Bellevue Towers Hits the Mark - I WANT!

The new Bellevue Towers development is pretty much completed, along with a host of other recent projects in Bellevue's downtown core. Probably bad timing with market being hit hard right now, but only if you're financially involved. Which I'm not, so my connection is purely visual. That said, take a look at the website to see the project in detail.

I feel this project is great on so many levels. Even had to pull my car over and get out to gawk when I first drove by a couple months ago. The architecture is fantastic. The two buildings speak to each other in a dramatic yet graceful way. The feel is most definitely residential. The balconies, curves, angles, tower bases, all of it... totally hits the mark. One of the most awe inspiring views is from the North where you really get a sense of all the stunning architectural features. In my opinion, Bellevue Towers raises the bar and is the development to beat!

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These two photo's were taken by one of my readers. In the above image you can just start to make out the curving balconies that intertwine and reverse every six levels, which in my eyes is one of the most appealing elements. I'd love an image from the side of the building to really show what I'm talking about, though you can see it on the first image which is a computer rendering of the project. Below is a construction shot, also sent in by the same reader, with the project nearly completed.

Keeping History

Growing up in Boston means I'm used to lots of historical buildings making up a city. Living in Seattle means the city has to take what it can get. After all, when cities back East were building subway systems, Seattle in parts still had dirt roads. Urban renewal takes shape in many forms.

That said, there's still history in certain neighborhoods. Some younger than others, such as in Capitol Hill. A lot of the buildings that haven't been torn down for new construction stand about four stories tall, and are usually made of cmu and wood timber. There's a new development happening down the street from our offices, The Packard Building, and in a nice turn they are keeping the facade of the building. This is common when dealing with much older buildings, though not ones as young as this project... take a look below:


The old building beyond the face has been removed, and currently there's a large pit waiting to be shored and made into below grade parking. The new building will sit within the old building's facade, and rise above another few levels. I really like the look of the new building, and it fits in well with other recently completed projects in the neighborhood. I'm also a huge fan of setbacks, such as with the entrance courtyard shown in the photo to the right. You can currently see right through the large openings where the windows used to be, and see the clouds beyond. Hopefully we won't have an earthquake anytime soon!

Spiraling Housing Market Inspired Design Tips

I know everyone’s worried about the current state of the housing market, but these economic fears shouldn't stop us from having STYLE! If you’re looking to revamp your space on a tight budget, remember that money is no substitute for innovation.

Design Tips
On a tight budget, remember to be selective. Pick the most important rooms you wish to revamp and the specific elements and themes that are most significant. Carefully analyze your current home, furnishing and decorations before making a plan. Improve upon what you have, instead of starting completely from scratch.
Buying products secondhand is a key component of budget design. In addition to local thrift locations, most people grab their unique finds online at places like eBay.

The following ideas are simple and inexpensive decorating ways to liven up a room over without breaking the bank.
* Add mirrors to create light and space.
* Repaint cabinets, instead of replacing them. Paint will clean, freshen and liven up a cabinet. Just check with a local paint supply store for advice on painting unusual surfaces.
* Cover imperfections instead of fixing them. For example, place a rug over a discolored spot on your floor or a tapestry on a rough wall.
* Take off the curtains. If you have a nice view, maximize it by removing the window coverings.
* Organize the clutter. Improve a room with neat and organized decorations. Be creative and utilize your decor as storage with baskets or cabinets.
* Create your own wall art. Stencil patterns, wallpaper borders, stick on vinyl, maps, chalkboards are all inexpensive items to create a rooms uniqueness.
* Replace your lampshades.
* Paint. Paint creates a dramatic change for little money and effort. Be brave and try out new colors. Paint only one wall a vibrant color or paint furniture.
Remember these three items to save money without sacrificing quality - paint, fabric and artwork. Replace cost with your own labor. DIY decorating can be enjoyable and cost effective.

Strange and Amazing Buildings of the World

Found an interesting collection of unique architecture posted on a website... "50 Strange Buildings of the World" part one & part two Some of them aren't really strange at all, but rather fantastic examples of what extra cash and large ego can buy: celebrity architects. Which is great, why not. Some of the buildings included in the assortment are indeed strange. Or ugly. Or not really deserving anything other than existing simply because they exist. Either way, and in time for Halloween, you should take a look at the links!

I'll include a few here so you can get an idea of what to expect. This first one is of the British Eden Project and makes me think the valley is having a seizure (i love it):

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This second project is of the Edificio Mirador in Madrid, Spain and makes me think "why not?":

This final project is of the Blur Building (Yverdon-les-Bainz, Switzerland) and proves that once again, stuff in Switzerland is pretty damn cool:

zHome: The first zero-energy development in the nation.

Building Green is gaining much momentum these days in the industry, and is becoming common place in the Pacific Northwest. From LEED standards, to new marketplace products, to actual developments, we are becoming much more advanced and responsible in our practice. Often times though, you'll find just some basic tweaks to a project so that the builder can claim "building green". This is obviously not the case with LEED standards, as they review and investigate in order to reward a project with a certain level (gold, platinum, etc.) of certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Developed by USGBC, LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED is a practical rating tool for green building design and construction that provides immediate and measurable results for building owners and occupants.

One project that is not simply making small claims but really reaching to achieve a high set of standards, is zHome (zero energy homes) with their development in Issaquah. The force behind this project is Howland Homes, Port Blakely Communities, King County, the City of Issaquah, and various other partners. The below picture shows the design, depicting many advanced features that will seriously raise the building green bar.



A excerpt from the City of Issaquah website regarding this project follows:
"Construction starts today on the first multifamily, production housing project in the nation to use no more energy than it generates during the course of a year, resulting in a carbon neutral development. Located in the City of Issaquah, zHome will consist of 10 attached townhomes that use zero net energy, 60 percent less water, have clean indoor air and use only low-toxicity materials. zHome’s purpose is to demonstrate that homes that offer these types of cutting- edge environmental building principles are possible and scalable for mainstream housing production."

Take a look at the project website to learn what's possible these days...

Residential Style in Tower Form

Skipped a day of work recently during a perfect Seattle summer week and biked around the city. I had in mind my previous post, "Stuff I'm Digging (and not) ... Condo Tower Designs" regarding how a fair share of the new condo developments downtown are looking more like office buildings than residences. So as a quick follow up to the previous post I thought I'd add another project, one that I feel is very successful at creating the residential feel.

In the core of the city is rising the Escala condominium project. This tower is being developed by Lexas Companies of Seattle, and was designed by Thoryk Architecture of San Diego. Escala has been in the makings/construction for a long time. Perhaps due to the tight lot size being fully maximized, existing buildings in close proximity, and the extremely deep parking garage they had to dig and shore. They're now at the phase of the construction when the building shoots up quickly, that being the floors above the foundation and the retail - where each level repeats itself. The first thing you notice when you are at street level is the intimacy being created for the pedestrian. With the base is still covered in scaffolding, you can already start to feel the details and gathering spaces develop a sense of welcome. The picture shown here depicts a wide open space in front of the building, but in reality it's a fairly dense block and a relatively narrow street. Which I think makes the pedestrian consideration even more important to ground the building at street level and create a neighborhood feel (being that there are 30 plus stories looming above).

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The other aspect of the design helping to create the residential feel is the footprint of the building. Lots of balconies, curving faces, angled corners, and other details not found on office buildings. The building speaks residential. Hopefully they will tuck some cafes in the nooks and provide areas for outside eating. I found an old 2003 article written about urban living in Vancouver, Canada, detailing how the successful approach in the developments there was soon going to be adopted in US cities. We're now 5 years later, and certainly Seattle is benefiting from the lessons taught by Vancouver. Take a look at the article here. And please be sure to let me know your opinion about this post and the related previous... perhaps leave me a comment! Agree or disagree?

Stuff I'm Digging (and not) ... Condo Tower Designs

Every week the Daily Journal of Commerce in Seattle, a daily paper that A Bollen Design receives, publishes an article about a new condo tower planned for downtown. For me, it's the equivalent of the SI Swimsuit Addition. I love to look at renderings of potential new buildings (swimsuits are good too). The Daily Journal of Commerce is pretty aware of the fact that a lot of other people like these images too, as they give them the headlines in their paper. Even with the current national economic downturn, Seattle still has a plethora of building cranes, and a ton of interest from world developers. With the herd of people stampeding back to downtown living, Seattle is seeing many tall new condo towers sprouting up on the field to house the horde...

Some of them I dig, and some of them I still dig - but for the wrong reasons. Huh? Right. Okay the main thing happening that I think is WRONG with many of these designs is that they seem better suited for commercial buildings rather than residential buildings. My blog, my opinion. Somehow I think a more organic (yeah, it's a trendy word) approach for overall design elements would be more successful at conveying "Live Here" rather than the angular overload as of late. Actually, there are some new ones that have a curved face. But even those lack any details that convey residence, though they're indeed nice buildings. Anyway... take a look:

The first example is being designed by Weber Thompson of Seattle, and would be located in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. I think it's a fairly nice building, not breaking any molds or anything, but nice. It'd be cool if they went with those colors too, but I'm fairly certain they were just for the rendering and the actual colors would be more typical. That said, does this building speak commercial or residential? All I see is an office building. The focus as of late has been to make these types of projects tall and slim, somewhat like Vancouver does in B.C. However, Vancouver has way better examples that should be used for inspiration than the rectangular proposals we're getting down here in Seattle. Simply adding Tall + Slim + Glass isn't enough. I want to be both blown away by the design AND feel as if my friends are in that building and not my dentist.

Example number two by Ismael Leyva Architects of New York: mixed use building with living starting where the balconies can be seen jutting out from the corner. The plan is to build 400 condos, a 200-room hotel, 300,000 square feet of office space and 12,000 square feet of retail, and planned for 5th avenue in Seattle. Again, all I see is a commercial building. Seriously, what's going on here? I guess people like living in buildings such as this, or investors and designers wouldn't be building them. But there must be better solutions that would be even more successful. This building is nice enough though for commercial use, and I'd be happy to see it taking up space downtown. What a massive project, but I feel appropriate since the urban core of a city should be dense and tall. But living?? Huge opportunity here for a double tower that plays with its tower neighbor the way single family homes do on a residential block... (unfortunately, homes are doing this less as well - but that's for another post)

Example number three, again by Weber Thompson (the local condo king of design): apartment tower planned for Belltown. This example I think lays somewhere between what I'm digging and what I'm not digging for the new condo approach. It definitely feels more residential, and that goes beyond simply having obvious visible residential features as a cue. Perhaps it's the semi more organic look (semi). Rather than just a looming singular glass face, you can start to imagine lots of different characters habituating in all the nooks and crannies. I wish they'd break up the verticallity (my word . my blog) of the design though by changing the upper footprint and highlighting the top. Hey, I know! Add a round bit on top as a roof and put some trees there... oh, wait. Still, it'd be pretty neat to have that view. Just like Fraiser. BUT check out the lot! This building will have it's own tiny block, which is pretty cool. My problem here is that I don't feel the design of the building really takes advantage of such an awesome and unique lot shape. And really, overall the building falls a little short in potential with its monotony... but at least looks residential.

Final example: condo tower up in Vancouver B.C. that I actually can't remember who designed. If you know, make a comment for me and I'll revise this post. Okay so this one is a fantastic design. If you've ever seen it in person, you'll be able to relate. Stunning architecture. Still a looming wall of glass, but the organic bend and curves lend themselves to the right feel for a residence. The human-scale town homes located at the base of the tower seal the residential deal. This tower has another that mirrors it just to the left of this image. Regardless of whether or not you dig modern, I feel this development clearly speaks to residents, not business. Also, the property sits right on a park that sits right on the harbor looking over to Stanley Park. So the massive curvy bend reminds one of the masts and sails of all the boats floating around. Vancouver is a fine city with some amazing examples of successful designs for condo towers - of which they have more than any city I've ever seen. They also have bad ones too though, but more often than not... they win.

Interior Design of Retail Boutique Bossi & Ich Ky in Seattle... Created by A Bollen Design

Pioneer Square has just welcomed the latest opening of Seattle's newest retail boutique store, Bossi & Ich Ky. This high-end fashion establishment will sell men's and women's designer clothing and accessories. Owned and operated by a young couple who travel extensively to bring the most current trends and labels to downtown Seattle, Bossi & Ich Ky has raised the bar for the Interior Design of local boutiques. This project required the use of all the services offered by A Bollen Design, and allowed for total creative freedom due to the rush nature of the project. The owners basically said, "We're thinking of boutique stores in Europe, we've only got a couple months until opening (including construction!), we want you to run with it." A dream job for sure! Our first site visit (the day after new years) found an empty shell void of any walls, flooring or lights.

We were hired to transform a blank vanilla box into a hip yet classic space reminiscent of boutiques found in Europe in older urban centers. This feel was achieved with the use of current trend colors and materials coupled with classic wallpapers and design elements. Rich wood flooring adds to the overall scheme by complimenting the classic feel with its dark stain, a finish which was continued in the shelving and column wraps. A dark brown paint ceiling treatment helps to bring the space down (overall height is 18') to human scale, and add to the historical exterior of the building.


Additionally, the architecture and space planning bring out the boutique flavor by creating niche spaces and recessed interior lit merchandising areas to highlight the one-offs expected in a small shop. By lining the perimeter of the space with tall built-in merchandising elements, crowned with over scaled moulding to accentuate their varying heights and depths, we were able to successfully create a large scale feel with small store appeal. A full set of AutoCAD construction documents were produced by A Bollen Design for this project in order to communicate this detailed architecture accurately to the contractor, as well as to ensure permitting from the city building department. Shown in this paragraph is the overall floor plan, at a very reduced scale. The front entry is on the left, the cash wrap is in the middle, the spiral stairs lead to the upper loft office area, women's area is above and the men's is below. For some images taken during construction showing the framing of the built-ins we designed, as well as the initial site visit showing the blank vanilla box we transformed, view this previous blog.

Of course, the best way to experience our latest creation is to simply visit the boutique! (112 1st Avenue) The owners will be more than happy to show you around their store, and are continuing to add merchandise to fill the spaces we created for them, as you can tell from the empty shelves in the picture to the right taken by the women's fitting rooms. In the meantime, we'll be tweaking the finishing touches and details and checking off a bullet list of post-construction revelations as we go. Bossi & Ich Ky is our most amazing retail design yet, and best of all, it's open to the public (unlike our residential projects) so we can share this success with everyone! Drop us a line and let us know what you think...

For previous blogs on this project please view:
1) Retail Boutique Coming Together
2) Retail Boutique Under Construction

Designing Plazas and Public Spaces in Big Box Architecture

This post continues on with the opinions expressed in an earlier submittal, that being Stuff I'm Digging. Though this time I'm writing about the middle ground... being that big-box developments have a difficult time not overwhelming a city block. And by big-box i'm referring to low-rise buildings covering an entire city block, where preferably a few different buildings would reside side by side. While big-box developers at least hopefully attempt to have a good street presence for pedestrians, albeit usually poorly, there's still always the issue of a large uniform mass looming above. Modular design and mini-insets for storefronts simply do not suffice.

My Stuff I'm Digging post praised the block intersected by Pike Street and 12th Avenue. This block has at least 8-10 different buildings making up it's presence. And what's amazing is that new buildings are taking the place of the old buildings, while keeping the amount of buildings the same. Lately, developers looking simply to profit would only proceed forward on a project like this if all or most of the buildings could be torn down making way for one cash producing behemoth. Sure, there's the bottom-line for the developer to take into considertion. After all, it is they with the initiative and means to implement this version of urban renewal. And most of the time it is indeed rundown buildings that are being replaced. But surely a responsibility to be of benefit to the neighborhood from whose ground you are profiting exists... an accountability of sorts. The picture in this paragraph should serve as inspiration for mid-block developments.

So, this is the case on a new development, The Chloe, that I'm posting about now. However, the architect, Runberg Architecture Group, is including a pretty cool feature to the design and footprint of the building to offset the nature of the project. In this case, we still have big-box architecture happening. But you'll notice how the footprint of the main building is "L" shaped, with the open space facing the street rather than the interior, thereby creating a nice pedestrian friendly presence. This approach creates the appearance of multiple buildings, yet still shares the same structure and facilities. And it brings a one story building into the fold, removing the looming large mass above and bringing the building down to human scale. Additionally, they've created a plaza-like space between the buildings, allowing for people to gather and socialize off-street.

Of course, there are codes and lot restrictions for how much a building can occupy of the footprint. And developers are indeed required to provide open space. Usually, however, this is achieved with interior courtyards that are both unappealing to the pedestrian, and to the dweller. Have you ever stood on someones balcony that faces an interior courtyard in one of these big-box buildings? It's somehow a little creepy, and in my opinion detracts from the very experience the developer is hoping to create. Community does not enjoy voyeurs, intentional or not! Not to mention, it's these balconies where tenants go to smoke... so usually blinds are kept drawn and sliding doors shut.


Selfishly, I'm looking forward to the potential opening of a bakery being that this development is only two blocks from our office... and is in fact only two blocks from the Stuff I'm Digging block as well! Also, if you take a look at the plan above, you'll notice a handful of retail spaces rather than just a couple big ones. That means cool boutiques and local shops... Critical mass has already been realized in this neighborhood, and with the addition of new projects like The Chloe, that mass will only grow.

European Style - Art Nouveau with Guimard & Expressionism with Gaudi

Ooh la la! Obvious perhaps, but that's what rolls from my mouth when I think back about a couple of design highlights from a recent three week adventure in Europe. There is a lot of amazing eye candy everywhere when traveling somewhere new. For me, eye candy can be tasty simply because my eyes have never experienced some of those fresh flavors before. With novelty aside, however, I did find two views in particular that will surely be long lasting with appeal. The first comes from the Art Nouveau movement, the second from the Expressionist movement.

Paris has no shortage of delicious architecture. It's history and cultural significance command it. Though when thinking back, a lot of what I saw is starting to blend together. A standout pierces through the sameness though... that being the Art Nouveua entrances to the metro system designed by Hector Guimard. I couldn't help but want to light a fire and start cooking a pig while sitting on bales of hay and listening to elves play their flutes. Lord of the Rings indeed! When passing through one of these entrances, we were starting an adventure into the underworld and labyrinths of tunnelorium. Sometimes in stark contrast to the seriousness of the the buildings around them, the metro iron work created by Guimard added a welcome touch of whimsy to the view.

My goal with this post is to show you a couple architectural design highlights from my recent trip, not to educate readers about the two movements mentioned. Instead I have provided some links so that you can learn as much as you'd like about Art Nouveau and Expressionist design from other resources. With that said... we move onto the next highlight!

Antoni Gaudi is the architect behind the second design morsel with his expressionist La Sagrada Familia. I'm still not sure what to say about this insane building, other than you will be drawn to it if you ever travel to Barcelona. The story itself is amazing, and still has decades upon decades of writing to be completed before the book is ready. The exterior is bizarrely stupendous and unlike anything else I have ever seen, and the mammoth volume of the interior left my mouth agape. I've seen my share of old buildings, and don't need to tour another church just because of its age and significance. Blah blah blah BUT, Sagrada Familia is most definitely not just another church. Well, maybe it is, but take a look at this unique piece of architecture...

Showing the height of the ceiling in La Sagrada Familia is tough. I zoomed in for the above picture, with as much below the field of view as above. The sheer mass of space perhaps did not dwarf that of say the Notre Dame in Paris, but something about the design lent itself to a much greater feel than any structure I had ever been in. Well... that's for another post!