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From: John Young <jya@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Date: Thu, 26 Jan 1995 12:02:16 -0500
Architectural Record
January, 1995, pp. 86-89.
Banner Building
Seattle, Washington
Weinstein Copeland Architects
Just like old industrial loft buildings and new office
towers, the Banner Building in Seattle provides a basic
structure and a design vocabulary, but lets residents build
out their own spaces.
Designed for artists who want to live and work in the same
place, the condominium project offers rough two-story units
with concrete floors, access to all utilities, and great
views of Puget Sound. An owner's manual, written by the
building's architect, describes the workings of the
building and explains requirements for all construction
done in the individual units.
While such an arrangement is common with commercial
projects, the Banner Building breaks new ground by bringing
it to the residential market. In the process, it delivers
a more flexible and less expensive form of housing that
appeals to urban professionals as well as artists. The idea
was to provide "good bones" on which the residents
themselves could build, says Ed Weinstein of Weinstein
Copeland Architects.
"The building is the framework within which artists can
work," adds Weinstein. Although old loft buildings have
been converted into live-work spaces in Seattle for many
years, the Banner Building is the first new project
designed for this purpose.
With its unconventional program, it is not surprising that
the project's original developer, Koryn Rolstad, is not
really a developer at all, but an artist with enough
determination to bring together the necessary money and
players. Rolstad, who runs an architectural sculpture
studio called Bannerworks, wanted to create a community
where art and commerce came together and where struggling
artists could live with more established ones.
To that end the project has three major components: a
midrise condominium tower with 14 two-story live-work
studios, a two-story rental building with four subsidized
and two market-rate apartments, and a multi-level base with
parking and commercial space. Rolstad herself bought one of
the two penthouse studios on the top floor of the tower and
has her Bannerworks operation ensconced in the base of the
building.
While the penthouse units have 2,400 square feet of living
space, the other for-sale studios have 1,800 square feet on
two levels. Units are bought as raw space with concrete
floors metal decking and utilities running up through
walls. In the rental building, apartments were finished by
the developer with 600-square-foot subsidized units on the
first floor and 1,200-square-foot market-rate units one
flight up.
Located in a transitional neighborhood north of downtown,
the building proudly recalls the area's industrial past in
the frank expression of its concrete frame and its use of
corrugated-metal siding, metal balconies, and exposed
rainwater pipes. Commercial and retail space on the lower
levels link the project to its site, creating common ground
for the building's artists and the area's other residents.
Although large concrete panels on the base of the south
side of the building are a bit stark right now, plans call
for them to be enlivened by murals painted by residents. In
fact, participation by residents in enhancing common spaces
is as much a part of the project as their role in shaping
their own living areas.
A courtyard between the two residential buildings and a
terrace on the roof of the condominium tower are intended
to be landscape works in progress, changing over time. In
addition, Weinstein extended corridors to eight feet wide
and kept them outdoors so residents could install their own
art and plantings. Outdoor circulation helped keep
construction costs down to $5.8 million (or about $65 per
gross square foot).
But a tight budget also eliminated sun screens that
Weinstein designed for the building's west facade, forcing
residents to block the afternoon sun with internal devices
such as blinds. Although it just opened in the fall of
1994, the Banner Building has already won some design
awards and is attracting the attention of other developers
interested in targeting niche markets such as artists and
young professionals. C.A.P
[Photos]
While the midrise tower and the project's base (photos
opposite) are concrete-frame structures, the two-story
rental building (left in photo above) is wood-frame. The
Banner Building's west facade takes advantage of great
views of Puget Sound by featuring two-story expanses of
commercially available curtainwall with low-emissivity
glass (right). By using standard products and inexpensive
materials such as concrete and corrugated metal, the
architects kept construction costs down to $65 a square
foot and gave the building an industrial character in
keeping with its neighborhood. At the same time, the
architects used the building's mass to give it a presence
on the skyline.
To help create a sense of community, the project includes
a variety of shared outdoor spaces such as a central
courtyard (above) and a rooftop terrace (right). Outdoor
corridors were also made wide enough (8 feet) to let
residents congregate there. Private balconies off live-work
studios are angled to ocean views (above riqht).
For-sale studios are bought as raw space with concrete
floors and sheetrock walls (top). Utilities run through
walls at multiple locations to provide flexibility in
apartment layouts. Typical units have 1,200 square feet on
one level and 600 square feet on a mezzanine. In a rental
building, units are finished spaces with either 1,200
square feet (above) or 600 square feet.
Credits
Banner Building
Seattle, Washington
Owner: Hadley Holdings Corp.
Architect: Weinstein Copeland Architects -- Ed Weinstein,
partner-in-charge; Milton Won, project manager; John
Eggleston, Robert Nishimori, Judith Swain, design team
Engineers: Ratti Swenson Perbix (structural); Bush, Roed &
Hitchings (civil)
Landscape Architect: Harvard & Associates
General Contractor: Hadley Holdings Corp. -- W.G. Clark,
construction manager
End