November 4, 2015

Holland wants Cascade Apartments to have youthful — plaid — facade

Image courtesy of Holland Partner Group [enlarge]

Holland Partner Group meets with a Seattle design review board tonight and the team may show up wearing plaid.

Why plaid? The Vancouver-based developer wants to use it as a design element on the facade of Cascade Apartments, a complex Holland wants to build on Harrison Street near Cascade Park in South Lake Union. The address is 1212 and 1232 Harrison St., and the site is between Minor and Pontius avenues north.

The complex would have two buildings separated by a mid-block parking entrance. The larger structure will be just over 200,000 square feet with 166 units and 214 parking stalls. The other structure will have 109 units and 15 parking stalls in 93,000 square feet. Both will be seven stories.

Documents submitted to the city say the upper facades of the buildings will be “a dramatic backdrop to Cascade Park ... reflecting the energy and playfulness of the park and neighborhood.”

Colored siding on the upper facades will change from red tones to blue tones, with an abstract plaid pattern overlaid to create depth and movement. The plaid pattern also “weaves together colors found in nearby residential buildings, creating a unified palette for the Cascade Park neighborhood.”

Holland and architect Ankrom Moisan say in the documents that plaid is “casual, youthful and classic.”

The latest details on the facade call for 12-inch metal panels with 1-inch reveals in 14 colors. White windows paired with white metal panels will create vertical bands to reinforce the weave concept. Additional depth will be created by Juliette balconies.

Amenity spaces will face the park, and pedestrian entries will be aligned with the park entries.

Apartments will be smaller than typical to fill a demand for compact units, the documents say, but all units will have full bedrooms.

Holland will partner with Cornish College of the Arts to commission student artwork along Harrison and Pontius.

Tonight's design review meeting starts at 6:30 in Room 1 of Queen Anne Community Center, 1901 First Ave. W.