General Electric Atomic Power Equipment Department

Project: General Electric Atomic Power Equipment Department

Architect: John Carl Warnecke & Associates

Owner: General Electric Company

Landscape Architect: John Carl Warnecke & Associates, Michael Painter, A.S.L.A

Photographers: Morley Baer, Phil Fein & Associates, Natalie Owings, Rondal Partridge

Date Completed: 1961

First Award, American Association of Nurserymen, 1967
Honor Award, American Society of Landscape Architects, 1967

On the basis of a master plan report by John Carl Warnecke and Associates, this headquarters building for General Electric in San Jose, California was designed to house the company’s new Atomic Power Equipment Department and to provide office space for related personnel. Located on the south edge of a 60-acre site, this one-story administration building provides for future growth and the integration of the plant and its traffic into the community plans.

The main element of the design is the garden court, a 30’ x 65’ space accessible from the lobby, conference rooms and adjoining offices. The landscape construction, which includes walks, terraces, benches and fountains, is carefully aligned and proportioned in relation to the formal lines of the building, while the plantings are organized to give a feeling of greater dimension and informality to the space.