LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF LAKEVIEW DRIVE AND LAKE WASHINGTON BOULEVARD IN KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, THE NEW BUILDING IS SET TO BE THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE MASS TIMBER OFFICE DEVELOPMENT EAST OF GREATER SEATTLE.

Seattle, Washington – March 22, 2021 – LMN Architects is pleased to celebrate the construction progress of the Lakeview Office Building in Kirkland, Washington. Situated on a triangular, prominent site at the gateway to Kirkland, the building is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021 and is being built with renewable and sustainable construction methods.

The 46,000 SF development includes a generous living roof, two levels of office space and two levels of underground parking, matching the civic scale of the neighborhood while minimizing impact on views of surrounding buildings. Two first-floor outdoor spaces and a roof-top common room with a deck and landscape take advantage of the expansive west-facing vista of Lake Washington and the Olympic Mountains.

The roof, rain gardens, and terraces have been designed to mitigate water run-off and are inspired by the forested hillsides and the verdant lake edges around the Pacific Northwest. The roof deck and terraces will provide social spaces for interaction, relaxation and outdoor gathering spaces with custom seating and connections to the interiors. The eastern section of the deck and main entry sequence are defined by immersive shade elements and fern gully that is dappled with seasonal highlights, specialty wall systems, and an integrated water feature. The western section embraces the views to Lake Washington and creates a signature green space.

Pamela Trevithick, Partner, LMN Architects, comments: “When we began the design of the project three years ago, our team set out to create an open, flexible and sustainable office space. The Lakeview Office Building celebrates Kirkland’s natural landscape and reflects an innovative use of materials and sustainable elements. The use of Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) reduces the structure’s embodied carbon, and the building is the first mass timber commercial development of this scale in the area. We are extremely pleased with the construction progress and look forward to the completion of the project.”

The new Lakeview Office Building complements the neighborhood’s character while enhancing the prominent intersection of Lakeview Drive and Lake Washington Boulevard. The all-glass curtainwall exterior with operable windows matches the gentle curve of the site while providing extensive transparency, views of Lake Washington, and a strong connection to the surrounding community. The north and east facade is accentuated with textured punched windows and metal panels, complementing the neighboring residential landscape.

Gerald Epp Jr., Business Development Engineer, StructureCraft, comments: “With the resurgence of this ‘old’ material in modern commercial buildings, mass timber is gaining attention in the construction industry and demonstrating the efficiency and beauty of exposed structure. The large, prefabricated elements act as a kit-of-parts and connect together very rapidly on site, with minimal disruption, noise or waste – neighbors enjoy watching these buildings go up.”

The project sets a new precedent on the Eastside for the use of renewable and sustainable construction methods. Utilizing mass timber construction, the office building features DLT from Pacific Northwest forests. The use of DLT reduces the project’s embodied carbon by replacing steel or concrete. The prefabricated timbers further shorten construction duration with an estimated building erection time of six weeks for the wood superstructure.

Jeremy Schoenfeld, Associate, LMN Architects, comments: “Mass timber construction has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry by combining the tradition of wood construction, craftsmanship, sustainable materials, and technological innovation. It is exciting to see this project come together as an example of all the benefits mass timber provides, and to help create a new sense of place along the waterfront in Kirkland.”

The project engages the streetscape with a contemporary building design that provides much needed office space to the rapidly expanding Eastside region. Utilizing a cost-effective, versatile construction method with a lighter environmental footprint, the new Lakeview Office Building benefits Kirkland’s growing Carillon Point community while minimizing its ecological impact.

LMN Architects has designed several important projects in Seattle including Benaroya Hall, McCaw Hall, Downtown Seattle Hotel, Boren Office Lofts, and the Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion on the new waterfront. Other recently completed projects in the city of Seattle and the state of Washington include the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences Middle School, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal, and Summit III in Bellevue.

Learn more about the project here.