Seattle Architecture Firm’s 2019 Reflections and 2020 Vision

As we usher in a new year and a new decade, we want to take a moment to reflect on 2019 and express our gratitude. The past twelve months were an exciting period of growth for our team and we reached many project milestones. The BuildingWork team is so thankful to have you – our friends, colleagues, and collaborators – supporting and sharing our journey.

The BuildingWork office. Photo: Nate Watters.

Some of the highlights of 2019 include the expansion of our office space (we’re loving the larger space and the views of Puget Sound) and welcoming our new team members Lina Gustafsson Moberg and Jake LaBarre.

Boulevard Park Library. Photo: Lara Swimmer Photography.

We also have some project highlights as well. We’re so pleased to have completed our Boulevard Park Library project. Our strategic interventions provide this library with space to serve its neighborhood and the ability to adapt and change with the needs of its community.

Town Hall Seattle. Photo: Ben Benschneider.

The Town Hall Seattle opening was without a doubt a major 2019 highlight. The renovation of this historic church building allows Town Hall Seattle to reach greater audiences and expand its mission of inclusion, inspiration, and engagement, which is perhaps more relevant now than ever.

What are we looking forward to in 2020? 

La Conner Swinomish Library.

There are a number of projects that are in varying stages of the design process that we’re excited to share with you over the next twelve months. For one, our work on the La Conner Swinomish Library project is moving forward. We are designing a new, 5,500 sf library to serve the communities of La Conner and the Swinomish Tribe along the Swinomish Channel in Skagit county.

We’ll also have more to share about the renovation projects for the Washington State Capitol Campus in Olympia as well as updates on the renovation and adaptive reuse of the historic Mukai Fruit Barreling Plant building on Vashon Island and our renovation of the Seattle Center Armory.

A very exciting project we can’t wait to share more of is our design for the Metropole building! This is an innovative adaptive reuse of a historic building in Pioneer Square, with a mixed-use program of community spaces focused on social justice and equity, with goals to meet LEED Platinum and the Living Building Challenge. This project is in schematic design at the moment and we’ll reveal more about it over the coming months.

The 2019 BuildingWork Team. Photo: Nate Watters.

In addition to these exciting project milestones, we are preparing for more internal changes as well. We’re still growing our team!

We are looking for a Project Architect / Project Manager. If you have the relevant design experience and the capability to provide project leadership, or know someone that does, we’d love to hear from you!