We designed the entry courtyard—with its sculpture garden, sunken grass court, and seating areas—to draw in employees and visitors through both its landscape and architecture. Beyond the entryway, a central atrium feeds natural light into the building, and serves as a community gathering space for numerous agency functions ranging from group staff meetings to all-hands events.

Prior to the State of California’s adoption of LEED, the building was used as a demonstration project for the State’s alternative sustainable design program: the “Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Building Measures” (California Tier 1/ Tier 2 Measures).