Elco Yards in Redwood City, CA, integrates approximately 530,000 sf of life sciences and office space across four buildings, creating a research district connected to retail, public spaces, and future housing. Image: Jason O'Rear
A life sciences district can provide state-of-the-art research space while contributing to the surrounding community. At Elco Yards in Redwood City, CA, that goal shaped the master plan from the beginning, influencing how laboratory and office buildings relate to housing, retail, landscape, and public space.
The six-block, five-acre district transforms a former industrial site of car dealerships, warehouses, and surface parking into a walkable extension of downtown. The commercial phase, completed in 2025, includes four buildings with approximately 530,000 sf of office and research space, alongside retail, childcare, parks, plazas, and public art. Two residential buildings, developed by High Street Residential and Barings, are now underway, with 501 apartments anticipated in 2029.
The project team included WRNS Studio (master plan/architect), IQHQ (commercial developer), Trammell Crow Company (residential developer), SWA (landscape architect), Heather Marx Art Advisory (art consultant), Devcon Construction (general contractor, commercial), Greystar Construction (general contractor, residential), Talus Engineering (civil engineer), IMEG (structural engineer, commercial); DCI (structural engineer, residential), Point Energy Innovations (MEP engineer + energy modeling), ACCO (mechanical engineer, Commercial), LDI (mechanical engineer, residential), ArchKey Sprig (electrical engineer, commercial), Helix Electric (electrical engineer, residential), ACCO (plumbing engineer, commercial), Lovazzano (plumbing engineer, residential), and WATT (lighting designer).
For the design team, the challenge was not simply fitting life sciences into a mixed-use development. It was creating a cohesive neighborhood that could support specialized research activities while remaining welcoming to employees, residents, and the wider community.
Planning the district around public space
Rather than treating streets and open spaces as leftover areas between buildings, WRNS Studio made them the organizing framework for the development.
“Our starting point was to make great streets and open spaces, contributing to the everyday experience of the people who would work here,” says Brian Milman, partner at WRNS Studio.
That approach reflects the understanding that researchers benefit from many of the same amenities as other workers, including transit access, places to eat, childcare, outdoor areas, and opportunities to connect with others. Elco Yards is approximately a quarter-mile from the Redwood City Caltrain station and a five-minute walk from downtown.
The plan reconnects the former industrial property to its surroundings through reconfigured streets, pedestrian connections, landscaped gathering spaces, and active ground floors. Nearly an acre of public open space extends across the campus, while more than 30,000 sf of retail, food and beverage, and community amenities bring activity beyond the workday.
Elco Yards Main Street West Elevation. Image: WRNS Studio
Landscape architect SWA collaborated with WRNS Studio to integrate planting, courtyards, terraces, and public spaces throughout the district. Eleven commissioned artworks were also incorporated into the architecture and landscape as part of a program reserving at least one percent of total construction costs for public art.
The result is a shared framework that accommodates different uses without making the laboratory buildings feel isolated from the neighborhood.
Balancing research requirements with an urban setting
The Shop at Elco Yards integrates specialized laboratory infrastructure with a pedestrian-friendly design, screening rooftop mechanical equipment while preserving outdoor terraces and connections to the surrounding neighborhood. Image: Ryan Gobuty
Laboratory buildings introduce technical requirements that can complicate their integration into a pedestrian-oriented environment. Mechanical equipment, service access, vibration control, and provisions for future tenant needs must be coordinated alongside building entrances, ground-floor uses, and outdoor amenities.
“We approached the project at two scales simultaneously: the technical performance of the buildings and the experience of moving through the neighborhood,” says Ben Mickus, AIA, LEED AP, partner at WRNS Studio.
Building massing and material choices helped the team address both scales. The buildings have distinct forms and façades, while a shared palette of brick, steel, and concrete ties the district together. Ground-floor retail and childcare introduce neighborhood-facing uses, and building entrances connect directly to the public-space network.
One example is The Shop, where a single-story sawtooth pavilion steps down from the four-story building to respond to the residential buildings across the street. Rooftop laboratory mechanical equipment is screened behind perforated metal scrims, while the equipment footprint was minimized to preserve usable outdoor terrace space. An overhead canopy provides weather protection, extending the usefulness of the rooftop amenity area.
The design also distinguishes between public gathering areas and controlled research environments. As Mickus explains, “Seamless connections do not require every space to be publicly accessible. They require clear transitions between public life and the more controlled environments where research takes place.”
Behind the architectural approach, flexibility was another important consideration. The project initially was planned entirely as office space, but its program shifted to research and development laboratories after entitlement, documentation, and permit submission. The team accommodated the change without modifying the floor plates or façades, using standard structural grids, generous floor-to-floor heights, and adaptable floor plates to support laboratory and office functions.
Technical provisions include vibration-controlled concrete structures, redundant mechanical systems, emergency generator capacity, and distributed laboratory waste risers. These systems provide a baseline for diverse research tenants while allowing future layouts to evolve.
Designing for development in phases
Elco Yards’ phased development establishes streets, landscaped public spaces, and distinct building designs to create a cohesive life sciences district ahead of the completion of its residential phase. Image: Jason O'Rear
Because the commercial buildings preceded the housing, the team needed to ensure that the first phase would function as a destination before the full neighborhood was complete.
“A central challenge in a phased district is making the earlier phases feel like meaningful places while preserving the larger vision for the neighborhood,” Milman says.
The response was to establish streets, pedestrian connections, landscape, and public spaces as lasting infrastructure rather than elements dependent on the completion of every building. Achieving that continuity required coordination among the design team, developers, and city on street realignments, circulation, infrastructure, and community amenities.
At the same time, the architecture needed enough variation to avoid a uniform, single-phase appearance. WRNS Studio assigned a dedicated project architect to each of the six buildings while maintaining a collaborative review process across the team.
“An important driver from the beginning was to make this project feel like it was built over time, and influenced by many hands,” Milman says.
That balance between consistency and individual character offers a broader lesson for phased life sciences developments. A strong master plan establishes the connections and public spaces that endure, while allowing individual buildings and parcels to respond to changing programs and construction schedules.
As Elco Yards moves toward its residential phase, the established framework will accommodate new residents alongside researchers, employees, and visitors. The project demonstrates how planning for the spaces between buildings, as well as the technical needs within them, can help a life sciences district become an integrated part of the city.
