May 3, 2010

East Peak Office Building

The East Peak Office Building on Harbor Avenue Southwest in West Seattle is five stories with 17,000 square feet of Class A office space.

The architect Shugart Bates drew from the maritime aesthetic of a large net shed to design the building.

The site on a steep hillside presented a challenge. Building into the hillside allowed for a larger footprint, while dealing with the potential problem of shifting soil and land movement.

A complex retaining system was built to keep the slope from moving. A shoring wall goes up as high as 32 feet, with soil nails pinning the wall into the hill at mid-point, and auger cast piles going down at least 40 feet.

Great efforts were taken to shore up the hillside, but the building was designed so that in the event of a slide, dirt would be diverted around the building and into the parking lot in front.

Large windows let in natural light. The building was oriented to take advantage of views looking north across Elliott Bay.

Owner: East Peak LLC, Seattle

Architect: Shugart Bates, Seattle

Civil engineering: NW Civil, Seattle

Structural engineer: URS/Tryck Nyman Hayes, Anchorage

Geotech consultants: Shannon and Wilson, Seattle

General contractor: MRJ Constructors, Seattle

Design build HVAC: United Systems Mechanical, Seattle

Design build electrical: Tri-Nar Inc., Redmond

Do you have photos of recent projects? Share them with DJC readers. Send high-resolution images and information to lisa.lannigan@djc.com.

Previous columns:

• Educare Early Learning Center, 04-26-2010
• The Bellevue Club, 04-19-2010
• Arrowhead Gardens, 04-12-2010
• Rosedale Elementary School, 04-05-2010
• Aspira apartments, 03-29-2010
• Saint Martin's University Student Recreation and Fitness Center, 03-22-2010
• Snoqualmie City Hall, 03-15-2010
• Boxwood, 03-08-2010