ENR Northwest 2024 Best Projects
Best Interior/Tenant Improvement: Washington Village
Photo by Garrett Rowland
WASHINGTON VILLAGE
Redmond, Wash.
BEST PROJECT
Submitted by: Sellen Construction Co.
OWNER: Not Disclosed
LEAD DESIGN FIRM: ZGF Architects
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Sellen Construction Co.
CIVIL ENGINEER: Coughlin Porter Lundeen
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: KPFF
MEP ENGINEER: Stantec
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Stantec
OWNER'S REPRESENTATIVE: Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)
SUBCONTRACTORS: Hermanson Co.; Prime Electrical Services LLC; COSCO Fire Protection; A & B Fabricators Inc.; Acoustical Design Inc.; Air Placed Concrete Specialists
As part of an extensive campus modernization project for a confidential high-tech client, this five-building, 782,000-sq-ft hub is designed to draw employees back to the office with dynamic workspaces and retail and culinary areas. The all-electric campus is also powered by a closed-loop thermal energy center that runs on renewable energy.
The nearly three-year project was delivered below budget and ahead of schedule in December 2023. A mix of food halls, retail and workspaces on the ground floor promotes a welcoming experience for employees and guests, while the upper floors feature workplaces organized into small, team-based neighborhoods. Support spaces include immersive wellness rooms that encourage interaction. There are also relaxation rooms and libraries. Kitchen hubs and meeting rooms are centrally located on each floor connected by a communicating stair to promote transparency and spontaneous collaboration.
Photo by Garrett Rowland
Preserving and reusing onsite trees in the new buildings was made a priority early in the design process. The wood went through a one-mill process and is featured in various design elements such as wood-paneled entrance vestibules, exterior door pulls, interior wood cladding in atriums and reception desks.
Three other contractors were simultaneously constructing villages comparable in size and scope to Washington Village, but each had its own separate project team. Having four large-scale active construction efforts in close proximity required extensive and consistent coordination with the other three contractors.
Photo by Garrett Rowland
Sustainability was another priority. The new campus is Salmon Safe certified, ILFI Zero Carbon pending and LEED Platinum pending. Indoor environments feature a 30% increase in ventilation and optimized daylighting. The project targeted more than 50% reduction in embodied carbon from low-carbon concrete mixes and nearly 25% reduction in the overall project embodied carbon.
Floor assemblies in Washington Village required a one-hour fire resistance rating. The atrium design incorporated interconnected two-story openings for movement and transparency. However, during a fire event, vertical and horizontal one-hour fire curtains deploy, separating the atrium into two-story sections.
Photo by Fadi Asmar
During the final stages of work, the client added two data collection tools to the scope—an environmental sensor and a people count sensor. The environmental sensor monitors air quality to ensure LEED compliance, while people count sensors in high-traffic areas provide occupancy data and space usage insights.
Washington Village also provided an opportunity to nurture the next generation of skilled tradespeople. ANEW is a local pre-apprenticeship nonprofit dedicated to training people from all backgrounds for successful trade careers. Several cohorts of ANEW students toured the jobsite during their 12-week program, and Sellen brought 25 ANEW graduates to work on site, accounting for more than 20% of all apprentices on the project.
