May 30, 2024

A landscape to embody the Storm’s identity and mission

Rose

McCann

In collaboration with ZGF, Walker Macy was engaged to develop a compelling landscape for the Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance. Principals Lara Rose and Chelsea McCann led the project. The landscape architecture team was challenged to create a place that would delicately balance both the public and private needs of the project, support the Storm’s identity, and serve as a landmark within the neighborhood.

The resulting landscape provides balance: it is compact, yet vibrant and sustainable; it welcomes the community, but also provides privacy and enclosure; and it is representative of the Storm’s brand and identity as a backdrop for public events and activities.

KNITTING THE CENTER INTO INTERBAY

Seattle Storm’s new home in Interbay led to a design approach that is context-sensitive and that contributes to the neighborhood’s livability. As a rapidly developing area, Interbay’s light industrial legacy is evident in its warren of low-key streets, and its assemblage of low to mid-rise buildings and parking lots. It is missing the verdant tree canopy that characterizes the nearby Magnolia and Queen Anne neighborhoods.

While there are other Seattle athletic facilities that attract visitors from around the community, this project had the opportunity to position the Center as a new anchor in the neighborhood, raising the bar for sustainable development that will meaningfully benefit the neighborhood’s quality and pedestrian experience. In response to the site’s tight footprint, the design team aimed to blur the lines between streetscape and site, creating an expanded landscape experience around the full block. Textured concrete and weathering steel walls ground the building in its industrial setting, while large areas of planting and new trees provide tangible neighborhood improvements.

CHOREOGRAPHING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AREAS

Renderings courtesy of ZGF Architects [enlarge]

The landscape was designed in concert with the building to provide interest and color throughout the year. Its flowing grass plantings, statuesque trees, and collection of new public art creates a sense of movement, and the Seattle Storm’s colors of yellows and green echo throughout the site.

The landscape - with its gracious entry plaza, flowing grass plantings, and new public art — provides a public face for the Center. The main entry sits at 16th Ave. W and Bertona Street, where a monumental stair wraps the corner, inviting visitors to the center and creating a dynamic and engaging point of arrival.

Since the building’s primary purpose serves the development of a professional team, privacy was a major driver for other portions of the site. The building and site were designed to contribute to the neighborhood while screening the activities within. Textured concrete and metal panels provide rhythm and interest on the building façade.

The landscape was designed in concert with the building to provide interest and color throughout the year. Its flowing grass plantings, statuesque trees, and collection of new public art creates a sense of movement, and the Storm’s colors of yellows and green echo throughout the site. A rooftop gathering area with a green roof provides a place for athletes and staff to find respite and privacy. The result is a rich enclosure that screens training activities from public view while projecting the positive energy of the Seattle Storm outwards.

INSPIRATION

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Climate adaptive and native plants were chosen for resilience to the site’s sun-drenched exposure, and multiple stormwater gardens treat roof runoff and are adapted to their specific locations on site – in sunny spots, these gardens are replete with rushes and iris, while ferns and other perennials hug the stormwater treatment area along the building’s shady northern edge.

The overarching themes for the landscape design drew inspiration from both the tidal flats that once filled Interbay area, as well as the dynamic energy and power of the Seattle Storm. The site harnesses elements of light, wind, and energy, and focuses them into a rhythmic design that showcases color and movement. Ornamental grasses, reminiscent of those which once populated the coastal landscape of the site’s pre-development origins, are animated by winds from nearby Puget Sound. Undulating topography ripples along the building’s southwest face, conveying a sense of dynamic motion and energy. Paving band patterns and embedded lighting lead visitors to the front door with a rhythm that pulls you into the building’s welcoming threshold.

HEALTH, WELLNESS AND SUSTAINABILITY

The sustainable design includes climate adaptive, native, and non-allergenic plants that improve the urban environment while supporting human health and wellness. Climate adaptive and native plants were chosen throughout for resilience to the site’s sun-drenched exposure. Multiple stormwater gardens treat roof runoff on site and are adapted to their specific locations on site — in sunny spots, these gardens are replete with rushes and iris, while ferns and other perennials hug the stormwater treatment area along the building’s shady northern edge.

The design team intentionally selected large street trees that will provide shade and reduce the urban heat island in this exposed neighborhood. The requirement for a sustainable and healthful environment was emphasized by the Storm’s leadership and reflects the team’s values and identity as a responsible part of the community.

Walker Macy’s contribution to the design of the Center for Basketball Performance demonstrates the power of the landscape as both a dynamic, evolving part of the building’s function, and as a memorable emblem of the Seattle Storm’s mission and presence for Seattle. The landscape will grow and evolve alongside the Storm as they inhabit the new Center and make it their own.

Lara Rose is a principal and landscape architect who leads Walker Macy’s Seattle office and the design of distinctive, public-facing projects. As a landscape architect and Walker Macy’s Managing Principal, Chelsea McCann brings strong leadership to complex projects integrating sustainable design and the arts.

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