In collaboration with Amazon, Graphite Design Group designed Mary’s Place Family Center, a nonprofit supporting families experiencing homelessness. The center provides emergency housing and services to families inside the downtown Seattle Amazon office building.
The unusual location for services of this kind serves over 300 people per day. Mary's Place spreads across eight of the office's floors—all designed by Graphite—testing the status quo for its experimental approach to homelessness support.
Emergency Housing for Seattle Families
Each floor provides various services and amenities for the sheltered:
- Level P1: Parking, Storage, Facilities Workshop
- Level G: Loading Dock and Staging, Storage, Dogwash
- Level 1: Lobby, Multipurpose Room, Conference Room
- Level 2: Diversion Sleep Floor
- Level 3: Standard Sleep Floor
- Level 4: Popsicle Place
- Level 5: Popsicle Place
- Level 6: Welcome and Intake, Heat Treat, Staff Area, Marketplace
- Level 7: Dining Room, Full Kitchen, Play Area, Interfaith Prayer Room
- Level 8: Rec Room, Terrace, Laundry, Games, Large Conference Room
While designing the center, Graphite invited Mary's Place staff to contribute ideas to best support guests. The group brainstormed words, images, and scenarios that eventually helped craft the space into a community-serving shelter.
Mary’s Place Family Center was also recognized at the AIA Seattle Honor Awards and the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Awards for its novel approach to urban development. Graphite believes the project acts as a model for how other cities can activate underutilized space to answer larger urban housing challenges while balancing growth and social equity.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Amazon, Global Real Estate and Facilities team and Mary's Place
Developer: Seneca Group
Architect: Graphite Design Group
Structural/Civil Engineer: Coughlin Porter Lundeen
Electrical/Acoustic Engineer: Stantec
Mechanical/Energy Design: WSP
GC: GLY Construction
Related Stories
| Apr 5, 2013
Projected cost for Apple's Campus 2 balloons to $5 billion
Campus 2, Apple Inc.'s proposed ring-shaped office facility in Cupertino, Calif., could cost $5 billion to build, according to a report by Bloomberg.
| Apr 3, 2013
5 award-winning modular buildings
The Modular Building Institute recently revealed the winners of its annual Awards of Distinction contest. There were 42 winners in all across six categories. Here are five projects that caught our eye.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Mar 29, 2013
PBS broadcast to highlight '10 Buildings That Changed America'
WTTW Chicago, in partnership with the Society of Architectural Historians, has produced "10 Builidngs That Changed America," a TV show set to air May 12 on PBS.
| Mar 29, 2013
Shenzhen projects halted as Chinese officials find substandard concrete
Construction on multiple projects in Guangdong Province—including the 660-m Ping'an Finance Center—has been halted after inspectors in Shenzhen, China, have found at least 15 local plants producing concrete with unprocessed sea sand, which undermines building stabity.
| Mar 15, 2013
7 most endangered buildings in Chicago
The Chicago Preservation Society released its annual list of the buildings at high risk for demolition.
| Mar 14, 2013
25 cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings
Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago top EPA's list of the U.S. cities with the greatest number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012.
| Mar 13, 2013
RSMeans cost comparisons: jails, courthouses, police stations, and post offices
The March 2013 report from RSMeans offers construction costs per square foot for four building types across 25 metro markets. Building types include: jails, courthouses, police stations, and post offices.
| Mar 12, 2013
'World's greenest' office building seeks tenants in Seattle
Superefficient Seattle office building is designed to meet the ambitious goals of the Living Building Challenge.
| Mar 4, 2013
Korean Air, AC Martin collaborating on Western region's tallest tower
The 1,100-foot Wilshire Grand will combine retail and restaurant space, offices, and a luxury hotel in the sky.
