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Agnes Lofts
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Agnes Lofts
Agnes Lofts design celebrates the mix of old and new that characterizes its neighborhood.
Agnes Lofts are located in Seattle’s Pike-Pine District, where the mix of industrial and auto-row-era buildings has served as incubator space for artists and entrepreneurs. The lofts explore a dwelling typology inspired by the industrial scale of nearby buildings.
WAU Agnes Team
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Twenty-four loft-style apartments occupy three double-height stories above a street-level restaurant space, which is also double-height. Two below-grade levels house a toy store, a theater, and additional storage space. Sleeping lofts within the dwelling units are framed with heavy-timber glulam and car decking. Economical materials such as polycarbonate panels for interior guardrails, salvaged bar grating for exterior guardrails, and Ikea cabinetry for kitchens and bathrooms helped offset the cost of more extravagant features such as floor-to-ceiling window walls.
Seattle's building code allows five stories of wood construction over a concrete base, which is the easiest way for a developer to maximize his or her return in a 65-foot-height limit zone. Agnes Lofts uses this cost-effective construction approach, but due to the verticality of the dwelling units, showcases a very different elevation expression than other “five-over-one” developments. The loft typology allows for skinnier units, which are efficient in plan and dynamic in section. Double-height volumes at the living room level allows for the space above and below the sleeping lofts to be compressed. This, in conjunction with a code exception for mezzanines, allows for the insertion of a sixth level, pushing Seattle’s five-over-one code exception to the limit. The transverse section of the dwelling units translates directly to the elevation, giving passers-by a voyeuristic slice-of-life view into the apartment building.
The adjacent Piston & Ring Building is a recently renovated 1920s garage that occupies the same property as Agnes Lofts. Interconnection between the two buildings allows for shared parking and elevator access, and offers multiple paths through the site. The height difference between the two buildings permits additional dwelling units to be located along the south side of Agnes Lofts with ample access to daylight and views.
The design embraces the vibrant street life that animates the neighborhood. The double-height window walls and sliding-glass-doors reconnect apartment dwellers to their context. Transparency is maximized at the street-level commercial space and glazed overhead doors allow interior space to open up to sidewalk activity.
Formal name of project: Agnes Lofts
Location: Seattle, Washington
Gross square footage: Gross/40,000-sf; Unit Sizes/685-992-sq.ft.
Completion Date: October 2007
Total construction cost: $6,100,000
Owner: Urban Shelter LLC / Liz Dunn
Architect:
Weinstein A|U Architects + Urban Designers LLC
121 Stewart St., Suite 200,
Seattle, Washington 98101-1000
Voice . 206 443 8606
Fax . 206 443 1218
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