1402 Third Avenue
Suite 515
Seattle, Washington 98101
206.956.0883
Suite 515
Seattle, Washington 98101
206.956.0883
Kuan Yin Garden Apartments Renovation
Seattle, WA, 1995
Over the next few years, a small apartment building on Queen Anne Hill will be transformed into a giant pergola. The first phase included adding trellises and flower boxes to the exterior stair at the front of the building. Trellisses will also be added to the north and south sides, and climbing roses, wisteria, clematis, honeysuckle, grapes and kiwi vines will be planted. The plantings will bloom sequentially through the spring and summer, turn colors in the fall, and die off in the winter, to return in the spring.
We were looking for an inexpensive, environmentally friendly way to improve the appearance of what is admittedly an undistinquished building - a relic of the boom created by Seattle's 1962 World's Fair.
My client planted the parking strips with tall grasses and bamboo, and placed benches for passers-by along the sidewalk, to begin to create what she is calling the "Smith Street Commons." She hopes to "blur the line between public and private" and "show that people can do it themselves on a small scale." "Just imagine the transformation," she says, "if everyone offered a little bit of their own front yard to the community, and also took responsibility for a little bit of the public realm." Since the first phase of the project, tenants have taken an active role in tending the gardens.
Inside, ventilation for all apartments was upgraded, and one then-vacant apartment was renovated using healthier materials and finishes - perhaps one of the first such rental units in Seattle. Worn carpets and vinyl flooring were removed, and natural linoleum was installed in the kitchen, and maple flooring in the living room, finished with water-based polyurethane. Walls and trim were repainted with locally produced low-toxic Best Paints.
In the courtyard of the ground floor apartment, a mossy statue of Kuan Yin stands above a fountain pool formed with river rocks.
We were looking for an inexpensive, environmentally friendly way to improve the appearance of what is admittedly an undistinquished building - a relic of the boom created by Seattle's 1962 World's Fair.
My client planted the parking strips with tall grasses and bamboo, and placed benches for passers-by along the sidewalk, to begin to create what she is calling the "Smith Street Commons." She hopes to "blur the line between public and private" and "show that people can do it themselves on a small scale." "Just imagine the transformation," she says, "if everyone offered a little bit of their own front yard to the community, and also took responsibility for a little bit of the public realm." Since the first phase of the project, tenants have taken an active role in tending the gardens.
Inside, ventilation for all apartments was upgraded, and one then-vacant apartment was renovated using healthier materials and finishes - perhaps one of the first such rental units in Seattle. Worn carpets and vinyl flooring were removed, and natural linoleum was installed in the kitchen, and maple flooring in the living room, finished with water-based polyurethane. Walls and trim were repainted with locally produced low-toxic Best Paints.
In the courtyard of the ground floor apartment, a mossy statue of Kuan Yin stands above a fountain pool formed with river rocks.
Project Architect: Rob Harrison
Structural Engineer: Richard Ballinger, P.E.
General Contractor, Trellising and Apartment Renovation: Marty Josund - Bright Street Construction
Repairs: Tom Lewis - Thomas Lewis Construction
Paints: Best Paints
Natural Linoleum and Maple Flooring: Environmental Home Center
Structural Engineer: Richard Ballinger, P.E.
General Contractor, Trellising and Apartment Renovation: Marty Josund - Bright Street Construction
Repairs: Tom Lewis - Thomas Lewis Construction
Paints: Best Paints
Natural Linoleum and Maple Flooring: Environmental Home Center