“It’s a special opportunity to remodel a house that the clients have lived in for many years. They know the site so well: the best views, the direction of winds, and how the sun interacts with the site throughout the year.” –Jim Olson, FAIA, Design Principal.
A family home originally built over four decades ago, this Fox Island beachfront residence boasts unobstructed views of the Puget Sound and an island wildlife area to the west. Opening up these previously constrained views and integrating the family’s active coastal lifestyle into the home served as the primary directives for the new design. An elevated roofline and a new row of clerestory windows on the home’s water-facing side, along with wall-height windows replacing the original truncated glazing, brighten a previously darker and compressed living area. Hidden pivot points in several of these window walls open the west side of the home to the outdoors, extending the livable area out to the newly remodeled deck.
Project Team: Jim Olson, FAIA, Design Principal; William Franklin, Project Manager; Elisa Renouard and Adam Pearce, LEED® AP BD+C, Architectural Staff; Christine Burkland, Interior Design
The renovation of this 29-story office tower for developer Tishman Speyer consisted of a lobby redesign, as well as exterior façade updates. Originally constructed in 1983, the building had experienced several additions to the façade throughout the 1990s. With this latest renovation, the goal was to reestablish 520 Pike as a modern building.
“One of the greatest design challenges in a climate like Seattle, is to create a light filled space. This drove every decision we made from elevating the ceiling plane, to opening up the window wall and inserting a variety of nuanced white finishes and light experiences throughout the space.” –Kirsten R. Murray, FAIA, Design Principal
As a “living memorial” for President John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts takes an active position among the great presidential monuments in Washington, D.C. Through public events and stimulating art, the Kennedy Center offers a place where the community can engage and interact with artists across the full spectrum of the creative process. The REACH expansion, designed by Steven Holl Architects, adds much-needed rehearsal, education, and a range of flexible indoor and outdoor spaces to allow the Kennedy Center to continue to play a leadership role in providing artistic, cultural, and enrichment opportunities.
The design for The REACH merges architecture with the landscape to expand the dimensions of a living memorial. The landscape design includes a narrative reflection on the life of President Kennedy: a grove of 35 gingko trees, which will drop their golden autumn leaves in late November, acknowledges John F. Kennedy’s position as the 35th President of the United States; and a reflecting pool and mahogany landscape deck are built in the same dimensions and mahogany boards of Kennedy’s WWII boat, the PT109.
Rally has revitalized the West Seattle spine of California Avenue. Occupying the former site of a stand-alone restaurant and parking lot, the location was one of many struggling to strike a balance between the commercial promise of this avenue and the single-family neighborhoods beyond. Through conscientious material choice and careful composition, Rally communicates village character and provides the surrounding area with necessary cohesion.
Stencil’s form and materiality was conceived as a response to its rich context. The corner of 24th and Union is bustling, so Stencil’s cubic form and steel cladding form a strong presence anchoring the corner and presenting a public face in the urban context to the north and west. The rusted steel evokes a sense of warmth, age, and industry—and a little bit of funk, emphasizing the history and character of the Central District by not appearing too new, cold, or gentrified.
Seattle Humane’s mission of serving pets in need of shelter and respite was constrained by its small, 1960s-era facility. The organization sought to build a new animal shelter that would increase the number of pets it served while providing a base of operations for their community outreach and educational programs. At 57,000 SF, their new facility does just that, providing shelter for 165 cats and 170 dogs, a 35% increase in capacity. This allows Seattle Humane to take in more pets from high-kill shelters and provides an opportunity to place more pets with adoptive families.
To limit disruptions to operations and programming of this vital community nonprofit, the new building was constructed adjacent to the existing facility on the same site, allowing the shelter to remain open throughout construction.
“It was an honor to work on such an important corner and intersection in Seattle. The project is adjacent to one of the city’s most important cultural institutions – Pike Place Market – and so even today with all the changes Seattle has experienced, the area still carries a little of the Seattle I recall when I moved here in 1974.” ―Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
Located in the heart of downtown Seattle, 100 Stewart Hotel & Apartments serves as a contemporary landmark that visually and physically responds to the surrounding urban context. The site is situated adjacent to the historic Pike Place Market District and is neighbored by a range of buildings that represent Seattle’s rich history. For that reason, one of the primary architectural considerations of the project was the scale of the new structure and its relationship to smaller, older buildings in the surrounding area. The site’s position at a major axial grid shift―where First Avenue bends to meet the city’s topography―also presented a unique opportunity to mark this significant intersection and act as a gateway between neighborhoods.
Located on the west edge of the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington, the Visitor Center is the new gateway for students and guests to the university. The Visitor Center provides campus information, an overview of student culture, alumni history, and information about WSU research initiatives and achievements.
AUTO-haus is a full renovation and addition of a one-story garage, constructed in the 1800’s and located in a historic Washington DC alley. While the clients, a young couple, are true urban dwellers who primarily bike and walk, they collect classic BMW’s and enjoy working on them. This project merges their favorite hobby with their new living space. It also preserves the original garage structure, including all steel beams, brick party walls, and first floor brick façade, with the bricked-up garage door opening restored to its original size.
Originally built in the 1920’s, this house suffered numerous inharmonious modifications and additions requiring an almost surgical design approach. Reconfigured circulation, enhanced functionality, and a wholly new interior were the result of a substantial remodel where most of the upper floor and roof were strategically removed.
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