Walkable, engaging streets

The buildings are organized to frame a public Paseo that visually connects the life sciences hub to adjacent housing, retail, and hotel developments. At its northern end, a freestanding amenities structure anchors the Paseo within an open plaza, fostering connections with neighboring properties. 

Framing a public paseo

Previous Slide
Next Slide
Campus plan
Conceptual site plan
Placemaking
A highly articulated curtain wall system
Pressed metal panels

The Paseo features a highly articulated curtain wall system with colorful pressed metal panels and a series of exterior terraces that activate the pathway with user activity.

The buildings step back from the property line to create a human-scale streetscape. Stone panels with punched openings along the street walls provide privacy while maintaining pedestrian appeal, while vertically oriented metal plate panels above emphasize the urban edge.

Where work, community, and nature converge

The Orchard Workspace features two towers atop a podium anchored by Market Hall, an indoor/outdoor public market that positions the site as a regional and neighborhood hub. Designed to embrace San Jose’s arts and culture energy, the project integrates retail, alleyways, and public spaces, creating a cohesive and vibrant live-work community.

The design reimagines Santa Clara Valley’s orchards as vertical landscapes. Large balconies with native and drought-tolerant plantings, including fruit trees, extend live/workspaces, improve air quality, and support energy efficiency. Together, the Orchard Workspace and Market Hall embody sustainability and community, responding to Downtown San Jose’s character while creating a vibrant live/work ecosystem.

Extensive planted balconies, shading, daylighting strategies, and mass timber construction reduce carbon impact while enhancing wellness and productivity. With a Net Zero water goal, the project’s innovative water system collects and treats reclaimed water for non-potable uses, such as irrigating native plantings and urban gardens.

The Orchard Workspace
The Orchard Workspace
The Orchard Workspace
Mission Bay Parking Structure

Infrastructure as playful, pedestrian-friendly design

A deeply canted plaster façade on the south side captures light and shadow, creating visual texture that reflects the dynamic energy of Third Street. The façade appears to float above a recessed walkway, providing shelter for pedestrians and enhancing the vibrant, approachable character that defines Mission Bay today. In contrast, the north and east façades, which face public parks, are clad in perforated aluminum panels. Their pixelated imagery of California’s redwood forests evokes the filigree of the parks’ tree canopies at a finer, more personal scale.

The northeast corner of the building serves as the primary pedestrian entrance, marked by a canted plaster design that mirrors the bold gestures of the south elevation. Positioned as a figural presence overlooking the parks, it invites pedestrians—whether arriving on foot or transitioning from driver to walker—to pause and take in the cityscape.

Sustainability informed every aspect of the project. Construction waste was meticulously sorted by material type (wood, metal, etc.) and sent to recycling centers. Stormwater is filtered through a grease-oil separator before discharge, and recycled greywater irrigates the site’s landscaping. Delivered through a Design-Build partnership with Overaa Construction, this project reflects WRNS Studio’s commitment to integrated, environmentally thoughtful design.

Mission Bay Parking
Mission Bay Parking
white
Concord Conversion

Community and urban connectivity

The project introduces a wide, tree-lined promenade linking the Todos Santos Plaza to the Concord BART Station. At its heart lies Palm Place, a welcoming plaza that aligns the site with the city grid. Enhanced by outdoor seating and a restaurant pavilion, the promenade invites residents and the broader community to gather and enjoy this vibrant public space.

A residential lobby connects the promenade to a lower courtyard, anchoring the ground-floor amenities: fitness center, leasing office, bodega, and restaurant/bar. A new upper courtyard carved into the existing six-story structure wraps the residences in light and views, opening to the street at level 2. Three-bedroom townhouses with private yards and stoops line the street, contrasting the communal promenade. Rooftop amenities include a tree-shaded deck, gardening plots, and an event room with views of Mt. Diablo and Todos Santos Plaza. Photovoltaic panels offset energy consumption, advancing sustainability goals.

This project explores modular construction for kitchens and baths to reduce costs and timelines, while evaluating opportunities to optimize the central utility plant and reallocate former truck loading areas for programs like a daycare center.

Concord Conversion
Concord Conversion
Concord Conversion
Fresno Yosemite Airport Parking

Enhancing convenience, security, and the passenger experience

Framing the terminal and drop-off zone, the FAT parking structure creates a seamless, efficient entry experience while helping to establish the airport as a contemporary transportation hub. The open ground floor connects to the surrounding landscape, enhancing walkability, safety, and sense of place. Above, a dynamic north façade features vertical metal fins of varying widths, forming a gossamer screen that enhances visibility, security, and runway views. Fresno artist Caleb Duarte’s striking four-story mural, You Have Arrived, adorns the elevator shaft, complementing the terminal’s cartographic façade.

Wayfinding is intuitive, with each floor color-coded and the elevator shaft serving as a navigational landmark to orient visitors to the terminal. An Automated Parking Guidance System (APGS) directs motorists to available spaces and provides vital data on parking utilization, reducing stress for travelers and increasing operational efficiency.

Delivered as a Design-Build project by Overaa Construction and WRNS Studio, the process minimized construction impacts, keeping the airport fully operational throughout. Designed for Net Zero Energy, it supports a future rooftop photovoltaic array and allows for phased expansion toward the new terminal. This innovative parking structure is a cornerstone of FAT’s forward-thinking infrastructure improvements.

Fresno Yosemite Airport Parking
Zions Bancorporation Tech Center

Where innovation, community, and nature converge

The Tech Center consolidates numerous departments that were formerly dispersed across smaller offices throughout the Salt Lake Valley, supporting growth and innovation for one of the nation’s leading financial institutions. Broad floors support team building and collaboration, while smaller plates accommodate focused work. Courtyards cut into the larger plates provide employees with natural light, views, and access to nature.

Eschewing the typical suburban developments—offices surrounded by a sea of parking—the Technology Center anticipates future density, while enhancing connections to nature. The site preserves open space for habitat restoration while establishing seamless connections to the Jordan River Trail and nearby transit. A new public park and pedestrian-friendly street add vibrancy and community appeal. 

To support Zions’ Net Zero Energy goals, over 2,000 photovoltaic panels offset 75% of the building’s energy use, saving an estimated 4.9 million pounds of CO2 annually. The campus also includes 179 electric vehicle charging stations, promoting sustainable transportation choices.

Zions Bancorporation Tech Center
Zions Bancorporation Tech Center
Zions Bancorporation Tech Center

Learning, creativity, and community: the hero’s journey

Inspired by the hero’s journey, the design transforms the center into an “enchanted forest,” where students embark on adventures, solve problems, and emerge transformed. This playful environment ties the transformative power of learning to creativity and community, exemplifying 826 Valencia’s mission of fostering equity and opportunity.

The storefront, branded as Woodland Creature Outfitters, Ltd., continues 826’s tradition of playful stores like the Pirate Supply Store and King Carl’s Emporium. Selling student publications alongside fantastical forest tools like unicorn horn polish, the store draws curious visitors who often become volunteers and donors. Visitors journey through a magical space featuring hollowed-out logs, a mushroom tree, and a reading cave, arriving at the Writing Lab, complete with a rock-pool stage for student presentations.

Delivered pro bono, WRNS Studio partnered with local businesses, artists, and students to bring the space to life, blending creativity and community in support of 826 Valencia’s vision that education should be a right, not a privilege.

Empowering future leaders through connection and choice

WRNS Studio reimagined Castilleja School’s campus around a series of interconnected hubs, fostering community and offering students choices in how they engage with their environment. At its heart is the Circle, a landscaped greenspace that symbolizes balance, equity, and tradition. Pathways, bridges, and gardens energize the Circle, linking diverse programs while offering spaces to gather or retreat. Each grade has its own intimate gathering area, while flexible “all-hands” spaces and social nooks encourage collaboration and connection.

Castilleja School
Castilleja School
Castilleja School

Wellness and sustainability integrated

The design reflects holistic goals for wellness, flexibility, equity, and sustainability. Ample daylight activates learning spaces, including the 50,000-square-foot garden level, made welcoming with light wells, atriums, and warm Dowel Laminated Timber. Net Zero Energy is achieved through photovoltaics, all-electric systems, and responsive lighting controls. Rainwater is captured for irrigation, while native plants and preserved trees enhance the landscape’s ecological value. These sustainable features serve as teaching tools, seamlessly integrating environmental stewardship into the curriculum.

On 6.5 acres in Palo Alto, the project was designed with sensitivity to its residential neighbors. Warm wood materials, low building heights, sound walls, and underground parking mitigate aesthetic, noise, and traffic concerns, ensuring a harmonious relationship between school and community.

Castilleja School

Learning Spaces

Previous Slide
Next Slide
Castilleja School Library
Wellness Space
Castilleja School Robotics
Maker Space
Castilleja School Orchestra
Instrumental
Castilleja School Ktichen
Community Kitchen
Castilleja School

Flexible, light-filled, connected

Originally designed as a traditional office tower with individual offices, the design team updated the building to attract life sciences companies with modern, connected workplace environments that expand research capabilities, emphasize collaboration, foster wellbeing, and flex to support ever-changing tools and technologies.

Repositioning for research and innovation

Previous Slide
Next Slide
Site plan
Plan
Lanterns
New envelope

The project leverages its proximity to mass transit, with Caltrain, ferry services, and regional bike routes all within walking distance. The redesigned ground floor enhances these connections with an indoor/outdoor café that activates the lobby and flows seamlessly into the leafy plaza. Strategic cuts in the floor slabs introduce illuminated “lanterns” that break up the façade, creating dynamic spaces for team-building activities. Together, the research environments, amenities, and landscape create a flexible framework that will adapt to changes in personnel and research.

A residence tailored for luxury retreat

At the heart of the penthouse, a grand marble kitchen island with a waterfall edge anchors the main space, inviting rich dining experiences. Walnut wood cabinetry extends seamlessly from the kitchen into the living area, where custom millwork artfully displays the owner’s hobbies. This thoughtful integration continues into the living room, pairing natural materials with refined furnishings to create a welcoming space for gathering. Upstairs, the second floor features two bedrooms, each with its own distinct personality, while curated artwork and sculptures from local Hawaiian artists capture the spirit of the islands throughout the home.