triple two
A Vertical Community in a Commerical Office Building
ROLE
Project Architect / SD-CD
OFFICE
Gensler Seattle
DURATION
2019-2020
scope
8 Story Commercial Office Building
Core + Shell
overview
222 5th Ave exists at a gateway-at one of the most visible and highly trafficked locations in Seattle. The site is situated at the convergence of three major streets and adjacent to Seattle Center, a destination that attracts approximately 13 million visitors annually. With residential Queen Anne to the north, SLU to the east, and Downtown Seattle to the south, this location is “ten minutes to everywhere. and poses a fantastic opportunity to rethink the experiences and connections that can be made here.
site
The project site is a special place, neighbor to more than one iconic landmark. Development here should reinforce the energy of the Seattle Center and its meaning as a cultural hub by providing its own collection of amenities.
Imagine a building where amenity spaces became the catalyst for an office community connected by a vertical ribbon of circulation. This would untether tenants from being siloed on floors, facilitating connectivity between them. Serendipitous encounters happen, work and play are mixed, and the neighborhood is welcomed in.
client
The client's experience in multifamily residential development connected them to the idea of family within their projects. 222 5th Ave was their second project in Seattle and first-ever commercial office building. Their goal was to welcome their “tenant family” in this office setting through an inviting environment, rich with shared amenities.
design concept
A dynamic form is molded in response to the forces and flows of the site. The building massing embraces a sleek and efficient design language along the monorail, then transitions to a unique architectural expression at the NW gateway corner.
Here, building amenities are expressed as a collection of shifting volumes that provide varying
perspectives of the neighborhood and beyond. The result is a series of spaces that speak to both the human and urban scale.
A bold, sculptural feature stair links the building amenities. It weaves down the building exterior, tying back to the activity on Thomas and further activating the pedestrian realm. Along its way, this ribbon of circulation engages with spaces for health, wellness, and social gathering, and a vertical community is created.
project stats
feature stair
The bold, vibrant feature stair serves as both a striking art piece for the public and an engaging connector for building tenants. It transforms a typical egress stair into a destination, encouraging movement while providing accessible moments of pause.
The stair links shared amenities like a basketball court, fitness center, innovation hub, tenant lounge, and roof terrace, fostering tenant interaction. As companies reevaluate space needs, 222 5th promotes a collaborative, human-centered workplace that supports talent attraction, retention, and well-being.
lobby
The goal was to create a hospitality-inspired lobby with a coffee shop as a community amenity. The site’s grading challenge required the main entry to be above the coffee shop. While initial plans included a code-compliant ramp, it failed to offer an equitable experience to all users. This prompted a return to the drawing board, guided by a simple question:
how can we celebrate the idea of a ramp in order to make a more EQUITABLE +DYNAMIC experience?
Initial Lobby Scheme
Refined Lobby Scheme
redesign
The redesign transforms the ramp into an experience driver, pulling it into the heart of the space. It curves toward the elevator lobby and aligns with off-grid columns to establish new spatial logic. The ramp’s edge leverages the grade difference to form planters, bringing a touch of the city's lush landscape indoors. The ramp is embraced as a mechanism to transform the typical corporate lobby into a vibrant community hub.
Aerial View + Floor Plan
Coffee Shop View From Thomas St.
Lobby View From Main Entry
envelope
The building’s façades adapt to their surroundings. On primary streets, the envelope is highly articulated with an interplay of vision glazing and operable windows clad with metal panels. The northern edge marks a change in scale with floor-to-ceiling glazing in amenity spaces and beveled roofs that add depth and shadow between volumes. On the east side, the more solid façade addresses neighbor's privacy concerns. This zone houses core functions resulting in a more flexible plan with west-facing views. Here chevron-patterned metal panels add movement, echoing the design language of the western curtain wall.
Lobby View From Main Entry
the fifth facade
With 1.3 million annual Space Needle visitors looking down, the rooftop was designed as a striking 5th façade. Lush vegetation and varied topography create a visual tapestry while concealing equipment. Beyond aesthetics, it functions as an alternative workspace, gathering area, and retreat, emphasizing that productivity thrives through restorative connections to nature.
tower
The tower is designed to truly consider the complete tenant experience. Surrounding influences suggested such decisions as offsetting the elevator core, which will achieve higher energy performance and floor area flexibility while maximizing the unparalleled western tenant views of the city.
Typical Tower Floor Plan
results
The design of 222 5th is strongly influenced by the surrounding neighborhood and its diverse passerby, resulting in a unique solution that truly considers the complete tenant experience.
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