The Klotski Building in Seattle, Ballard architecture photos, Washington mixed-use, WA infill property

The Klotski Building in Seattle

May 12, 2020

Design: Graham Baba Architects

Location: Ballard neighborhood, Seattle, Washington, USA

photograph © Kevin Scott

The Klotski Building in Seattle, WA

The Klotski is a three-story, mixed-use infill building situated in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Close to downtown, the area is noted for its dynamic mix of commercial, manufacturing, and residential uses.

Reflecting the eclectic vibrancy and gritty nature of the neighborhood, the 10,041-square-foot CMU and steel-framed building houses a beer hall, an office, a maker space, a studio, and a small caretaker’s apartment.

photo © Kevin Scott

Riffing on the idea of shifting uses and planes, the design takes its visual cue from a sliding tile puzzle, also known as a klotski, where the object is to rearrange tiles to solve the puzzle. The puzzle is expressed on the south-facing exterior of the building through the use of 7’x10’ perforated metal screens.

The screens slide up and down, enabling users to change the screens position for sun shading and privacy, and in response to seasonal variations in daylight.

photograph © Haris Kenjar

At street level, the building is set back from the property line by several feet to provide space for exterior dining; expansive glazing composed of wood/glass sliders and fixed units reveal the activity inside to the street. The building’s massing steps back at the top floor to create an outdoor deck for the studio and apartment.

photo © Kevin Scott

The glazed, second-story wall of windows features a steel-wrapped bay window that extends out over the sidewalk. Inside, the clear-spanning steel structure and brace frames are exposed, complementing concrete floors and wood decking. An open floor plan and seventeen-foot-high ceilings create a loft-like industrial aesthetic for the office housed within.

photo © Haris Kenjar

Conceived as a maker space studio, a self-contained mezzanine accessed via stairwells and elevator floats within the second floor volume. A studio and caretaker’s unit occupy the top level. Generous roof decks and an interior courtyard round out the spaces, ensuring ample indoor-outdoor opportunities. On-site covered parking is accessed off the alley for retail customers and residents.

photo © Kevin Scott

Sustainable features include rainwater cisterns that collect and recycle all on-site rainwater, roof-top solar panels, energy efficient radiant heating, thermally efficient, operable windows on the north and south sides of the building to encouraging cross ventilation, and operable sunshades on the exterior.

photo © Kevin Scott

The modest size of the lot— 4,300-square-feet—meant that every square inch of space of was organized as efficiently as possible in order to maximize usable/leasable areas.

photo © Kevin Scott

The Klotski Building, Washington – Building Information

Areas:
Total building area: 10,041 SF
Ground Floor: 2,440 SF
2nd Floor: 3,747 SF
Mezzanine: 1,753 SF
3rd Floor Studio: 2,101 SF
Lot Area: 4301 SF

Design: Graham Baba Architects
Design team:
Jim Graham, design principal
Susan Tillack, project manager & architect
Andy Brown, architectural staff

Project team:
Owner/Developer: David Milesi
Architect: Graham Baba Architects
Structural Engineer: Harriott Valentine Engineers, Inc.
Civil Engineer: Sitewise Design
Geotechnical Engineers: Geotech Consultants Inc.
General Contractor: Dovetail General Contractors

photo © Kevin Scott

Photographers: Kevin Scott and Haris Kenjar

The Klotski Building in Seattle, Washington images / information received 120520

Location: Ballard neighborhood, Seattle, Washington, USA

Washington Architecture

Seattle Architecture Designs – chronological list

Seattle Architecture News

Seattle Convention Center Summit Building, 900 Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
Design: LMN Architects

photograph : Adam Hunter/LMN Architects
Seattle Convention Center Summit Building