Photo courtesy of Genesee Martin
Our team is happy to report that First Central Station, a 385 unit mixed-use development in Seattle’s central district, has received unanimous approval from the East Design Review Board. b9 architects, Build LLC, Karen Kiest Landscape Architects, and local artist Paul Rucker presented the design.
The meeting was the second and final stage in the city’s design review process and highlighted the team’s efforts to work with neighbors, community organizations, city officials, and the design review board to provide a unique project that is sensitive to a variety of concerns. The collaborative efforts of the architectural design team, b9 architects and Build LLC, have resulted in a project that captures the distinct design philosophies of each office and projected them on to different portions of the site, a strategy that produces a sense that the buildings have emerged from multiple voices as opposed to a single master plan.
The team utilized a variety of communication tools to bring the design review board up to speed on the project – renderings, diagrams, and a presentation model assisted in making plain the complexities of the design. In the end, the support of the board was a reminder that successful design can emerge from complex collaboration and neighborhood inclusion. It can be hard work, but the result, we believe, will be one of a kind.
To learn more about First Central Station and its design philosophy, be sure to check out Build LLC's blog post HERE
All images courtesy of b9 architects, Build LLC, and Karen Kiest Landscape Architects
Massing evolutions of each building:
Landscape Plan by Karen Kiest Landscape Architects
Site Plan Diagrams
Site concepts by local artist, Paul Rucker
"On June 10, 1918, Seattle saw its first local jazz band perform in Washington Hall, at 14th Avenue and Fir Street. In the 1920s and 1930s jazz flourished in the Central District. We have an opportunity with the construction of First Central Station to acknowledge this legacy by integrating musical notation and themes in the wayfinding. The example shown here uses quarter notes as directional signs to bordering neighborhoods.
Naming of buildings uses solfège
Do= Building #1
Re= Building #2
Mi= Building #3
Solfège is a system for singing notes. If you’re familiar with the famous Rogers and Hammerstein song “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music, you already know the solfège note names: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la and ti."
**To pause on a specific image, hover your mouse over the image
Last week, Brad and Angela checked on the progress of our project, Central Residence, with our client and contractor, Fradkin Fine Construction. This single family home in particular is a project that we at b9 are especially excited about since it was first conceptualized in 2008. We finally began construction in July 2015 this year and expect it to be completed by early September 2016.
The 2,600 sf custom home is designed for a family that wanted a variety of spaces that would allow for more open and communal living with semi-private spaces for guests to relax and be able to access easily. The result is a singular L-shaped structure bisected with a breezeway that connects the front yard and entryway to a large deck and more private rear yard. At the interior an open double and triple-height space fills the home with daylight and provides fluid connections between the spaces.
We're very excited with the progress and encourage you to check in for more updates in a month as construction comes to an end.
Street facade showing our major moves of the entry pathway and sloped roof to emphasis the interior vertical space
Covered breezeway
Kitchen and living space
Our vertical open space viewed from different levels
Guest room at ground level showing built-in storage with access to the vertical open space shown above
Master bedoom with mezzanine
View to the northeast from master bedroom
Back facade with access to basement
Back patio
B9 architects and Cascade Built, along with a community of neighbors, friends and family, gathered to celebrate the completion of the SolHaus townhomes on Capitol Hill, codeveloped by b9 and Cascade Built. The party took advantage of the generous central courtyard and demonstrated the versatility of the project. Residents opened their doors and welcomed neighbors in to their units, each of which had been designed with unique characteristics.
One feature that is shared by a majority of units, however, is a large insulated glass roll up garage door that fronts the central courtyard as a gesture towards community. One owner, who had only just begun to move in, was generous enough to allow the gathering to spill in to their unit, stepping among their boxed belongings and dodging the children that darted through the houses. The evening was terrific way to celebrate another great project!
We are proud to share that our latest project View Haus 5, Seattle's first multifamily housing project built to passive house standards, has won 1st Place in the Multifamily category at the 2015 North American Passive House Conference. Hosted by PHIUS (Passive House Institute US), the conference brings "together building scientists, engineers, policy makers and others to share the latest knowledge and experience in passive building." (PHIUS website)
For more information and press on View Haus 5, check out these recent articles:
"Inside View Haus 5: Passive House" (KOMO news)
"Green building: Keeping pace with Seattle’s boom" (Crosscut)
"Multi-zone Heat Pump for Pioneering Passive Multifamily" (Mistubishi Electric Case Study)
As designers, homeowners, neighbors, and community builders, we at b9 strive to help improve the quality of living through design and construction. Our project is a testament that urban living can be environmentally conscious and responsible.
Viewhaus 5 is just the beginning.
Poster presented at the North American Passive House Conference
Envelope Section Diagram
Section Diagram highlighting design elements