1521 2nd Avenue high rise

Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue

Slender, elegant and sculpted, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is dedicated to sophisticated urban living and a reinvention of the high-rise lifestyle.

Client Name

OPUS

Location

Seattle, WA

Services

Architecture / Design Architects

Completion Date

December 2008

ROJECT OVERVIEW

440′ Tower / 39 Stories
495,000 GSF
2,964 SF Retail
142 ‘Penthouse Quality’ Residential units

Certifications

Seattle’s First LEED Silver-Certified

Awards

2010 Silver Finalist, Project of the Year, NAHB

2009 Honorable Mention, Design Excellence, Multi-Housing News

2009 Grand Award, Project of the Year, High-Rise Category, Multifamily Executive Awards

2009 Sustainable Development of the Year, Washington State NAIOP

2007 Attached Community of the Year, NAHB

Contacts

Amanda Keating
Senior Principal

1521 2nd Avenue high rise
Photography: weber Thompson, opus nw

Elegant, Timeless Design

Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue still ranks among our most elegant architectural endeavors to date. The 13-year old project is appreciated as one of the most successful high-rise residential projects on the West Coast.

1521 2nd Avenue high rise

Sculptural form

This iconic tall and slender tower is highly modulated to break down the bulk. Thoughtful vertical elements help to reduce and sculpt the tower, which features a high performance glass curtain wall. A skyline enhancing crown tops a dramatic 40-foot-tall curvilinear wall, which embraces and screens the rooftop core mechanical spaces and connects to vertical architectural elements. The four fragments that compose the building are integrated through a consistent use of white metal panels, mullion patterning and glazing. Taken as a whole, they become four slender shards of glass reaching for the sky.

New urban living

A primary design goal was to create a modern, LEED Silver certified tower that responds to its lively surrounding urban neighborhood. The project promotes intensifying urban density to create a more pedestrian-centric, 24/7 downtown core. To connect with the neighborhood, the above-ground parking was activated in the corners with small work studios that wrap around the parking levels, creating “found spaces” for residents to use for offices or hobby rooms, effectively extending their living space.

1521 Second Avenue Architecture

Best in class

Speaking to its highly sophisticated audience, every unit is designed to penthouse quality. There are no decks. Rather, a clever and innovative Seattle-centric solution was conceived. Solariums with railing height bi-fold glass walls and fireplaces provide the best of both worlds for this climate; fresh air and the feeling of a deck in good weather, and fire-side protection from inclement weather in bad.

1521 Second Avenue Architecture
1521 Second Avenue Architecture
1521 Second Avenue Architecture
1521 Second Avenue Architecture
1521 Second Avenue Architecture

Sustainability

Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is LEED Silver certified and was the very first high-rise residential tower in Seattle to receive this recognition.

“The best vertical living option on the West Coast.”

Sam C, Resident

“The building itself is of superior quality. Having looked at other projects before and after moving into Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, I am repeatedly reassured we’ve made the right choice!”

Fred K & Andy B, Residents

“We felt the design concept with all larger homes and the developer's reputation would result in Seattle's best downtown condominium project. This package represented, to us, a great lifestyle investment.”

The Drinkards, Residents

“We love to invite friends and family over for rooftop barbecues and to enjoy the breathtaking views of Elliott Bay, the Olympic Mountains, and the whole city”

The Saarios, Residents

Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue in the News

On architecture: Four new high-rises stroke civic egos, with style
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
January 5, 2009

Move-in starting for Seattle’s 1521 Second Avenue condos
Daily Journal of Commerce
November 25, 2008

Seattle discovering homes with serious altitude
Puget Sound Business Journal
September 18, 2006

Booming development set to change Seattle’s look
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
June 13, 2006

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