Role: Project Architect & Design Team
Phases of Involvment: Schematic Design through Construction Completion (Anticipated for 2023)
At the foot of the Latona neighborhood, a new mass timber commercial office and lab-ready building is taking shape. While paying homage to the Dunn family’s historic connection to the site, this innovative project will bring new energy to the area with an improved park space along the Burke Gilman bike trail and an expansive public plaza looking out over Lake Union.
The design of North Lake Commons draws inspiration from the experience of being deep within the woods of the Pacific Northwest. Here, one finds the distinct layers of a forest – the forest floor, the understory and the canopy – conceptually represented through built form.
Health and wellness
With more than 60,000SF of outdoor terrace and deck space, Northlake Commons recognizes the human desire for a connection to nature. The biophilic design concept of being in a forest is expressed at every scale of design from massing to details. The windows and outdoor spaces orient views toward Lake Union and downtown, and operable windows throughout provide ample fresh air and thermal control to the building occupants.
Lab-ready office expressed in mass timber
The building embodies the character of a high performance lab-ready office building, while celebrating the timber history of the original Dunn family business located on this street from 1931 to today. The primary structural system is cross-laminated timber (CLT), glu-laminated columns and girders. Steel Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames are a key component of the lateral system, and are expressed in contrast to the timber structure.
Embracing design technology
The use of 3D printers and crafted virtual reality experiences has allowed the team to quickly explore design options and evaluate how they best fulfill the project goals. To be able to view the printed models as an external perspective while being able to transport inside for internal VR experiences creates a holistic image of what the architecture is to become.
Plaza for the people
When it’s complete, Northlake Commons public plaza will be a one-of-a-kind open space at the north end of Lake Union. The team has forged a new type of partnership with the Seattle Parks Department in order to create a unique amenity. An exaggerated setback between the property and the adjacent Burke Gilman Trail will include tiered seating and access to retail and café spaces. Historically, private development has not been allowed on public lands, but thanks to this new partnership, the design team can go beyond the boundaries of the site to simultaneously give back to the community and enhance the project’s overall impact.
A cyclist’s dream
A bike tire air station and water station are provided in the plaza; cyclists will appreciate the easy on/off connections to the award-winning Burke Gilman Trail. This former rail line is now one of the region’s most popular biking trails, with thousands of daily commuters and leisure cyclists using it. A pathway branches off the trail and leads directly into the building’s entry lobby, where the building’s amenities further support a bike-friendly lifestyle.
Protecting our shoreline
The building is set back from the southern site edge so our precious shoreline can be preserved and improved with green stormwater infrastructure. An impressive five million-gallon regional stormwater treatment facility has been proposed for this area of the site, which will effectively clean all of the runoff from the lower Wallingford neighborhood. This effort will be one more step towards cleaning our region’s waterways that are critical for the salmon and marine life that call them home.
Sustainability
Northlake Commons is pursuing LEED Core & Shell v4.0 Gold, and Fitwel certification. Health and wellness of the building occupants will be paramount, especially through strategies of fresh air, daylight, and connection to the outdoors. The mass timber structural system will have a lighter footprint than other structural alternatives; a Life Cycle Assessment of the embodied carbon in the timber will be calculated to understand the impact compared to more conventional construction types. The building will feature an efficient envelope and mechanical system and efficient plumbing and irrigation.
Role: Project Architect & Designer
Phases of Involvement: Feasibility through Construction Completion (2018)
Located in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood, Pax Futura will be the city’s first Passive House-constructed multi-family apartment building. Residents will benefit from continuous, filtered fresh air for improved health, draft-free thermal comfort, increased quiet and security, and dramatically reduced energy use – up to 90% less energy for heating and cooling.
Embracing a simple modern design, the building’s natural color palette is accented with metal canopies and signage, and sliding wood screening elements to create a dynamic facade. A courtyard activates the east facade with circulation, bench overlooks, and vertical landscape and screen elements.
The dwelling units are a mix of small efficiencies, studios, and one bedroom units with flexible floorplans that allow walls to be removed to create larger units as market demands evolve. Corner retail and live/work spaces with mezzanines provide added neighborhood activities and amenities.
Designed to achieve the rigorous Passive House building energy standard as well as Built Green 4-star certification, Pax Futura employs pared down mechanical systems, superior insulation, no-VOC finishes, and natural bioretention planters to manage storm water onsite. The sliding screens will shield units from west-facing solar exposure, keeping units cool during warm months.
Residents will enjoy common entertainment spaces with an amenity room, courtyard, and a retail patio connecting the pedestrian experience to the project’s live/work and commercial spaces.
Role: Staff Architect
Phases: Design Development through Construction Completion (2018)
The Compass Broadview project takes a church parking lot and builds a multifamily community upon it, providing housing to families leaving homelessness. More than half of the building’s 59 homes will be two- and three-bedroom units. 30 units will be affordable to households at or below 30% of area median income (AMI), with the rest affordable to households at or below 50% AMI. Compass Housing Alliance plans to own the building for at least 75 years, and our team focused on creating the highest quality, most durable product on a tight budget. To help foster community, the building features a common room, theater, and craft room. An outdoor play space in the building’s courtyard spills out into a woonerf shared with the adjacent Luther Memorial Church.
Role: Project Architect
Phases: Schematic through Building Permit
Situated in north Capitol Hill across the street from the established Roanoke Park Place Tavern, this 6 unit live-work and townhome project acts as a gate way to those entering the neighborhood from 10th Avenue East. Inspired by the ivy clad facade of the tavern, “planted edges” and complimentary wood accents were designed into the project to adorn the building with natural elements.
Role: Staff Architect
Phases: Master Use Permit (Rescue) through Construction Completion (2017)
Located on First Hill at 550 Broadway, Intracorp Broadway is a 7-story mixed-use project comprised of 171 apartments including a mix of studios, 1 & 2 bedrooms and live/work units. The ground floor contains 4,900 square feet of retail space designed to house 2-3 local retail or restaurant merchants. Residents will enjoy abundant common space including a rooftop deck with an outdoor kitchen and seating areas, club room with a terrace overlooking the landscaped center courtyard, fitness center and secure bike storage.
Role: Project Architect
Phases: Feasibility through Master Use Permit
ArchTriumph: International Design Competition
Contemporary Design Museum in Mexico City
Team Members: Matthew Philbrook, Justin Sant, Brittany Porter
University of Oregon, Thesis Studio
Site Location: Whidbey Island, Washington
User: Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve
Project Size: 8,000 sf
Duration: 8 Weeks
Locale: University of Oregon
Term: Winter 2014
Photovoltaic Installation Made for Two
Task: Design 1 kW photovoltaic system to be easily installed on an existing typical residential structure by two people.
Duration: 2 Weeks
Locale: Georgia Institute of Technology
Term: Spring 2012
Teammates: Tim Niou, Micheal Fox
Georgia Tech College of Architecture Junior/Senior Studio.
Installing 1kw of solar panels on two small houses (Thoreau and Beston) built by GT Building Construction students for Hugh Crawford's English class. (More info here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uipHa...)