535 Arastradero Way is an unusually long apartment building with two stories of apartment units over ground level podium parking. The owners had installed a louvered aluminum awning years ago that had since suffered damage. Referred by another client, they came to us and requested a new more contemporary facade that would incorporate a new idea for shading of the western sun.

Everything about the facade improvement needed to be economical, also everything needed to be low maintenance. A new perforated aluminum screen awning structure was designed, supported by stainless steel tube shapes suspended from the structures overhead. This provided a new shading device as well as a sleek contemporary refresh for the building. The deck railings were refaced with a type of vinyl filmed T&G faux wood, both for lightweight and low maintenance. An economical solution to increase the railing heights to the requirements of the code without a completely new railing structure was to use a thin-wall steel tube spanning between the supporting wing walls of the decks. It was painted red to break up the scale, provide a color accent, and also accentuate the lines of the building.