Seattle, Washington

Site

A twenty-five year old high-rise condominium near Pike Place Market that was a series of small, dated rooms, several with large underutilized bay windows. The warren-like entry hallway ungraciously passed by the master bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom before arriving at the living room. Constraints to the design were that none of the utility chases and soffits, the plumbing drains, nor the front door location could be changed.

Program

The owners no longer needed multiple bedrooms and baths. Instead, they desired a large flexible space that could be transformed to accommodate catered events and occasional overnight guests. When not entertaining, they wanted their home to feel casual, open, and airy.

Solution

By removing most of the partition walls, the experience of the home was changed to an open loft like space stretching 50 feet in length. Rather than using conventional doors, the space has the ability to transform itself with floor to ceiling pivoting panels. The panels are held magnetically in place to take on the appearance of a finished wall whether they are open or closed. Thus, guests feel that they arrive through an elegantly paneled entryway rather than a door-filled hallway. Additionally, a rolling panel allows the library to be closed off as a guest suite. Previously neglected opportunities offered by the building shell were expressed. The concrete columns and ceiling were exposed & cleaned. When it was discovered that there was a significant “wow” above the mural area, the design was modified during construction – adding a bent steel plate to hide the concrete imperfection & provide a custom lighting element for the living room mural. Each of the window bays gained a new function. In the living area a custom sofa and side platforms were built in. The dining area gained a large steel and wood sideboard. The third bay sports a desk for the home office with file drawers and computer equipment concealed in the backside of the kitchen cabinetry.

Awards & Publications

• 1st Place Remodel (with Hensel Design Studios, Interior Design) – 2005 Northwest Design Awards
• “Urban Update”, Northwest Home + Garden, November/December 2005
• “21st Century Architecture: Apartment Living” by Beth Browne, 2011

Collaboration

• Interior Design – Steven Hensel, Hensel Design Studios

Find the full content and all the images of Parks Residence at Eggleston|Farkas Architects - livable.modern.design

Seattle, Washington

3-Star Rating – BuiltGreen

In a market environment where formulaic faux-craftsman townhouses are the norm, the developer of this project was hoping to do better. He wanted us to design a project with a contemporary aesthetic and livable units, but that would still fit the same financial model that his bank was used to working with.

Seattle’s typical townhouse developments are flawed. Small yards are enclosed by 6-foot tall fences, rendering them claustrophobic and alienating the streetscape. Parking courts are not designed spaces and are severely shaded by the maximum code-allowed building and roof overhangs. Narrow units have powder rooms on the main floor, congesting the main living spaces, and opening onto the kitchen, dining, or living rooms. Internal circulation is ill considered, leaving rooms that are difficult to furnish or live in. All that, and they are usually poorly designed and constructed.

Rather than pack in eight units as allowed by code, we convinced the developer to provide three wider units in the back, with two duplex buildings in front. The duplex units open to the street, and share an unenclosed entry garden. The rear units enter off the minimalist auto-court and are oriented to take advantage of private back yards.

The interiors are stacked by use. The utilitarian entrance level includes the garage, powder, mechanical, and laundry. The second floor offers an open-plan great room with a linear arrangement in the duplexes, while the triplexes have a loft-like space that extends to an outdoor room in the back yard. The upper floor is reserved for the private bedrooms. Circulation, closet placement, room sizes and layout were all considered providing for livable spaces.

Concrete walls serve as a base for the wood framed living areas above. At the outside property lines, these walls act as retaining walls, while at the driveway they serve to protect the structure from poor driving skills. Rainscreen siding joints were set at the party-walls to delineate each unit and to allow for maintenance to be done without impacting the adjacent neighbor.

The design can be read on three levels. The overall project is unified and distinct, each structure is composed as a unit, and each home is clearly distinguished. In this way it simultaneously offers levels of community, diversity, and individuality.

Find the full content and all the images of Modern on 64th at Eggleston|Farkas Architects - livable.modern.design

Tacoma, Washington

Site

At roughly 24’ wide x 116’ deep x 14’ high this ground-floor space in a former downtown garage featured a heavy timber ceiling, and a rustic concrete party-wall that had been plastered over. Natural light was available only from the narrow street frontage. The streetfront window location was desirable in attracting and welcoming patients to the newly established practice.

Program

Because this new dental practice is located in a growing, artistic, and urban setting, the client wanted to create a relaxed atmosphere unlike a traditional dental office. The plan had to accommodate two operatories in the first phase, with up to five as the practice grows. In the interim, the additional space are to be used as art exhibition lounges. As part of the marketing strategy, the office design was to offer an aesthetic first impression to pedestrians, with gallery spaces to engage the community.

Solution

The plan is arranged in three zones: public waiting & reception in front, treatment in the middle, and staff & utilities in the back. The use of partial height walls and translucent panels & door between the front and back office enhances the patient perception of a single cohesive space and allows some daylight to penetrate into the treatment space. A steel frame was installed above the operatories, reducing the apparent ceiling height and providing support for the required systems, as well as a TV for patient entertainment. Each operatory also includes a fresh flower placed in a custom wall-mounted bud vase.

Awards & Publications

• Merit Award – AIA Southwest Washington 2009 Design Awards
• Project of the Month – AIA Seattle/Daily Journal of Commerce, August 2011
• “Dentist, Architect Artfully Transform an Old Garage”, Daily Journal of Commerce, 10 August 2011
• Seattle Tour of Architects, 2012

Find the full content and all the images of Brooks Dental Studio at Eggleston|Farkas Architects - livable.modern.design

Seattle, Washington

Site

An urban 1,789 sf corner storefront space with 18′-6″ high ceilings and an irregular column grid. The existing floor area was too small for the program requirements, while the ceiling height was too tall for the back-of-house uses.

Program

The owner requested a “Belltown Hip” dental office that doesn’t feel like a dental office. Due to the budget, the equipment and casework had to be industry-standard premanufactured units.

Solution

The basic solution involved maintaining the full height at the patient areas along the window walls while inserting a mezzanine in the interior corner. The construction cost per square foot of the 710 ft2 mezzanine was significantly less than the purchase price of the raw space. Thus, the mezzanine proved financially effective and provided the owner with the required floor area for current use and future flexibility. Given the tight budget and modular nature of the operatory casework, a kit-of-parts approach was used for the systems and finishes at the patient areas. Unistrut frames act as an armature for lighting, audio, and HVAC systems, as well as the reception desk and waiting area seating. At the treatment area, sound absorbing panels are attached to the frames above the chairs to soften the acoustics and to create a more intimate space for each operatory.

Awards & Publications

• Project of the Month – AIA Seattle, December 2004
• “New Belltown Office Breaks the Dental Mold”, Daily Journal of Commerce, December 2004

Find the full content and all the images of Belltown Dental at Eggleston|Farkas Architects - livable.modern.design