The Bay Area Real Estate Blog

I will be the first to comment so if anyone would like to talk about the post, it will email me. 
 
Cheers,  
Adam

Nice article - I know you might cover this in a later article post, but i'd like to know your opinion on San Jose's sign ordinance, and how the use of architectural sign elements might be crucial to the overarching creativeness of San Jose. We're very limited in our vision compared to others jurisdictions.

You're introductory comments about seeking out creative products and services does get one thinking, but Los Gatos is a town (maybe even a village) and San Franciso is a major metropolitan city with multiple centers of creativity. Perhaps scale has something to do with it. San Jose is "in between" the charming scale of a village and the vital, complex fabric that makes a major metropolitan city. 
As the SOFA district grows it is attempting to be the creative hub of the city, but maybe multiple hubs would better serve the arts community. The question seems to be, how do you inspire those individuals and groups that by nature are independent, creative spirits to congregate and develop a community. What is the seed? Where should it be planted?

"San Jose’s design community is untapped, yet ready for a revolution." Well said!

To elaborate, I think San Jose is ready for a design revolution mostly thanks to the recent influx of downtown residential communities. Cultural hubs such as San Pedro Square and SOFA can't reach their fullest potential when they rely on the lunch crowd and Sharks games to keep their businesses afloat. They need 24-hour activity from a mix of uses. They need "eyes on the street" to keep them safe and inviting at night (thanks, Jane Jacobs)! 
 
I think San Jose is ready. Urban dwellers will continue to bring new life and culture to San Jose, and the design community will thrive.

I think one of the ways to get a creative community downtown is to move the Art Institute in Sunnyvale to a central downtown location. One of my good friends attends school there and acknowledged that even though rent would be higher (and thus tuition), he's already paying $100,000, and not even ten grand is going to make a bump. Artists need to be inspired by their surroundings, and Sunnyvale is not the place to get inspired.

Also, I've talked with many people who are part of the art community in San Jose (including people that have started artist co-ops in SJ), and what I've repeatedly heard is that living in San Jose is just too expensive.  
 
Is it cheaper than living in San Francisco or Los Angeles? Perhaps not, but at least they can get a job in those cities.  
 
Downtown San Jose needs live/work spaces that are actually affordable to foster collaborative creative environments. High rise condos do not attract graphic designers/photographers/start-ups etc, and neither do style-less "low income" housing that are still unaffordable for most people.

@Mark I would hardly use Los Gatos as a comp to a creative district for San Jose. Although "charming" we have Willow Glen and Rose Garden/Alameda in San Jose, just out of downtown SJ for that, but a completely different market. You are right, San Francisco is a major creative hub, but San Jose has more people and area, yet still limited in creative communities. I believe these creatives are being exported to San Francisco. You can look at areas of the midwest (Omaha, Austin, Memphis) and see a grass roots community of designers in an urban setting creating modern design. Yet being the biggest city in Silicon Valley innovators in tech, we have nothing. 
 
@Stephanie - Great point to further my thought, there is that seedings of an effort in place and as people come (urban dwellers as I call them) they bring the modern sensibilities about living in the urban environment which could spur innovation in communities. Better yet prove to the powers that be investing in downtown is worth while, which seems to be the problem now. They are wry of the investment.  
 
@Alyssa - Great point about the Art Institute. SJSU has an arts department, but probably not as art intense, so does not help out the surrounding area. A CORE location for the school in downtown San Jose could help businesses there and rents in the area. Affordable unique projects geared toward that live/work, walkable community "floats all boats" in the area.  
 
Thanks for all the comments, again, please share with others and continue the dialogue, either online or in passing with friends. I look forward to more posts, and interaction in the future.

San Jose has always confused me. We find nooks 20 minutes apart to meet our various cultural needs, usually depending on retailer, age group, and, quite frankly, how long we want to look for parking. Neighborhoods are understood by nearby shopping malls, and the downtown is one of the least sought out places to be at night.  
 
I don't think art communities are planned, which is part of the artistry itself. In Copenhagen, Christiania was the part of the city for outcasts, and out of need, an artistic community flourished. Perhaps compare this to Columbus, Indiana - a thoroughly planned city, ranked #6 for architecture in the US, but not exactly a mecca for designers. So does too much control limit artistic potential? And if so, are we too late? Are there nooks in San Jose with the potential to foster this environment?  
 
A unique but also challenging cultural part of San Jose is the micro-communities within it. Willow Glen, Cambrian, Almaden, Evergreen, Rose Garden…and the list goes on. I’m reminded of the drastically different neighborhoods of Paris, where 2 stops on the Metro put you in two totally different worlds. But the worlds in San Jose aren’t so different. There is an overall moderation and extreme hesitation, with an underlying goal to keep a consistent front and general design style. But what if this norm was challenged? What if completely sustainable and vertical garden communities were permitted in areas of San Jose besides the historically designated downtown? Or a community could paint their houses like the cottages on the little island of Burano, Italy—in an unafraid array of shades? What if the color of your door wasn’t mandated by the housing association, and there was a beautiful and striking piece of contemporary architecture in the middle of your community that drew students from around the world to come study it’s unique form and innovative ideas? 
 
A creative community will let architects make bold design statements, but only if the community sees the value in it and appreciates the effort. As long as architects and clients continue to encourage the norm, playing it safe and following trends, an artistic presence and a design-centered San Jose will not see an opportunity for growth.  

San Jose needs a few things to nurture a design/artistic community: lofts and creative spaces to build community, and the presence of older buildings (read: cheap rent) to house independent retailers. I think that SJ is ready for a design revolution - it'll be interesting to see what happens downtown now that the public monies have dried up (no more RDA money) - and so have their design restrictions.  
 

As others have said, I think that design can be supported in San Jose. But an essential catalyst for design to mature in San Jose, would be to build an art institute in the SOFA district. This will draw on the artist of the area who are forced to go to SF or other places because there is nothing that is closer or better.  
Secondly, there need to be more affordable housing units for artists to live in. Even though he 360 is right in the heart of SOFA, and it leases its units, is way out of the question for artists, as they are asking Santana Row price. So future projects should focus on leasing affordable units rather than selling them. With greater density, comes more people with more ideas and increases the creativity of an area. Simply focus on art education and living and San Jose art culture would blossom.

Mark is 100% right about how an art institute would be a magnet. The thing that is very interesting about housing in San Jose is that while there are very few affordable apartments in DT, there are a ton of houses that are renting rooms for ~$600. Maybe some independent body like an arts council could help match artists and cheap places to live. That might create more communities like the Hi-Jinx Womyn's co-op by Diridon.  
 
Maybe what is lacking is affordable studios for artists to work. The San Pedro Market model which allows micro-entrepreneurship might be able to be applied to that vacant spot underneath the 360. 
 
It's great to see so many people concerned with this topic and I think we are heading in the right direction.

My wife and I have been in Willow Glen for 15 years and we've been looking for modern design for 15 years! 
 
I believe design flows through the community. Lets face it, when you think of San Jose, you don't think art, design, structure, etc..... San Jose is the heart of Silicon Valley, technology central, which grooms engineers, start ups, tech and more tech. 
 
Being an engineer myself, along with hundreds of my peers, the focus is creating new technology, working 60+ hour weeks and designing the next best thing. Many of us are so classically trained, we have little artistic skills. 
 
My wife has introduced me to design, art and a culture that surrounds it, which is more predominant in SF, Sausalito, Marin, Palm Springs, etc. 
 
When San Jose hosts so many engineers, this in turn drives the environment and the needs of the community. 
 
When you get to SF, many of the people I meet have never heard of Silicon Valley, and I very rarely meet another engineer ( electrical, design, chemical )... 
 
Do we really think adding an art institute will foster a design community with such momentum that it can compete with tech in the valley or the culture of SF? 
 
We would love to see more art and design in San Jose, yet the domination of tech brings with it the traits of tech. 
 
Maybe its time for a new spin on what Joseph Eichler created years ago.  
 

Alex, thanks for the comments, this is just the type of discussion I was seeking writing this commentary.  
 
I agree with your about thoughts about community driving the environment. Those classically trained engineers with IBM, HP, NASA/Ames and Fairchild could have been mute of the aesthetics of their design, when the advancement in technology was king. Apple is a South Bay company, and is one of the most design inclined engineering firm in the country, so the culture is around for some.  
 
Granted the term "engineer" now has a new meaning, and is now about the computer digital technologies, mostly internet based; there are a ton of engineers in San Francisco. Those engineers are in the 24-36 year old range but most of them are working for internet tech start-ups, working on ways to use the technology Silicon Valley created. From micro to nano sized chips, these new engineers are more social mobile and have more at stake with the companies they create. Not just in SF but in Palo Alto and San Jose too. Facebook is a prime example of a company that values the aesthetic and experience of their product and work environment. Rarely will you see these new age engineers in a white dress shirt, slacks and tie. The culture at work should be reflected into the home, smaller spaces adapted to social experiences built into our housing communities. 
 
I think the commenter meant that an art institute will immediately impact the culture of design into downtown San Jose, or strengthen the already blossoming movement happening there. Even if that community is a 3 block radius around the school, the idea is that when those students graduate some would stay and foster the arts in the neighboring area. 
 
Joseph Eichler had it right, and I do believe its time for another to do this in the present day. I am not convinced a single story on a standard city lot is appropriate today, but the idea of bringing usable high design to the home in a modern sense is applicable today.  
 
Only due time will tell how San Jose as a city can be accepting to non-traditional design, but it will be up to those building these communities to have the foresight to think into the future, as our engineer forefathers have done to enrich the Silicon Valley of the past.