Weber + Thompson–designed Bagley Lofts Wins International Making Cities Livable Award
Mixed-Use Project Praised for Helping Restore Seattle's Urban Fabric
SEATTLE – Aug. 27, 2007 – Weber + Thompson – a full-service architecture, interior design and planning firm – won an International Making Cities Livable Council Commendation for Bagley Lofts, a successful mixed-use residential project in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood.
Weber + Thompson was the architect and interior designer for Bagley Lofts, which includes 43 condominiums and 3300 square feet of retail.
The International Making Cities Livable jury commended the strong integration of the project's commercial and residential components. Bagley Lofts also won praise for its successful parking solution and finely detailed façades.
"The project design appropriately reflects the scale shift between adjacent structures," said Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard, Ph.D., and the director of International Making Cities Livable Conferences. "The jury commented that the design helps to restore the urban fabric, and that is an important principle of true urbanism."
The award was presented at the council's conference this summer in Portland, Ore. The council – an interdisciplinary network of individuals and cities – holds semiannual conferences, with one occurring in North America and the other in Europe. The Bagley Lofts site presented Weber + Thompson with its biggest challenge. The site is at the corner of North 45th Street, a bustling commercial corridor, and Bagley Avenue North, a quieter street with single-family homes nearby.
To connect these incongruous parts of the neighborhood, Weber + Thompson designed a commercial façade of brick on 45th Street. Along Bagley Avenue, the team took advantage of the site's generous width and created traditional residential stoops and yards.
The stoops and yards are complemented by landscaping that helps connect the building with the rest of the street and the smaller homes next door, said Project Manager Mindy Black LEED AP, a Weber + Thompson senior associate.
Homes on the east side of Bagley Lofts also have their own stoops. In this way, Weber + Thompson avoided creating a large blank wall that would have been visible to westbound traffic. The stoops activate the alley, providing visual interest on all sides of the project. Wrought-iron screens provide an attractive buffer between the residential units and the neighboring retail space.
In lieu of a deep excavation and multiple levels of subgrade parking, Weber + Thompson took advantage of the site's slope. Black and her team designed two separate near-grade entries to different garage levels. This eliminated the need for internal ramps and resulted in an efficient parking layout. With no ramps, additional grade-level space was available. The designers wrapped loft units over the sides of the above-grade garage and developed stoops and yard spaces at grade, effectively screening the parking from public view.
The Weber + Thompson interiors team – led by senior associate Laura Greenamyer – designed the lofts as contemporary spaces with spare lines and innovative space concepts.
"The tall ceilings and vertical arrangements of the rooms in each home create a spacious feel that is further enhanced by warehouse-style windows," Greenamyer said.
All but two of the lofts were sold before construction was completed in the summer of 2006. "The marketplace recognized the architecture and interior design of this project from the beginning," said Weber + Thompson Principal Kristen Scott, AIA LEED AP. "It's a tremendous honor to have our professional peers at the International Making Cities Livable Council recognize the strong design as well."
EDITOR'S NOTE: High-resolution images of Bagley Lofts are available upon request.
Project Team
Owner and Developer: Bagley Lofts, LLC
- Architecture and Interiors: Weber + Thompson
- Kristen Scott, AIA, LEED AP, Architect
- Mindy Black, LEED AP, Project Manager
- Laura Greenamyer, Interior Designer
General Contractor: Bagley Lofts, LLC
Structural Engineer: DCI Engineers
Landscape Architect: Integrated Site Design
Exclusive Residential Listing Agent: Williams Marketing
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About Weber + Thompson
Seattle-based Weber + Thompson is a full-service, West Coast design firm specializing in architecture, interior design and community planning. Led by Principals Blaine Weber AIA, Scott Thompson AIA, and Kristen Scott AIA LEED AP, this award-winning company has an experienced staff of more than 90 design and construction professionals. Since 1987, Weber + Thompson has developed a diverse practice with projects that include master-planned communities, high-rises, high-density urban infill, residential, hospitality, senior housing, and commercial office projects. Weber + Thompson seeks effective results through a thoughtful and collaborative design process. For more information please visit www.weberthompson.com, or contact Weber + Thompson at (206) 344-5700 or info@weberthompson.com.