Lair 19
Seattle, WA
The Capitol Hill neighborhood is arguably Seattle's most diverse and vibrant urban area filled with restaurants and active commercial storefronts. This corner lot project continues the extension of urban life south towards Miller playfield and Madison Street. The four story building provides 54 residential units and approximately 7,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Even with a corner site and alley access, the underlying land use regulations and dimensions of the site drive the project toward a double loaded corridor with rather deep unit types. Recognizing the challenges of this ubiquitous organization, the design inserts and concentrates daylight and ventilation into the center of the structure through a series of light wells.
These light wells form the project's organizational backbone. They establish a rhythm of daylight and connection to the environment within the typically windowless central corridor. Each dwelling unit enjoys expansive floor to ceiling glazing and outdoor terraces while taking advantage of access to light and ventilation along the central corridor. Driven all the way down to the street level commercial spaces, these light wells provide skylights or small courtyards and create multi-story connections not usually found in this building typology.