15.10.2019
8th & Republican
Over 70,000 new housing units are forecast to come online within Seattle city limits over the next 20 years.
This rapid growth will be a major force shaping our public space. From the start, the exterior public space formed by the 8th & Republican Mixed-Use Development was at the heart of our approach. Conceptually, the building forms the backdrop for a green pocket park similar to the Cascade Mountains rising behind green foothills.
Setting the building back from the street at mid-block provides a generous public courtyard, the backdrop for a well-loved neighborhood café and patio with a participatory water feature. This big move forming public space enables the building façades to remain simple and cost-effective while positively impacting the public realm, foregoing more expensive façade modulation typically required by Seattle’s Design Review Board.
The 8th & Republican Mixed-Use Development holds a strong corner along Republican Street, forming a primary gateway for vehicular traffic entering South Lake Union from the new State Route 99 tunnel to the west. The strong corner also forms a northern terminus for the 8th Avenue pedestrian-focused residential street as it transitions to an institutional and commercial zone north of the site.