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Architects: Olson Kundig
- Year: 2013
Seattle: The Latest Architecture and News
Bezos Center for Innovation / Olson Kundig Architects
How Car-Dependent Towns are Adapting Compact Living Strategies
The challenge of converting a sea of parking lots, that so often riddles auto-dependent suburbs, is in densification. Architects are introducing compact urban living models to small towns all across the country, retrofitting single-use zoning into more walkable, diverse and connected communities. Perhaps nowhere is this evolution more evident than Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood, home to the country’s oldest shopping malls. Learn how the town became denser and greener, transitioning to a transit-oriented development, “Gray, Green, and Blue: Seattle’s Northgate.”
Federal Center South Building 1202 / ZGF Architects
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Architects: ZGF Architects
- Area: 209000 ft²
- Year: 2012
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Manufacturers: Decoustics, Lutron, Bega, Sherwin-Williams, Zurn, +87
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Professionals: Lerch Bates, WSP Flack + Kurtz, Lane Coburn & Associates LLC, Sequoyah Electric, Rolf Jensen & Associates, +4
Ballard Aperture House / First Lamp Architecture and Construction
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Architects: First Lamp Architecture and Construction
- Year: 2013
Westland Distillery / Urbanadd
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Architects: Urbanadd
- Area: 13000 m²
- Year: 2013
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Manufacturers: VetroTech Saint-Gobain
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Professionals: KcKinstry, Coughlin Porter Lundeen, J.R. Abbott Construction
Wagner Education Center / Olson Kundig Architects
Olson Kundig Architects’ $6.6 million Wagner Education Center at The Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) in Seattle is scheduled to break ground this winter. Reminiscent of historic Northwest boatbuilding facilities, the projected LEED Gold center will serve as the “modern front door for the growing museum, Lake Union Park and the surrounding South Lake Union neighborhood.” The design will feature large windows and movable exterior panels that, consistent with Kundig’s signature use of inventive details, will grant users maximum flexibility in controlling the interior’s exposure to the elements.
NBBJ's Biodome for Amazon Approved by Seattle Design Board
The City Design Review Board has approved NBBJ’s tri-sphere biodome planned for Amazon’s downtown Seattle headquarters. Reaching up to 95 feet, the glass cluster of “Spheres” was designed to create an alternative work environment within the 3.3 million-square-foot office and retail campus that is currently under construction.
2013 Seattle Design Festival
This year's Seattle Design Festival, hosted by Design in Public and AIA Seattle, will feature large scale installations, home tours, walking tours, films, lectures, exhibitions, competitions, activities, pop-up parklets, and more which is open to the general public. The city-wide event takes place September 13-22 with the hub of the festival at the ‘Design Block’ in Pioneer Square. This year's theme is ‘Design in Health’ exploring the connection between environmental design and health & well-being. Design can improve health by: promoting physical activity, increasing access to healthy food, reducing injuries, improving air and water quality, minimizing stress, and strengthening the social fabric of communities. More information after the break.
West Campus Student Housing / Mahlum
Aurea Residence / Chris Pardo Design: Elemental Architecture
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Architects: Chris Pardo Design: Elemental Architecture
- Area: 3300 ft²
- Year: 2013
NBBJ Proposes Five-Story Biodome for Amazon's Seattle Headquarters
In an attempt to “create an alternative environment” in the center of Amazon’s recently approved, three-block headquarters planned for downtown Seattle, NBBJ has submitted a revision that would replace a six-story office building with a tri-sphere biodome that will host various forms of plant life and provide a more natural setting for employees to work and socialize. Perhaps this change is Amazon’s way of “keeping up with the Joneses”, as many leading corporations - Apple, Google, and Facebook - have been unveiling plans to construct one-of-the-kind office complexes centered around sustainability, innovation and collaboration.
Ballard Cut / Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects
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Architects: Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects
- Area: 2160 ft²
- Year: 2009
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Manufacturers: Northstar Woodworks
The 'World's Greenest Commercial' Building Opens in Seattle Today
The Bullitt Center, a six-story, 50,000 square foot office building in Seattle that aspires to be the world's greenest commercial building, opens its doors to the public today on Earth Day. This $30 million "living laboratory," designed by Miller Hull Partnership, distinguishes itself from other sustainable projects with its composting toilets, the exclusion of 350 common toxic chemicals - including PVC, lead, mercury, phthalates, BPA and formaldehyde - along with a strict energy and water budget that aims for self-sufficiency under the Living Building Challenge. The environmentally-conscious Bullitt Foundation hopes that the new center will demonstrate that carbon-neutral office space can be "commercially viable and aesthetically stunning," a series of systems that can be easily copied elsewhere without being overly demanding in upkeep.
Read more about the Bullitt Center after the break...
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Team / atelierjones
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Architects: atelierjones
- Year: 2012
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Professionals: Foushee Contractors
Olson Kundig Architects to Design New Museum of Art for WSU
Seattle-based architect Jim Olson of Olson Kundig Architects has been selected by Washington State University to design a new Museum of Art. Over the years, Olson has complied a spectacular portfolio of stunning homes designed for art collectors worldwide. This experience has given Olson a “wealth of experience in not only crafting beautiful environments for works of art, but in working with artists to discover new opportunities for expressing their creativity,” according to Chris Bruce, director of the museum.
Seattle Leads the Way in Tracking Building Energy Use
Enthusiasm for water and energy data collection for commercial and residential buildings has been growing strong across the U.S. in major cities such as Austin, New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. It's no surprise to learn that Earth-friendly Seattle is ahead of the game when it comes to tracking its buildings; reports show that the city is receiving data for a whopping 87% of its commercial and multi-residential buildings over 50,000 square feet, which totals to 1,160 individual properties covering over 200 million square feet of the city.
Capitol Hill Residence / Balance Associates Architects
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Architects: Balance Associates Architects
- Year: 2011
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Manufacturers: Kalwall®, Parklex Prodema
City OKs design of Amazon’s Seattle Headquarters
With a 3-2 vote, Seattle’s Downtown Design Review Board has voted in favor of Amazon’s plans for a three-block, high-rise complex in the Denny Triangle. The board voted after conducting five, comprehensive meetings over the last six months to review Amazon’s evolving NBBJ-designed proposal. Although this design review approval is simply a recommendation to the city’s Department of Planning and Development, it is still a milestone for the ambitious project.
The five acre site, roughly located between Sixth Avenue, Blanchard Street and Westlake Avenue, is currently occupied by expansive parking lots, the Sixth Avenue Inn and the King Cat Theater. Continue after the break to learn more.