Amazon Headquarters Phases II&III
Seattle, Washington
Project Size:
715,000 square feet
Project Status:
Completed 2011
Services:
Urban Design, Urban Mixed Use Design
Press
ULI Announces Winners for the 2013 Global Awards for Excellence
Urban Land Institute, 11/8/2013
Selected Awards
2013 Urban Land Institute
Global Award for Excellence: The Americas Competition
A mid-block, landscaped courtyard forms the focal point for three office buildings on two blocks in Seattleās South Lake Union neighborhood. The courtyard enhances pedestrian activity and future development opportunities through building entries, lobbies and retail uses near public transportation access.
The design approach creates a diversity of architectural expression and urban form. The facades of the two buildings on the west block transition from subtle concrete textures on their street-facing sides to animated, transparent building entries and lobbies in the courtyard. An abstract landscape pattern is applied as ceramic frit to the exterior glazing system, extending the sense of landscape and recalling the marsh edge of Lake Union.
While the west block buildings define strong urban edges along the street, the east block fragments the urban edge with sheared wall planes and variegated exterior panel expression. Exposed concrete columns and concrete base recall the neighborhood's industrial history.