853 Middlefield, a medical office building, is located at the corner of Middlefield Road and Channing Avenue. The site is occupied by two, one-story medical office buildings, adjoined by a breezeway. The northeastern property line abuts a single story residence, while the northwestern property line faces a two story wood framed building.
The project proposes to create a new identity for the property by: 1) developing a stronger entrance for each suite with aluminum cladded entries and storefront windows/doors; 2) demolishing all wood trim and cladding the buildings with horizontal wood siding; 3) replacing all existing windows with aluminum framed, dual-glazed, high-performance windows; 4) replacing the composite shingle roof with metal standing seam roof; and 5) creating a garden courtyard facing Middlefield road with a 4’ high landscape wall cladded with horizontal porcelain tiles.
Instead of dividing the two buildings into numerous small suites, the larger building will now have three suites and the smaller building will have two suites. All entrances are strategically placed to enliven the façade of the building while providing an efficient layout for the future tenants. The horizontal wood siding and horizontal tile at the landscape wall emphasize the linear quality of the building. Part of the louvers at the raised roof area will be replaced by clerestory windows to bring natural light into the interior. The existing single-glazed skylight at the breezeway will be replaced by Kalwall, an insulated, light-transmitting structural composite panel. The garden courtyard provides access to the building interior with multiple sliding doors.