include the above-grade and below-grade improvements necessary to serve and accommodate the new High School as well as the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) public access. Such improvements consist of and require grading, site access, new High School structure(s), utility services, and storm water management.
ACCESS AND LAYOUT The site access is primarily from Oracle Parkway, which is an existing public road looping around the Oracle campus from two connections with Marine Parkway to the south. Oracle Parkway will allow for vehicular (standard, delivery, and emergency), bicycle, and pedestrian access to the High School. The High School project will comply with all jurisdictional requirements with respect to emergency vehicle access and ADA-compliant pathways.
D.Tech school attracts students from San Francisco to the north, Sunnyvale to the south, Berkeley to the east and Half Moon Bay on the west. The wide area from which they draw encourages the use of public transportation and car pooling. We would expect families to continue to utilize these options at the new location. D.Tech has a flexible schedule, so they are able to adjust the bell schedule to accommodate the Caltrain schedule. For student drop-off we are proposing a drive-though lane at the new parking lot that will accommodate approximately 20 cars at a time (per TM plan set). This drop- off will be monitored by staff.
Some older student will have concurrent enrollment at local community colleges as well as participation in internships. We will reserve a small number of parking spots for students participating in internships on a schedule where Caltrain is not an option. The school also proposes to purchase a van to transport students and staff to and from the Belmont Caltrain station around mid-day so that they can participate in concurrent college enrollment and internships.
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In addition, Oracle offers shuttle programs to a number of transportation hubs including Millbrae Caltrain/BART and the San Carlos and Hillsdale Caltrain Stations. The Bridgepark Shuttle and Clipper Shuttle also offer connections to the Belmont Caltrain Station. All of these shuttles will be available to students and staff.
SITE GRADING Site grading will be necessary to maintain clearance from and/or replace area within the BCDC shoreline, provide the required finished floor elevations for anticipated sea level rise, conform to the existing Oracle Parkway grade, as well as meet ADA requirements. The BCDC shoreline (bayward side) is determined as the extent of fringing marsh lands beyond the mean high tide (6.45 NAVD88) and to an elevation of five feet above Mean Sea Level. This is elevation 8.37 on the NAVD88 datum. The anticipated sea level rise per BCDC is 12 inches by mid-century and 55 inches by end of century. The project is proposing to design to 2070 sea level rise assumptions of 36 inches. Setbacks, sloping, grade, and points of connection will all be taken into account as the High School program and access is determined. This project will not add any fill at the existing shoreline.
PUBLIC ACCESS – DEDICATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS The project will dedicate 28,600 sq. ft. of newly improved land as permanently-guaranteed public access. These areas are contiguous to existing public access. The school will also allow the public to use the parking lot and the patios on the slough-side of the building when it is not in operation, such as weekends and in the evenings. This amounts to an additional 44,800 sq. ft. of shared public access.
The portion of the bay trail/levee adjacent to the project site will be raised to handle 36” sea- level rise at 2070. Approximately 1,200 linear feet of existing bay trail will be modified to 12’ wide - 2’ decomposed granite and 10’ asphalt. It will be designed to transition back to existing bay trails at the east and west ends of the project site. In addition to the trail widening, new landscape improvements and amenities are proposed to further enhance the public’s experience of the bay trail. The proposed amenities are summarized as below:
1. Three amenities nodes with distinctive themes - Educational, Picnic and Contemplative. Design features under consideration are informational signage, seating walls, benches, picnic tables, DG paving and landscaping. 2. Three exercise nodes and meandering pathways connecting the sidewalk at Oracle Parkway and the bay trail. 3. A slough-oriented plaza with sculptural benches, artwork and seating wall. Stairs will be constructed to connect the plaza to the school’s north entrance and patios.
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4. Three (new or improved) bay trail entry points with bike-parking, seating and BCDC monuments. 5. Native and drought-tolerant landscaping along the entire project frontage (Belmont Slough) and the bay trail. 6. 14 replacement bay trail parking to the east side of the project site on Oracle Parkway. New sidewalk provides access to the bay trail. 7. Electric vehicle charging stations at the School’s parking lot will be shared with the public when the school is not in operation 8. Part of the Schools’ parking lot, adjacent to the meandering walkway, will receive decorative asphalt paving. D.Tech’s students will design the paving patterns. 9. The staff parking lot will be striped to be used as a half basketball court and will be available to public use during after school hours (weekdays) and weekends.
BUILDING DESIGN The proposed school building is 2-story tall with an average parapet height of 32’. The top of the roof screen will be at 38’ tall. The building takes on a sinuous form that blends organically with the shape of the site. On the south side, the façade is broken into 3 different parts, with the emphasis on the center, where the main entrance, assembly hall and fabrication labs are located. This portion of the façade has a high-level of transparency - full-height glass walls – and allows views throughout the building to the slough side. The façade is further articulated by a continuous metal canopy, supported by canted metal columns. The Canopy has contrasting warmer finishes such as wood panel soffits.
The east and west wings of the buildings, which represent the learning neighborhoods, receive smooth metal panels with horizontal glass walls and sun-shades. The top metal panel bands continue throughout and terminate against the specially-designed stair towers. The two ends of the building are differentiated by full-height curtain walls to create visual interest and reflect the flexible learning nooks inside.
The design of the west and east entries have been refined to emphasize their importance as “entries” to the school:
1. Wood-grain panels, instead of metal panels, wrap around the side and top spandrels of the towers. 2. Recessed clear-glazing only at the entrance and stairs to create a focus 3. The metal sun-shades are replaced with a more pronounced entry canopy. This creates a unified architectural language to the building entries.
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The wood-grain aluminum panels are removed on the north façade. Instead, these panels are being applied on the stair towers in a similar fashion to the one-story massing elements. In this way, the use of this special material can better relate to the form/function and create a more cohesive design.
Stair towers’ roofs do not have any mechanical equipment and therefore, do not require screening. The tower’s height is lowered to 34’ – just enough to create subtle variations in height. Clear-glazing, with butt-joint mullions, are used only at the entrance and stairs portion of the towers, which trenchancy is truly needed. These “entrance” façades are also slightly recessed to create a visual importance. Fritted glass, in expressed aluminum mullions, are applied to “conceal” the electrical and other functional spaces, where visual connection to the outside are not as important.
The “California Corridors” on the north side are now clad with full-height clear glass walls to capture day-lighting potentials. There’s a stronger connection between the interior and the outside world of landscape and natural environment. Student activities are carefully framed and expressed with the transparent façades. There’s another layer of articulation through alternating patterns of glass facades – (1) Expressed aluminum mullions with rear-loaded glazing and (2) Butt-joint glazing with concealed mullions. A horizontal band of fritted glass helps to unify the architecture.
All the glazing on the project is clear to maximize indoor/outdoor connectivity, the technology and creativity occurring within the school will be clearly visible to passer by. It is important for Oracle to have this building feel aesthetically connected to the campus; we took cues from the conference center with its metal panel and ribbon windows as seen in the proposed projects classroom areas that face Oracle Parkway. 2-story clear glass façades are represented in the proposed building in the through entry space and the circulation spaces of the neighborhoods facing the slough. The north facing, 2-story glass façades, allows the building to maximize natural day lighting opportunities to minimize energy consumption.
Bird-safe with frit patterns will be applied to the north facades and the clear vision glass at the entry lobby (both sides).
PROJECT APPROVAL STATUS The project team submitted a formal planning application to the City of Redwood City on June 8, 2015. An Environmental Impact Review is also underway in parallel to the planning and design
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Page 7 of 9 review process. The Draft EIR was released in January, 2016 for public comments. Final planning approval and EIR certification are expected to happen in May, 2016.
OTHER SITE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS UTILITIES Utility services will be extended from the current utilities that exist in Oracle Parkway and on the Oracle Campus to serve the High School site. A gravity sanitary sewer will connect to the existing gravity sanitary sewer line, which is located to the west of the Oracle Conference Center, 70 feet south of Oracle Parkway. Water will be supplied by a water main extension from the existing water line in the street to the west of the Conference Center. Storm drain facilities will connect to those constructed in Oracle Parkway upon leaving the project site. The storm water will ultimately discharge into Oracle’s interior lagoon. The following section further describes the applicable and necessary storm water management requirements. In accordance with City standards, it is proposed that the on-site storm drain be private. Sewer and water facilities will be extended from the private systems on the Oracle Campus. Electric service will be provided from an existing service at the Oracle Campus. Gas, telephone and cable services will be provided by public utilities in Oracle Parkway.
STORM WATER MANAGEMENT The High School project is required to comply with the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program C.3 Storm Water Technical Guidance (C.3). The project site is not located within an area susceptible to hydromodification per the map of Appendix H in the C.3. However, the project does qualify as a redevelopment project, and as such is required to treat storm water run-off from the entire site should more than 50 percent of the existing impervious surface be replaced. The High School project is anticipated to exceed this threshold, and must therefore treat all storm water before it leaves the site. Early in the site and project planning and design, storm water treatment facilities complying with the C.3 will be integrated into the layout.
AIRPORT LAND USE COMPATABILITY The property is located within the geographic area encompassed by the San Carlos Land Use Plan and lies outside of the 55CNEL Projected 1995 Aircraft Noise Contours for the San Carlos Airport. According to the Aircraft Noise/Land Use Compatibility Standards, the project is conditionally compatible with the level of aircraft noise noted above. The project site lies outside of the imaginary Primary, Transitional, and Approach Surfaces for the San Carlos Airport as shown on Map SC-16, FAR PART 77 Civil Airport Imaginary Surfaces Height Restrictions. The proposed two-story building would fall significantly below elevation 152’, indicated as the height restriction on this same map.
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For school sites located within 2 nautical miles of any airport, approval for use of the site from the Department of Transportation is required. Design Tech High School obtained this approval on October 6, 2015. A copy of the authorization has been provided to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL No surface run-off will discharge directly into the slough. Additionally, storm water run-off will be treated per C.3 requirements prior to draining into the lagoon. Storm water treatment facilities will remove typical run-off pollutants such as grease, oil, debris, and sediment. Air pollution will increase slightly due to High School employee traffic. Grading will be limited to that required to provide drainage for the project. Certain trees planted during previous phases of campus development will be removed, but there will be a net increase in trees because of additional plantings. The existing wetland habitat outside of the pedestrian pathway will not be impacted. At the time the property was purchased, a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment was prepared. The Phase I assessment found no record of hazardous material being used or stored on the site.
A Phase II assessment was prepared April 11, 2001 by Treadwell & Rollo, Inc. The Phase II assessment consisted of twelve shallow borings, 1 ft and 3 ft deep, throughout the proposed childcare site. The objective was to determine the presence of hazardous materials, such as benzene, pesticides, volatile organic compounds and metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons, such as gasoline and motor oil. Most hazardous materials were not encountered but some petroleum hydrocarbons were detected. Based on these results, a Health and Safety Plan will be required prior to construction to outline proper soil handling procedures and health and safety requirements. A new, current EIR is being prepared with the focus on the specifics of the High School project.
GEOTECHNICAL The existing elevations of the project site generally range between 8.5 to 14.5 NAVD88. The site is underlain by bay mud, a soil that compresses as water is drawn from it or as weight is placed upon it. The site may experience differential settlements that are typically associated with bay mud, and the building and site designs will be engineered to accommodate this if necessary. Previous fills placed on the site may have already contributed to the consolidation of the bay mud, reducing the settlements occurring in areas of fill. Treadwell & Rollo prepared a geotechnical report previously in 2001 based on subsurface exploration and laboratory testing on sampled soils from the site. Their report includes recommendations for site earthwork, building foundations and pavement. In addition, the report discusses regional seismicity including regional active faults, maximum estimated ground shaking, and future earthquake
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Page 9 of 9 probabilities. A 2015 update of the geotechnical report has been obtained for the High School project.
EMF SURVEY An electric and magnetic field (EMF) survey was previously prepared in 2001 by Acumen Industrial Hygiene Inc. The objective of this survey was to assess potential exposures of future occupants to EMF associated with the 60 kilovolt electric transmission lines that border the western portion of the site. Readings were collected at 20-foot intervals parallel to the transmission lines and at 30-foot intervals perpendicular to the lines, beginning at the transmission line easement. Measured electric fields were in the range of 150 to 200 volts per meter (V/M) directly under the lines, and fell to approximately 2 to 4 V/M at the eastern side of the site. The California Department of Education established requirements in 1989 and 1993 for setbacks from electrical transmission lines when siting new schools. For transmission lines of 50 to 133 kilovolts, the setback should be at least 100 feet from the edge of the power line easement. We are proposing to arrange the site with parking between the buildings and the transmissions lines which results in a building setback of 150’ or greater.
Acumen Industrial Hygiene Inc prepared a new EMF survey on June 19, 2015. Based upon comparison to existing study data by the ICNIRP, the measurements did not show any evidence of what would be considered elevated EMF. EMF measurements directly adjacent to the PG&E transmission lines were only slightly elevated as compared to areas located more distant. Measured field strengths in areas of planned development, were less than 61 V/m and 0.09 µT, which are only 1.2% and 0.045% of the ICNIRP recommended limits. This report was submitted for City’s review on June 22, 2015.
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