160 W Santa Clara

Overview:
In collaboration with ESI Design, RE Image coordinated communications across design, fabrication, installation, and ownership teams to deliver a signature placemaking intervention at 160 West Santa Clara in downtown San Jose. This transformative lobby and entrance portal features a sweeping field of custom perforated metal panels,totaling around 1,400 sq ft and composed of 53,508 binary digits that map local waterways and encode Bay Area poet Joanne Kyger’s poem “It’s been a long time”—forming a poetic dialogue between Silicon Valley’s digital heritage and its natural landscape.

Lighting:
A programmed RGB-backlit LED system casts shifting colors behind the panels, creating a subtle yet dynamic visual rhythm throughout the day and evening.

Impact:
This expressive installation elevated the building’s identity and market stature. In 2020, it sold for approximately $131.8 million, about 30% above Beacon’s 2018 acquisition price, achieving the highest price per square foot for a downtown San Jose Class A office building that year.