Blues and Greens in New Exo Residential Towers Designed to Make a Statement

The deep blue and green colors of the EXO at Excelsior Park, which houses two 16-story residential towers, has attracted some attention from passersby, including some raised eyebrows.

At R2L:Architects, the design firm behind the 457-unit apartment building on the Oracle campus, wanted exactly that distinguishing quality from other nearby projects.

“We wanted to come up with something that isn’t boring and that has a lot of variety,” said Lee Rubenstein, a principal with R2L:Architects.

The building includes a glass facade that automatically tints based on the direction of the sun. Tenants can also control how tinted they want the glass to be. The EXO is also LEED gold.

The color, which shifts from green to deep blue depending on the viewer’s perspective, was intentionally selected to help make the building standout.

“It makes a statement for sure, in addition to just having actual color. There are so many buildings out there and they don’t have much chroma at all. This punctuates the landscape,” Rubenstein said. 

Because the site plan was already approved, the architecture firm was charged with doing something creative with a limited framework, he said.

The EXO rests on a landscaped parking plinth. The space between the two towers contains outdoor seating, dining areas, a swimming pool and landscaping. It also has 642 parking spaces.

Readers, we’d love to hear what you think of the color and design of the building in the comments below.

Photos by Fatimah Waseem and vantagehill