In the Othello neighborhood in south Seattle, local architecture firm Weber Thompson designed a workforce housing community called Orenda for developer Spectrum Development Solutions. The building features 176 residential units on top of Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and an early learning child care facility. With an impact equity investment from Seattle Children’s Hospital combined with the use of Seattle’s multifamily tax exemption tools, 72 apartments rent to households earning between 65% and 80% of the area median income.
From its affordable component to its overall design, the project was recently recognized as a grand winner in the Best Mixed-Use Project category at the 2022 Gold Nugget Awards. The judging panel admired the building’s “particularly good use of super graphics.”
According to Weber Thompson, the artistic expression was born out of a deep community engagement effort that spanned over two years and ultimately aimed to reflect the community’s cultural diversity. The design team split the exterior concept into three massing hierarchies—vibrant, respite, and pedestrian realm—in order to create joy with bold colors and textures at the upper portion of the end mass, cleverly engage the streetscape at the commercial base, and give residents a welcoming entrance at the corner.
For more on the 2022 Gold Nugget Award multifamily winners, click here.