Mercer Island, Washington
Located on a small 6,500 sf corner site with 25 ft of grade change, this project houses a local family foundation and investment company. Zoning regulations limited the building to two stories and required a significant number of on-site parking stalls, leading to an automated parking system. The LEED Gold certified project strives to be timeless and convey permanence, while being environmentally responsible and forward-looking.
Spatially, the project is organized around interconnected multi-story volumes bound by smaller scale spaces such as private offices, meeting rooms, break rooms, and service functions. The objective was for the building to be both internally focused, thereby fostering collaboration, while also connecting to the surroundings and providing privacy for individual work. Occupant health and well-being informed the design, layout, and selection of materials for the work spaces. All spaces feature abundant access to natural light and views to gardens and trees. A rooftop deck with a green roof provides respite and access to nature.
Regionally produced cross laminated timber (CLT) was employed as the primary floor and roof framing material and left exposed to reveal its natural warmth and structural capabilities. CLT is supported by a refined steel frame, allowing the building to be erected in a short time, following the time-intensive concrete site work. All light fixtures, sprinkler heads, and penetrations were laid out and coordinated so the CLT panels could be pre-drilled at the factory, reducing issues in the field, simplifying the coordination of trades, expediting construction, and contributing to the refined aesthetic by eliminating the need for exposed conduit and sprinkler lines.
The project also benefited from collaborations between the architect, owner, contractor, and local craftspeople. Custom light fixtures, for example, from a Seattle fabricator absorb sound, while illuminating the CLT and spaces.
The all-electric building offers an energy reduction of 47% (compared to ASHRAE 90.1-2010) through a combination of high-efficiency HVAC and heat recovery systems, a high-performance building envelope, LED lighting and daylight controls, and a roof-top solar array that generates over 18,000 kWh/year of renewable energy, which equates to 25% of the building’s energy use.
Sustainability: LEED Gold
