Western Yacht Harbor

A unique project was presented after a fire on South Lake Union (Seattle, WA) completely damaged a large covered marina area and the office building at Western Yacht Harbor. The project involved removing the damaged marina slips and roof structure, replacing the marina components, and reconstructing the office building on top of the marina roof structure.
The grandfathered office provided the opportunity to rebuild a 2,000 sf, modern wood and glass box that hovers over the western shore of Lake Union, highlighting locally sourced wood in the form of Dowel-Laminated Timber panels (DLT). DLT boasts numerous benefits that were particularly applicable to the Western Yacht Harbor undertaking.

Since DLT is an all-wood mass timber product with prefabricated panels, the building structure produces no chemical pollutants, is relatively lightweight, and can be built approximately 25 percent faster than concrete structures. Additionally, the panels sequester the most carbon-by-unit weight of any mass timber product on the market. Lightweight panels proved especially useful for the project’s location above a marina since a lighter building reduced loads on the structure below.

The operable sliding doors and large fixed windows that comprise three sides of the building allow for Lake Union and downtown Seattle views. A surrounding deck provides the opportunity to open the space up to the exterior – and the roof offers 360-degree views of the surrounding neighborhood. The open office space is filled with natural light and supported by a utility core with all necessary services.