Each of the four buildings on this campus provides six levels of high-tech office space, with 7-story residential towers atop two of the office structures offering 150 residential units. Woonerfs link the buildings, managing stormwater runoff, and providing pedestrian-friendly open spaces for tenants and neighborhood residents to dine, shop, and relax amid lush vegetation.
Generated multiple structural system scenarios during design, reaching solutions that optimized programming and provided the best project value to the client.
Eliminated all structural transfers by engineering unique cantilevers and integrating walking columns to accomplish multiple programing and geometric changes. Critical to the project, these reduced the overall structural depth and provided an additional floor within the code height limit.
Instrumental in integrating TI changes into the shell and core construction. From concept to implementation, our team provided project-critical pricing and construction documents that expedited the decision-making process. Working with six different architectural teams, we incorporated major structural changes during the permit process including new occupiable decks, full-floor cafeterias, large openings, and new stair locations. All these changes were accommodated without permit schedule impact or any post strengthening.
Partnered with SDOT to master plan the three blocks that comprise this campus, then expeditiously completed permitting for each of four buildings as separate, concurrent projects. The team successfully negotiated non-standard multi-modal transportation improvements to incorporate this project into the South Lake Union neighborhood: a short-term rideshare drop-off at the building entrance that doesn’t interfere with the streetcar line, and the channelization of Terry Avenue to safely separate pedestrians and bicyclists without impeding vehicle or public transit traffic.
Accommodated unexpected conditions discovered during construction, including an underground creek, working closely with the contractor to develop immediate, creative solutions to keep this complex project on schedule. The proximity to the ongoing Mercer Corridor Project and the complex infrastructure necessary to support this technology-driven area created unusually congested underground utility space. Realizing that surveys alone were not going to provide a complete understanding of these spaces, our team used potholing to pinpoint locations of the new city-owned installations, then coordinated with utility providers to appropriately install vaults servicing this urban campus.
Maximized our extensive South Lake Union experience to blend the site design of this development with the neighborhood, working closely with the landscape architect to create over 8,000 square feet of inviting, open space. Together, we designated safe pedestrian paths and bike routes, married stormwater mitigation with lush plantings, and incorporated one-of-a-kind, Pacific Northwest themed elements such as the logjam near Lake Union Park.
Photography © Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Reserved