Photo courtesy of Genesee Martin

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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

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Massing evolutions of each building:

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Landscape Plan by Karen Kiest Landscape Architects 

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Site Plan Diagrams

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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."

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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

Our friends over at Build LLC have the latest on an exciting new project that we have been collaborating on. Check out their blog here for some excellent writing on the subject:

As urban planners, architects, landscape architects, designers, and people who simply enjoy living in the city and thinking about good design, it doesn’t get much better than this. Projects of this complexity and potential community benefit are what most of us on the design team were trained to do in school, and it’s exactly what we love getting our heads around in the profession.

We have just completed our Early Design Guidance Design Review in front of the East Neighborhood Board, and we're excited to begin designing with the recommendations from the Board and the public!