Cirrus

Cirrus is a sleek, modern, cutting-edge tower, incorporating high-tech flair and a New York sensibility. The project holds its own amongst iconic structures such as the new Amazon ‘Spheres’ and South Campus, located just around the corner.

Client Name

GID

Location

Seattle, WA

Completion Date

Q4 2015

Services

Architecture
Interior Design
Landscape Architecture

PROJECT Overview

440′ / 39-Story Tower
14,500 SF Site
476,000 GSF
285,000 SF Residential
3,800 SF Retail
355 Residential Units
229 Parking Stalls

Certifications

LEED Silver

Awards

2016 NAIOP Night of the Stars
High-Rise Residential of the Year

2016 Gold Nugget Awards
Award of Merit Honoree, Best Multifamily Housing Community – Over 250 du/acre

2017 Northwest Design Awards
First Place, Outdoor Living Area

Contacts

Blaine Weber,
Principal in Charge

Bernadette Kelly,
Interior Design Principal

Rachael Meyer,
Landscape Architecture Principal

Services

Designed holistically from inside to out, Weber Thompson provided comprehensive architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design services for Cirrus.

Cirrus residential tower rooftop amenity

PHOTOGRAPHY: LARA SWIMMER PHOTOGRAPHY, WEBER THOMPSON, LORETTA GRANDE, INVISION STUDIO, WILLIAM WRIGHT, STUART ISETT PHOTOGRAPHY

Cirrus architecture

A 440’ tower rises from a minimal 120’ x 128’ site. With such a small footprint, critical attention was paid to shaping the base to anchor the tower, improve the pedestrian experience and respond to the Lenora green street. The tower itself is sleek and contemporary with a curtain wall system that drapes an interior concrete frame creating an urban sculpture.

Inspired by the Pacific Northwest

The ‘erosions’ that occur naturally in Pacific Northwest geology were a huge point of inspiration for the design of Cirrus. Just as water trickles down and carves away rock to create formations, the exterior design of Cirrus has been carved and eroded.

Façades with function

Each façade is very uniquely sculpted to relate and respond to its immediate urban context, and each façade is carved away to allow sheltered, stacked decks for 70% of units.

Cirrus interior design

The interior spaces have been designed with the South Lake Union international high-tech crowd in mind, offering luxe materials in a neutral color palette with splashes of color, textures and patterns inspired by worldly places. The building offers many lush amenities on the upper level of the tower, including a club room, lounge, kitchen space, meeting rooms, fitness center and what many consider to be one of the most fun and elegant rooftop terraces in all of Seattle, with intimate outdoor living areas that celebrate fire, water, lush landscape, and Kasbah-like spaces.

Perfectly seasoned

A culturally diverse crowd in the prime of their careers, residents of Cirrus enjoy cooking, entertaining, hiving and socializing, and they’ve got an eye for edgy, refined, urban style. The design integrates worldly-style with a Pacific Northwest sensibility. And just like a well-seasoned dish, the interiors strike a perfect balance of comfort and spice.

An urban home

Cirrus is adorned with high-touch materials that calm and soothe the senses at the end of a long day at the office or a night on the town with friends. The timeless common spaces and unit finishes make Cirrus an urban home, not a generic apartment rental.

Cirrus landscape architecture

A successful streetscape design connects a building to the greater fabric of the neighborhood. For Cirrus, the landscape takes its cues both from the building’s architecture, but also from the contextual and cultural elements that permeate the district.

Grounded in context

On the street, a pattern of Ash and Dogwood trees continue the landscape of the nearby Cornish campus, while the paving patterns mimic the shape of the building façade above. This ties the street together and grounds the building in the urban fabric. Textured pavers in the sidewalk help guide pedestrians with visual impairment to the nearby Washington Talking Book & Braille Library safely around the corner. The design team lobbied the City of Seattle to create a wider sidewalk. This expanded area has lush planting, generous seating, and warm, playful lighting that combine to create a great urban place to relax.

Meet me at the kasbah

Up above, a rooftop oasis awaits residents. The area is divided into three zones of activity with seating, an outdoor kitchen, and a large feature hearth. Adjoining two entertainment areas is a tranquil water garden filled with water lilies and water hawthorne.

This garden, and the ipe decking that surrounds it, extends into a sheltered niche where a basalt column surrounded by horsetail is revealed as the water’s source. Chain curtains minimize wind and drizzle. Paired with plush seating, TVs, white stone, resin screens and natural reeds, this area serves as a calm Kasbah-like retreat.

Pedestrians at crosswalk in front of Cirrus

Sustainability

Cirrus includes VOC-free products, thoughtful solar orientation, high-performance glazing with operable windows, high efficiency mechanical systems, LED lighting, and energy conservation throughout.

“Incredible building. Its shape and texture are amazing.”

Daniel M, Cirrus Neighbor

“Cirrus doesn’t try to be a monolithic sculpture, unlike the skyscrapers of nearly the past 100 years. Cirrus’ torso pokes toward the sky. Like a single-family home, each of its four facades is geometrically different.”

Lawrence W. Cheek for The Seattle Times

“The location of this project at the intersection of South Lake Union and downtown Seattle's office and retail core, combined with the superior level of amenities and finishes, makes this a unique and highly desirable development.”

Jim Linsley, GID Development Group - Client

Cirrus in the news

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The Seattle Times
September 10, 2015

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WT Blog
October 1, 2019

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Skyrise Cities
February 17, 2017

NAIOP picks top people, projects, deals for 2016
Daily Journal of Commerce
November 17, 2016

Weber Thompson wins two NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards
The Registry
November 16, 2016

Seattle architects win awards for multifamily housing projects
Daily Journal of Commerce
July 23, 2016

These 16 huge construction projects will change the face of Puget Sound forever
Puget Sound Business Journal
October 20, 2014

Construction starts on 41-story downtown apartment tower
Seattle PI
May 14, 2013

High-rise apartments break ground in Seattle
Multi-Housing News
May 10, 2013

GID starts 41-story apartment tower
Daily Journal of Commerce
May 8, 2013

Cirrus

Client Name

Location

Completion Date

Services

PROJECT Overview

Certifications

Awards

Contacts

Services

PHOTOGRAPHY: LARA SWIMMER PHOTOGRAPHY, WEBER THOMPSON, LORETTA GRANDE, INVISION STUDIO, WILLIAM WRIGHT, STUART ISETT PHOTOGRAPHY

Cirrus architecture

Inspired by the Pacific Northwest

Façades with function

Cirrus interior design

Perfectly seasoned

An urban home

Cirrus landscape architecture

Grounded in context

Meet me at the kasbah

Sustainability

“Incredible building. Its shape and texture are amazing.”

Daniel M, Cirrus Neighbor

“Cirrus doesn’t try to be a monolithic sculpture, unlike the skyscrapers of nearly the past 100 years. Cirrus’ torso pokes toward the sky. Like a single-family home, each of its four facades is geometrically different.”

Lawrence W. Cheek for The Seattle Times

“The location of this project at the intersection of South Lake Union and downtown Seattle's office and retail core, combined with the superior level of amenities and finishes, makes this a unique and highly desirable development.”

Jim Linsley, GID Development Group - Client

Cirrus in the news

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Cirrus

Client Name

Location

Completion Date

Services

PROJECT Overview

Certifications

Awards

Contacts

Services

PHOTOGRAPHY: LARA SWIMMER PHOTOGRAPHY, WEBER THOMPSON, LORETTA GRANDE, INVISION STUDIO, WILLIAM WRIGHT, STUART ISETT PHOTOGRAPHY

Cirrus architecture

Inspired by the Pacific Northwest

Façades with function

Cirrus interior design

Perfectly seasoned

An urban home

Cirrus landscape architecture

Grounded in context

Meet me at the kasbah

Sustainability

“Incredible building. Its shape and texture are amazing.”

Daniel M, Cirrus Neighbor

“Cirrus doesn’t try to be a monolithic sculpture, unlike the skyscrapers of nearly the past 100 years. Cirrus’ torso pokes toward the sky. Like a single-family home, each of its four facades is geometrically different.”

Lawrence W. Cheek for The Seattle Times

“The location of this project at the intersection of South Lake Union and downtown Seattle's office and retail core, combined with the superior level of amenities and finishes, makes this a unique and highly desirable development.”

Jim Linsley, GID Development Group - Client

Cirrus in the news

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