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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExh.52_Urban_Design_ReportArchitecture & Planning Rutledge Maul Architects, P.S. Inc. • 19940 BALLINGER WAY NE • SUITE A-3 • SEATTLE, WA 98155 • (206) 440-0330 • rma CEDAR RIVER APARTMENTS Urban Design District C Compliance report 1. Site Design and Building Location The site is long in the east/west direction providing ample southern exposure and natural sun light. Areas of the building containing ground floor commercial/retail space have an 8’-12’ wide sidewalk providing pedestrian access. Portions of the project with ground floor residential units have a min of 10’ of landscaping or are elevated. Future office building at the Northwest corner of the site south façade will provide a 12’ sidewalk. North and west façades will be set back min of 15’ as required and heavily landscaped. Primary building entries will be articulated with canopies and vehicular circulation directs you toward the main entry and is emphasized with a roundabout. Parking is pushed to the side for good visibility of the entry. Garage entries are obvious but subdued. Service elements such as loading for move-ins and garbage collection is recessed into the building to reduce impacts to the pedestrian circulation and visual impacts. The office pad on the front northwest corner of the property is a future phase and should certainly be designed to take advantage of the context. 2. Parking and Vehicular access Primary Parking for the project is inside the building. Access to the interior parking garage is to the sides and off a private side street. Minimal surface parking is provided as parallel street parking in front of the commercial uses and one small area of double loaded parking is located to the side near the western interior property line and screened with landscaping. 3. Pedestrian Environment. An extensive pedestrian network has been developed and integrated into the project. A meandering walk has been designed into the river buffer on the south side of the project that connects with the existing pedestrian system of the park on our west boundary. This route connects to the sidewalks adjacent to the highway at our east boundary. There are several access points along this path to our project. North side of the project which is more commercial will have our access drive with parallel parking and 8’-12’ sidewalks either side with connections to the public way and the park to the west. 4. Recreation areas and common open space. There are three courtyards that open to the south overlooking the river totaling more than 36,000 SF. These courtyards contain gathering spaces and activities: pool, BBQ’s, covered seating areas, pathways, tables, benches and landscaping. There is additional open space west of the building and east end has a sport courts for another 15,000 SF. There will be 100’ vegetated river buffer with public access trail through it connected to the park providing 141,000 SF of open space. Inside the building 13,000 SF of amenity space including a large gym, work spaces, demonstration kitchen, multiple lounges and gathering spaces. There will be a roof deck above the central common space and leasing office. Approximately 20% of the units will have private decks. Architecture & Planning Rutledge Maul Architects, P.S. Inc. • 19940 BALLINGER WAY NE • SUITE A-3 • SEATTLE, WA 98155 • (206) 440-0330 • rma 5. Building Architectural Design The five story apartments are organized around the parking garage otherwise known as a “Wrap” concept. The garage wrapped with units and wings extending out from the Wrap which create courtyards on the south side facing the river. We’ve conceived two of these wraps separated by a two-story leasing office and amenity space creating another courtyard that much of the amenity spaces overlook. To modulate the long wings of this mixed-use building we have developed what we are calling “Cabins”. These cabins are five stories segments with the fifth floor stepped back 10’ to provide large covered decks detailed with post and beam structure roof typical of a pacific northwest cabin porch. These cabins are typically separated by four story sections of the building with different materials and color to emphasize the cabins. Street level portions of the project fronting our internal street contain commercial uses and provided with storefront glazing for visibility. Canopy’s will protect entry doors and the pedestrian sidewalk. Building mounted lighting will be used to illuminate the sidewalk and accent the façade. There are no blank walls. The roof line is varied by the cabin like covered porches at the top floor. Other portions of the fifth-floor step down one story or are stepped back. Materials will be highly varied and contrasting. Exposed concrete will be Board Formed, wood columns, painted cement panel siding, bronze anodized store front and glazing, vinyl windows in white and black, metal panel siding, metal standing seam roof, steel railings with metal or glazing panels. 6. Signage The project will comply with all requirements of RMC 4-4-100 7. Lighting Pedestrian pathways and vehicular movement will have appropriate lighting for safety. Landscape feature and building accent lighting will be affective and appropriate. Sincerely: Rutledge Maul Architects PS Inc. David Maul AIA President