Project Information Project Name: The Northwest School at 401 E. Pike Street Lot Size: 9,652 sf Building Area: 38,300 sf Location: Seattle, Washington Project Type: Educational
The Northwest School is a 500-student independent school in the urban Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Founded in 1980 by three teachers with an innovative focus on arts, music and science, the school is housed in a gracious 1905 landmark public school building. As the institution expanded, students increasingly used disparate remote locations for dining, theater, practice fields and athletics. A new facility was sought to combine these functions. The resulting 38,000 sf building is a four-story layering of theater, dining hall, gymnasium and rooftop sports field on an approximately 100-foot square lot. Activities are layered for light and sound with the black box theater below ground, dining at street level for neighborhood connectivity, and the gymnasium elevated for daylighting and high ceilings. Building Exterior The building exterior expresses three primary volumes: gymnasium, dining and the supporting core. The variegated ochre panels of the gymnasium exterior echo the yellow of the beloved historic main school, but with a more saturated and vibrant palette. The dining hall is glazed and transparent to the street with a layer of Corten planters that gently mediate the busy public sidewalk edge. The supporting core to the south is clad in utilitarian, corrugated metal. The fenestration and patterning of the gymnasium façade is based on three underlying and overlapping sinusoidal curves for color, sound and motion, inspired by the student activities within. One curve is the wave pattern of the color yellow, another is the vector of a bouncing ball, and the third is that of a mid-tone audible note. Technical Solutions Acoustical separation between the theater, dining and gymnasium presented a key technical challenge. This was successfully addressed between the dining hall and theater with a substantial concrete slab covered by an acoustical underlayment and linoleum, and at the gymnasium with a sprung floor over a pre-stressed concrete slab. Sustainable features include a high-performing envelope, gymnasium daylighting, solar hot water array, enhanced streetscape native plantings, and low-emitting materials and finishes throughout. An interactive dashboard displays real-time energy and water performance to inform student behavior and integrate with the science curriculum. Complete Neighborhoods Successful schools are essential to create livable and family friendly communities in the urban core. Recent and rapid urbanization in Seattle is creating a new demand for educational options close to downtown, and this new facility provides a model for a compact augmentation of existing urban school campuses.
North Elevation Existing trees along Pike Street were preserved and enhanced with extensive planting. 3
1. Main School, built 1905 2. International Student Dormitory 3. Play Lot 4. New Building at 401 E. Pike Street 5. First Covenant Church, built 1889 1 The variegated ochre façade of the gymnasium volume responds to the yellow color of the historic educational building just up the hill, while the dining level below opens out to the sidewalk and street. 5 4 3 2 4
LAB PLAY PLAY TRAIN STROLL DINE PERFORM Circulation is designed to create visual, acoustic and personal connections as students move between the varied program areas. Extensive landscape provides a verdant edge and stormwater function to the site and hardscape-dominated urban context. 5
10 1 2 4 9 3 5 6 8 7 Program spaces are organized to optimize daylight and acoustic needs, and to enhance connections to the surrounding neighborhood and city. 1. Rooftop Sports Field (6,600 sf) 2. Skylab Classroom (1,200 sf) 3. Gymnasium (6,900 sf) 4. Fitness Mezzanine (1,000 sf) 5. Dining Area (3,500 sf) 6. Kitchen & Servery (3,000 sf) 7. Black Box Theatre (3,150 sf) 8. 100% Native / Drought- Tolerant Plantings 9. Preserved Existing Trees 10. Solar Hot Water 6
The west elevation reveals the primary building volumes: dining, gymnasium and rooftop sport court to the left, with the metal clad utility and circulation core to the right. 7
South Elevation East Elevation North Elevation West Elevation South Elevation wavelength of yellow sound sinusoidal wave bounce and throw trajectory parabola datum Color, Sound and Movement are abstracted in the gymnasium windows as their corners intersect the overlapping sinusoidal curves of the wavelength of yellow, a typical sound curve and a bouncing ball trajectory. 8
Strategic landscape elements provide ecological function and gentle visual buffering between the students dining hall and a very active public street. 9
East Pike Street 8 5 4 3 9 10 6 7 2 1. Main Lobby Entry 2. Dining Entry 3. Existing Trees Preserved 11 4. Winter Buffer Plantings 5. Street Parking Access 9 Bellevue Avenue Crawford Place 6. Weathered Steel Planters 7. Shade Plantings 8. Pedestrian Curb Bulb 9. Northwest Spring Plantings 10. Multi-stem Understory Trees 11. Columnar Trees 12. Vine Wall 13. Evergreen Planting Buffer 1 12 Site Plan Entrances on the two side streets connect to the main school on the east and student residences on the west. Utilities and circulation are densely packed against the property line to the south, allowing larger program areas to open to daylight and the surrounding streets. 13 0' 7.5' 15' 30' N 10
1. Gymnasium 2. Main Lobby 3. Boys Locker Room 4. Girls Locker Room 5. Gym Storage 1 5 4 3 2 Second Floor Plan The size and daylight requirements of the regulation size basketball court creates a dense, stacked core to the south. Transparency between the lobby and gymnasium allows for spatial orientation upon entering. Students circulate through the gym to the training mezzanine to increase social interactions and visibility. 0' 4' 8' 16' N 11
The black box theater is below grade and provides flexible, multi-directional performance space for a very active theater program. 12
The dining hall is designed to support multiple functions and group sizes. Roll-down shades and level changes provide for smaller informal gatherings, and boarding students breakfasts and dinners outside of school hours. 13
The gymnasium daylighting is modulated on each side, with diffuse glass to east and west, and clear north glazing that provides partial views of the adjacent church. The metal clad coaches office, normally hidden in remote hallways, is brought out to center stage, with views to the training mezzanine, gym floor, and connecting stairways. 14
The rooftop sport court overlooks the city, and provides inspiring views for ultimate frisbee and soccer practices. 15