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Overview

The Seattle-based Miller Hull Partnership LLP led the design team that erected this information center intended to introduce visitor's to Vulcan Incorporated's real estate properties in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Vulcan emphasized the importance of an eye-catching design as well as its environmental sustainability. A large part of the sustainability was achieved by making the center demountable so that it could be separated into four modular components and relocated and reused elsewhere.

Building History

Vulcan, Incorporated, commissioned the Miller Hull Partnership LLP to design this demountable and reusable information center for visitors to the South Lake Union Area. Its purpose, according to the American Institute of Architect's Committee on the Environment (AIA/COTE), "...was for an exhibit telling the story of Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood—its past, present, and future." (See AIA/COTE, "Discovery Center at South Lake Union," accessed 02/21/2016.) During the 1990s and 2000s, Vulcan purchased considerable real estate in this South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhood, at first hoping to complete the Seattle Commons, a linear park that would have linked the Denny Triangle to the southern shores of Lake Union. It failed at the polls in 1996, but Vulcan owner Paul Allen (born 01/21/1953 in Seattle, WA) continued buying land in the area to create a unified and walkable neighborhood in which to live and work. Vulcan worked closely with Amazon.com, the rapidly expanding online retailer, to build office buildings tailored to the high-tech company's needs.

David E. Miller served as Miller Hull's partner in charge of the SLU Discovery Center, and selected William Franklin as its project architect. Miller Hull collaborated with GLY Construction, Incorporated, as its General Constractor; William DeJarlais was GLY's point person on the Discovery Center. Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Incorporated, served as the building's civil and structural engineer, with Drew Gangnes the civil lead and Jay Taylor the structural. Mark Brumbaugh of Brumbaugh & Associates completed the landscape design. Jeffrey Johansen of Cochran, Incorporated, supervised the electrical engineering, and Candela, Incorporated, designed the center's lighting. University Mechanical Contractors, Incorporated, undertook the completion of mechanical and plumbing systems. Begun in 2004, the Discovery Center was completed in 03/2005.

Building Notes

Various groups recognized the South Lake Union Discovery Center with awards; these organizations included the American Institute of ArchitectsCommittee on the Environment (AIA/COTE) National Top Ten Green Projects, 2008; the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Gold Award, Best Sales/Information Center, 2008; the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Sustainable Design Award, 2007; the Lifecycle Building Challenge Winner, 2007.

PCAD id: 20034