We’ve been a little quiet on the blog lately… but that’s because we have been cranking our gears and working on a new project type for b9 – apartments!  Construction has begun on our townhouses in Fremont and we are working in the neighborhood again. The project is a new mixed-use apartment building and the proposed site is 743 N 35th Street.

You are invited to an informal Fremont Neighborhood Meeting to discuss the project.

Come see the preliminary design proposal and share your comments with those involved in designing the project. All are welcome!

Where: Fremont Public Library Meeting Room
731 N 35th Street

When: Saturday April 19th 11:00a – 12:30p  

The formal Early Design Guidance Meeting with the Northwest Design Review Board will be:

Where: Ballard Community Center, Sunset/Captain Ballard Room
6020 28th Ave NW

When: Monday April 28th 6:30pm – 8:00pm  

Contact: info@b9architects.com

As a follow up to our last post, two b9 projects in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood are well underway and we are excited to see the progress of these projects.

The project below will bring 6 row houses with roof deck views of South Lake Union. 

This project will bring four row houses by the lake near Lynn Street Park.

Check back for more images as these two projects progress!

Finally! Construction is under way on several b9 projects at the moment. Two of these, which are nearly neighbors in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood, require some imagination at the moment since they are barely out of the ground. Both projects were designed with their site in mind and made sure to take advantage of the local topography and maximize access to daylight.

Here are a few visual aids and, as always, let us know what you think!

Newtown project site

Render of Newtown project

This community of homes on Fairview Ave. will incorporate a street-side “dock” that opens to the west. Lake union is just across the street!

Here at b9, we are always looking for ways to innovate and to do work with clients who are excited about doing something different. The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce has picked up on our project with Seattle-based Cascade Built to construct five townhouses in Madison Valley. Two of these will be built to Passive House standards, a rigorous metric for energy efficient construction. The primary design considerations for Passive House are a super-insulated envelope and the utilization of passive solar strategies. The construction methods seek to eliminate thermal bridges and provide a super-tight building envelope in conjunction with heat-recovery ventilators. The result is a home that can reduce the amount of energy required for heating and cooling by 90% compared to typical construction.

Read more from the DJC about the project here. And if you are interested in the Passive House standard and how it is being utilized in the Northwest, check out the resources on their website: Passive House Northwest.

Two of the homes planned will be designed to meet Passive House standards. The current design also proposes reclaimed wood siding at the street facade.

Our project on Capitol Hill is (literally) moving along! The existing house has been moved closer to the street and the three townhouses behind it are nearly finished with framing. In order to get the house where it needed to be, it was lifted onto two steel beams supported by hydraulic columns. Once in place, a forklift was used to pull the entire house forward. Here are a few photos documenting the process so far, let us know what you think!

The gap between what moves and what stays. The two orange beams sat on rollers which allowed the entire house to be pulled closer to the street.

The truck to the left controls the hydraulic lifts that keep the beams on which the house sits level.

The moment of truth: a forklift pulls the entire house closer to the sidewalk.

Framed facade of the new triplex. Steel beams were used to frame an entry moment and support the cantilevered volumes above.