Hacienda Center, a 280,000 square foot office building situated on a 16.4 acre site at Hacienda Business Park, has received the prestigious "Award of Merit" for superior professional accomplishment from the Northern California Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

The landscape design is the work of the San Francisco office of POD, Inc., a nationally known firm specializing in planning, design and landscape architecture.

Hacienda Center is a development of The Prudential Insurance Company of America and was designed by Fee + Munson Architects.

The landscape area of Hacienda Center comprises 28 percent of the 16.4 acre site and includes six plazas, three fountains, informal redwood groves, multiple seating areas and 12 landscaped roof terraces.

In addition to providing an environment for people at the ground level, the landscaping is intended to be seen from open terraces on the third and fifth floors.

Hacienda Center sits on a triangular site surrounded by three major roads.

The landscape design for the project focuses on contrast and variety. There is a soft, shady side of the building composed of curving walls, walks and berms amid groves of redwoods and flowering trees.

The sunny side is more geometric, featuring angles, skewed forms, formal tree plantings and a distinct fountain at each of the three entry plazas.

The landscape design solution for Hacienda Center is treated as a landscape painting, to be viewed with contemplation, interest and variety from the many vantage points of the five-story towers.

Access for the handicapped is convenient with plazas sloped gradually to meet flush with the drive aisles.

A special system of tree planting also extends into the parking lot to mark visitor parking stalls, in addition to at least one tree per six car spaces in the outlying parking areas.

On the ground level, it provides an environment for people to enjoy. It offers choices - intimate and public spaces; sunny and shady spaces; grass for lying, benches and steps for sitting; quiet environments and active fountains - all intended to enrich the working environment.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: November 11, 1985 Pathways.