Student: Ebubechi Abonyi Studio: ARCH 400/ ARCH 506/ URBAN 508 — Rachel Berney, Donald King, Rico Quirindongo — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
This urban design project reimagines a shared block in Seattle’s Rainier Valley as a “beloved community” rooted in affordability, preservation, and collective belonging. Located in a historically Black, Indigenous, and people of color neighborhood facing rapid gentrification and displacement, the proposal focuses on creating long-term stability for congregations and residents through thoughtful infill development. Rather than replacing existing structures, the design preserves the four church buildings already embedded in the community, recognizing them as cultural anchors and places of trust.
VALLEY VIGNETTE
New affordable housing for congregants is woven into the block alongside shared community spaces that encourage gathering, support, and everyday interaction. The spatial organization draws inspiration from the surrounding valley landscape, guiding people inward through layered pedestrian pathways and landscaped circulation routes. These pathways gradually open toward a central communal space designed to foster connection and shared identity. By blending housing, worship, and public gathering into a cohesive environment, the project demonstrates how urban design can resist displacement while strengthening the social and cultural fabric of the neighborhood.
Student: Kyleigh Morrow Studio: ARCH 400 / URBAN 508 — Rachel Berney, Donald King, Rico Quirindongo — FALL 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Developed through the Nehemiah Interdisciplinary Studio, Raising Roofs explores how design can support the “Highest and Best Beloved Community” by addressing housing insecurity and displacement in Seattle’s Othello neighborhood. The project envisions church-owned property as an opportunity for affordable housing, sustainable income, and strengthened community ties. In response to rapid gentrification, the proposal creates a “neighborhood within a neighborhood,” where housing, gathering spaces, and local programming work together to reinforce stability and belonging.
EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE VIEW
The development scenario brings together Holly Park Community Church, Maranatha Adventist Church, Iglesia Ni Cristo Church, and First Samoan Congregational Christian Church in a shared vision for equitable growth. New worship and fellowship spaces are integrated with affordable housing and flexible areas for education, events, and community services. Courtyards, pedestrian connections, and shared outdoor spaces encourage interaction between residents, congregations, and neighbors, creating a layered environment rooted in care and collaboration. By centering existing communities and cultural networks, Raising Roofs demonstrates how faith-based institutions can play a powerful role in shaping inclusive and resilient urban futures.
Student: Andromeda Springsteen Studio: ARCH 500 — Elisa Renouard and Brian Havener — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Located in Seattle’s Chinatown–International District, this center for puppetry arts draws inspiration from the neighborhood’s rich cultural history and storytelling traditions. The design concept is rooted in stop-motion, where individual frames come together to create a larger narrative. In the same way, the building is composed as a sequence of moments—each space contributing to a layered and evolving experience that reflects both personal and collective stories.
Model Perspective View
Circulation spaces are treated as more than pathways; they become places of pause and reflection. Enclosed in glass and filled with natural elements, these areas invite visitors to slow down and notice the transitions between spaces, much like the frames of a film. Light, greenery, and transparency soften movement through the building, creating a calm and contemplative atmosphere. Program spaces for performance, making, and gathering are woven into this sequence, supporting both artistic expression and community engagement. By blending cultural reference, narrative structure, and sensory experience, the project offers a unique environment where visitors can reflect on their own stories while connecting to the broader history of the district.
Student: Marianna Morrone Studio: ARCH 302 — Vayle Khalaf — Spring 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
In Greenwood, a neighborhood rich in arts and grassroots programs, this project proposes a new community center designed to strengthen social connection and create a shared civic identity. Sited on a former homeless encampment, the building acknowledges its history while offering a hopeful vision forward—one that integrates social housing with inclusive public space. By combining these programs, the design positions the center as both a literal and symbolic heart of the neighborhood.
PULSE – Concept Diagram
The building includes two floors of social housing above active community spaces, supporting long-term stability for residents while inviting broader public use. A rain garden anchors the site, managing stormwater while doubling as a welcoming outdoor gathering space. Mobility hubs and new pedestrian trails extend the project beyond its footprint, linking it to surrounding streets and encouraging movement, interaction, and accessibility. Together, these elements create a layered environment where ecological function and social life intersect. The result is a community-driven design that transforms a once-marginalized site into a vibrant, connected, and resilient neighborhood hub.
Student: Aye T. Kyaw Studio: ARCH 500 — Elisa Renouard and Brian Havener — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
This project translates a deeply personal narrative of growth and resilience into an immersive architectural experience. Drawing inspiration from a handcrafted clay vessel, the design captures the tension between hardship and inner calm. The vessel’s spiked exterior represents moments of challenge and risk, while its softly rippled interior reflects emotional stability and reflection. This contrast becomes the foundation for a spatial sequence that invites visitors to feel, rather than simply observe, the journey.
Vessel Image
The resulting room guides visitors through a progression of compressed, angular spaces into areas of openness and light. At the entrance, jagged forms, narrow pathways, and limited illumination create a sense of unease and careful movement. As visitors move forward, the architecture gradually softens—light increases, surfaces smooth out, and the space expands. This transition mirrors the emotional shift from tension to tranquility, allowing the body to physically experience release and calm. Through material, light, and form, the project demonstrates how architecture can embody personal narrative, turning abstract emotions into a tangible and transformative spatial experience.
Workshop Table with in-Progress Model and Sketches
Students: Nalin Chahal & Noah Scanlan Studio: ARCH 506 — Rob Peña — Fall 2025 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Project Description
The Aarhus Food House reimagines food as a powerful tool for social connection, linking Denmark’s growing urban and immigrant populations with rural communities facing shrinking agricultural land. By centering food as both a necessity and a shared cultural experience, the project creates a welcoming space where diverse groups can gather, learn, and exchange knowledge. It addresses both social isolation and food system challenges, offering a model for inclusive, community-driven design.
Aarhus Food House – Diagram 1
The building brings together multiple programs under one roof to support this vision. A co-op market offers locally sourced produce, strengthening ties between rural farmers and city residents. An experimental kitchen invites people to cook, share meals, and learn from one another, fostering cultural exchange and collaboration. A restaurant provides a space for communal dining, while a rooftop greenhouse serves as a hands-on educational environment where visitors can grow and understand food production firsthand.
Aarhus Food House – Plan 2
Through these layered experiences, the Aarhus Food House transforms everyday acts of eating and growing into opportunities for belonging, reinforcing the idea that food can unite people across differences.
Student: Sam Hernandez Studio: ARCH 503 — Julia Nagele — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
9019 Rainier Apartments transforms a busy Rainier Beach corridor into a vibrant mixed-use destination that supports both living and local enterprise. The project combines multifamily housing with ground-floor commercial spaces designed for small businesses, artists, and makers, creating opportunities for entrepreneurship and neighborhood identity. An urban pocket park offers a moment of calm within the active streetscape, inviting both residents and visitors to gather, pause, and connect.
Courtyard Perspective – Sam Hernandez
At the heart of the design is a striking double-skin facade that allows each apartment to adapt to the needs and preferences of its occupants. This layered exterior gives residents the ability to shape their living spaces—adjusting light, privacy, and expression—while contributing to a dynamic and ever-changing building identity. As a result, the facade becomes a visible reflection of the diverse community within. By combining flexible housing, active commercial space, and accessible public areas, 9019 Rainier Apartments promotes a sense of ownership, creativity, and belonging, offering a new model for inclusive and personalized urban living.
Student: Annalise Voordeckers Studio: ARCH 503 — Rick Mohler — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
South Shore Crossing reimagines family housing in Seattle’s Rainier Beach by combining the best qualities of single-family homes with the efficiency of multifamily living. At a time when cities are growing denser, the project explores how housing can remain spacious, flexible, and deeply connected to community life. By introducing a mixed-use approach, it activates the site while supporting the everyday needs of residents and the surrounding neighborhood.
Streetscape Perspective View
The design prioritizes larger unit sizes and a range of housing options to accommodate diverse family structures. Shared spaces are carefully integrated throughout the building, offering places for gathering, play, and informal interaction. These communal areas encourage a sense of belonging while allowing residents to maintain privacy and individuality within their homes. The project balances density with livability, creating a layered environment where indoor and shared spaces work together seamlessly. South Shore Crossing presents a new model for family housing—one that embraces density without sacrificing comfort, identity, or community connection.
Student: Claudia Chan Studio: ARCH 503 — Rick Mohler — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Rainier Roots is a five-story, 144-unit permanent supportive housing project in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood, designed to provide a stable foundation for individuals transitioning out of temporary shelter. Located adjacent to the LIHI Tiny House Village, the project strengthens an existing support network while offering long-term housing rooted in dignity, care, and community connection. By combining housing with on-site services, it addresses both immediate needs and the broader challenges of stability and well-being.
AXO SITE PLAN DIAGRAM
The building uses prefabricated modular construction over a concrete podium to maximize efficiency and accelerate delivery without sacrificing quality. Its design follows trauma-informed and human-centered principles, shaping spaces that feel safe, welcoming, and restorative. A private courtyard introduces light, greenery, and moments of calm within the dense urban setting, while circulation and shared areas encourage interaction among residents. Ground-floor amenities include health services, therapy, and case management, alongside a public-facing food and deli space that connects the building to the surrounding neighborhood. Together, these elements create a supportive environment where housing, care, and community are fully integrated.
Cascade Community Nighttime Exterior Building Perspective
Cascade Community Living
Student: Gray Walters Studio: ARCH 503 — Melissa Mechsler — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Cascade Community reimagines a prominent corner in Rainier Beach as a vibrant neighborhood hub, blending family housing with ground-floor retail to encourage daily activity and connection. In an area shaped by low-density suburban patterns, the project introduces a more urban approach to infill—one that prioritizes walkability, visibility, and a strong relationship between buildings and the street. By activating the corner with shops and services, it supports a sense of place while meeting everyday needs within walking distance.
Cascade Community Presentation Exterior Circulation Perspective
The design weaves together circulation and community through a series of stacked exterior spaces that wind through the building. These open-air pathways, terraces, and shared zones create opportunities for neighbors to interact, offering moments of connection at multiple levels. At the same time, the building maintains a clear focus on the street, reinforcing its role in shaping a lively public realm. The result is a layered living environment where private homes, shared spaces, and public life intersect—demonstrating how thoughtful infill can transform underutilized sites into cohesive, community-centered places.
Cascade Community Presentation Section Through Main Entrance at Henderson Street
Student: Nathan Keldsen Studio: ARCH 503 — Rick Mohler — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
This project reimagines multifamily housing in Rainier Beach through the lens of mass timber construction and layered outdoor space. It responds to the need for housing that balances density with livability, offering residents access to nature while strengthening connections within the community. By organizing the building around a series of stepped terraces, the design creates a gradient between public and private life that reflects the rhythms of shared and individual experience.
Avenue South Apartments – Ground Floor Plan
The terraced green spaces serve as the heart of the project, beginning with open, communal areas at the ground level and gradually transitioning into more intimate, semi-private gardens for residents above. These spaces encourage interaction among neighbors while still allowing for moments of quiet retreat.
Avenue South Apartments – typical Floor Plan
The use of mass timber not only reduces the building’s environmental impact but also introduces warmth and texture to both interior and exterior environments. Large openings, natural materials, and integrated planting systems further blur the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living. Together, these strategies create a housing model that is both sustainable and socially responsive, rooted in the character and needs of Rainier Beach.
Student: Tessa White Studio: ARCH 503 — Rick Mohler — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
LINKS reimagines student housing in Rainier Beach as a place where living, learning, and community intersect. At its core is an interior courtyard that offers light, fresh air, and a quiet retreat from surrounding traffic. More than just an open space, the courtyard acts as the social heart of the project, encouraging daily interaction and creating a sense of belonging among residents.
LINKS – Concept Diagram
The building’s shared amenities are oriented inward, framing views of the courtyard and strengthening visual and social connections. This design fosters an environment where students naturally gather, study, and connect. Above, rooftop greenhouses and gardens expand the project’s impact by supporting urban agriculture initiatives tied to a nearby culinary school. These spaces provide opportunities for hands-on learning, food production, and community engagement. By linking housing with food-based programming, LINKS creates a living system where residents, students, and neighbors come together through shared experiences, reinforcing both sustainability and social cohesion.
Student: Jacqueline Lu Studio: ARCH 503 — Brad Khouri — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
The Groves Residences reimagines housing as a dynamic environment where movement and community intersect. At its core, the project uses an angled circulation path to guide public flow toward a central node, creating a shared space that encourages gathering and interaction. This strategy transforms the ground level into an active, exploratory landscape where shifting views and spatial transitions invite curiosity and engagement.
The Grove Residences – base floor
The building’s massing is carefully articulated through carving and strategic openings, allowing visual connections to emerge between interior and exterior spaces. These calibrated sightlines enhance a sense of openness while maintaining moments of privacy. Above, a diverse mix of residential units supports an inclusive community, accommodating a range of lifestyles and needs. Outdoor spaces on upper levels extend toward the adjacent soccer field, offering residents access to light, air, and views. These elevated terraces foster both quiet retreat and social connection, strengthening the relationship between the building and its surrounding landscape.
Student: Emily Ford Studio: ARCH 503 — Brad Khouri — Fall 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Rainier Village reimagines urban housing in Rainier Beach as a place where sustainability, equity, and community come together. This five-story mixed-use development offers 89 homes ranging from compact studios to spacious four-bedroom apartments and townhouses, ensuring a diversity of residents can find a place here. By integrating commercial spaces and community gathering areas, the project extends beyond housing to support neighborhood life and social connection.
Rainier Village Plans
The building is organized into three distinct volumes, breaking down its overall scale to better fit within the surrounding context. This approach improves access to natural light and enables passive solar strategies, reducing energy demands while enhancing interior comfort. At the heart of the project, a green courtyard manages stormwater while providing a shared outdoor space for residents to gather, relax, and connect with nature. These layered strategies, including environmental performance, social spaces, and varied housing options, work together to create a livable and resilient urban community.
Rainier Village Section Perspective Rainier Village Walkway Perspective
Students: UW Architecture x StructureCraft Studio: ARCH 505 — Tyler Sprague — Spring 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
The Timber Wave pavilion celebrates the union of architecture and structural engineering while highlighting the strength and versatility of Washington-grown timber. Designed by graduate architecture students in the Barry Onouye Endowed Studio, the project responds to questions of sustainability, reuse, and craftsmanship. Inspired by a Leonardo da Vinci sketch, the pavilion demonstrates how simple modules can achieve remarkable spans and forms—without the need for scaffolding or temporary supports.
Plan and section Drawing.
Constructed entirely from donated Douglas Fir and Hemlock lumber, the pavilion employs a modular reciprocal system where each “W” shaped unit both supports and is supported by its neighbors. This method makes use of the timber’s natural bending during construction, which then settles into a stable compressive vault. With minimal cutting and reversible screws, the design preserves the reusability of the material while creating an elegant structural rhythm.
Final W Module.
The result is a series of five interlaced arches, rising over nine feet and spanning more than twenty-eight feet, that merge into a continuous wooden wave. Visitors can sit along integrated bench seating, explore the central opening to the sky, and even assemble miniature modules themselves. The Timber Wave invites curiosity, tactile interaction, and a deeper appreciation for sustainable building practices rooted in local resources.
Students: Marianna Morrone Studio: ARCH 301 — Elisa Renouard And Stephen Triguero — Winter 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Columbia City adaptive reuse offers a powerful way to honor history while addressing today’s needs. Concealed Connections transforms the former Columbia City Substation—once an essential piece of infrastructure—into a hub that unites art, community, and neighborhood identity. By linking the historic landmark district with surrounding residential streets, the project strengthens the area’s cultural fabric while ensuring this building continues to serve as a threshold for generations to come.
Street Elevation
The design draws inspiration directly from the substation’s role in channeling and distributing energy. Just as electricity flows through circuits, the program elements power one another: a maker space provides resources for artists in residence, whose work animates the gallery. The wrapping screen that encloses the building becomes a switch, opening to invite movement through the site or closing to create moments of focus. This playful interplay of flow and containment creates a new kind of circuit—one that channels creativity, community, and connection.
Ground Level
By embracing adaptive reuse in Columbia City, this project demonstrates the power of reimagining historic infrastructure for contemporary needs. Similar transformations, like Seattle’s Georgetown Steam Plant
or Gas Works Park, show how industrial sites can be reborn as civic and cultural assets. Concealed Connections continues this tradition, proving that the past can fuel the future through innovative design and community engagement.
Students: Valentina Delgado Sabogal Studio: ARCH 301 — Elisa Renouard and Stephen Trigueiro — Winter 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Once a source of energy for Seattle, the Magnolia City Light Substation now stands abandoned—but this student proposal reimagines its future as a space that sparks creativity and connection. The project envisions the substation as a hub for artists and a gathering place for the Magnolia community, transforming an industrial relic into a vibrant neighborhood resource.
Exhibition Space Render.
The concept draws inspiration from the layered structure of the Earth, with design elements that reflect depth and growth. At the “core” of the building lie artist studios—spaces dedicated to creative work and experimentation. Rising above them are layers of living and community-oriented spaces, including areas for interaction, collaboration, and exchange. This vertical progression mirrors both geological formation and the way communities build upon shared foundations.
Concept Diagram.
By weaving together art, housing, and gathering spaces, the design not only revitalizes an abandoned site but also strengthens bonds within the surrounding neighborhood. It offers a vision for adaptive reuse that honors history while meeting contemporary needs for creativity, belonging, and resilience.
Students: Alexandra Gefflaut Studio: ARCH 402 — Max Clairo — Spring 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Dwelling & Dining explores new ways of living that center awareness, reflection, and connection to place. In this studio, the focus shifted from solving problems to asking deeper questions about how we inhabit the world and engage with our communities. The final projects were designed to be evocative—prompting thought and sparking dialogue rather than prescribing fixed outcomes.
Dreamtime Sketch 1.
This project, in particular, highlights how history and time shape our present lives. Too often, “time illiteracy” distances us from the cultural, ecological, and social layers embedded in our surroundings. Through evocative design strategies, the work encourages people to pause, notice, and reflect on what is often invisible in daily rhythms. By surfacing these histories and fostering a sense of continuity, Dwelling & Dining proposes that design can be as much about awareness and memory as it is about form and function. It asks us to dwell more consciously, eat more mindfully, and engage more deeply with the stories that shape our shared environment.
Students: Lia Poore Studio: ARCH 301 — Angela Yang and Claudia Rosa López — Winter 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
This project, Biotic Continuity, rethinks what power means in the heart of Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. Once a 1940s electrical substation, the site is transformed into a place where energy flows not through wires but through people, ideas, and collaboration. The design recognizes the layered history of the building while opening new possibilities for the community it serves.
First and Second Floor Plan.
At its core, the project imagines the substation as both “SUB” and “STATION”: a space adaptively reused to preserve its industrial heritage, and a stopping place where creativity and innovation take root. Artists and community stewards become the new hosts, activating the space with workshops, exhibitions, and gatherings. By shifting the narrative from utility to inspiration, the design breathes fresh life into a structure once defined by function alone. The result is a creative incubator that honors the past while generating new forms of connection and collective imagination.
Students: Olivia Ma Studio: ARCH 301 — Elisa Renouard and Stephen Trigueiro — Winter 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
The Columbia City Substation, once a site of industrial infrastructure, is reimagined as a community art center that sparks creativity and connection. This adaptive reuse project highlights the importance of preserving local landmarks while giving them fresh meaning for contemporary community life. By centering art and creativity, the design breathes new energy into a once-utilitarian space.
Walkway Render.
Drawing from the shared language of currents—both electrical and natural—the project explores how flow, rhythm, and movement inspire human imagination. The design integrates natural elements that invite reflection on the role of the environment in artistic expression. Light, water-inspired forms, and open gathering spaces create an atmosphere where creativity feels alive and accessible. More than just a renovation, the substation’s transformation into an art center offers Columbia City a place to gather, learn, and create together, ensuring the building remains a vital current in the neighborhood’s cultural landscape.
Students:Claudine Montakhab Studio: ARCH 402 — Kathryn Merlino — Spring 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
This project reimagines the former naval fire and gas stations at Magnuson Park, transforming them into vibrant community spaces that include a grocery store, welcome center, and business hub. At its core, the design seeks to connect visitors more deeply with both the site’s history and its evolving role as a civic landmark.
Plan Drawings.
Drawing inspiration from the existing porte cochere, the design introduces a series of arches and partitions, built from salvaged wood, that guide people along loose paths through the landscape and into the buildings. This new material palette contrasts with the existing brick, underscoring the dialogue between past and present. The surrounding grounds are re-envisioned as three distinct gardens, each reflecting a different chapter in the park’s history.
Site plan and Section.
As visitors move through the site, their experience of the tower shifts dramatically. From afar, the tower dominates the skyline; up close, the building mass obscures it; and inside, the atrium offers framed glimpses and shadows. Finally, at the viewing platform, the tower’s height is felt as a striking negative space, reframing the structure as part of the interior experience. This layered journey redefines how people see and inhabit Magnuson Park’s historic landmarks.
Students: Nina Brenan Studio: ARCH 301 — Elisa Renouard and Stephen Trigueiro — Winter 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
This project reimagines a disused Seattle City Light substation in Magnolia as a lively center for art, gathering, and community exchange. Instead of erasing the site’s history, the design adapts the existing structure to meet today’s needs while celebrating the character of the surrounding neighborhood. By transforming an industrial relic into a shared resource, the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse can strengthen local identity and create new opportunities for connection.
South Elevation.
Drawing inspiration from Magnolia’s sloping topography and patterns of movement, the design integrates pathways, courtyards, and layered spaces that guide visitors through the site. Key features include artist housing, flexible gallery spaces, a communal kitchen and event area, and a welcoming café that anchors the site as a public gathering place. Together, these elements foster collaboration among artists and residents while inviting neighbors to engage with creative work. The project highlights how thoughtful reuse of existing infrastructure can spark new cultural energy and deepen community ties.
Students: Mira Hawley, Alex Nguyen, Jordan Carmel, Nathan Christopher, and Kyle Lim Studio: ARCH 400 — Jim Nicholls — Autumn 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
The Community Design Building (CDB) serves as the home for the College of Built Environments’ spring Design Build Studio, but much of the building remained underused and lacking a clear spatial identity. Student design teams set out to change that, envisioning ways to transform the space into a more welcoming, functional environment.
Site Plan.
The Interior Landscape team focused on how furniture could serve as architecture, using dimensional lumber to craft a system that organizes and animates the building. Their design introduced pieces that double as seating and storage, while also carving out additional places to work and gather. These simple yet versatile constructions bring clarity to the building’s layout, turning previously undefined areas into purposeful zones for collaboration, rest, and productivity. By rethinking furniture as a tool for shaping space, the project demonstrates how thoughtful design can maximize potential in overlooked environments and create community within existing structures.
Students: Erik Rayas Studio: ARCH 301 — Angela Yang and Claudia Rosa-López — Winter 2025 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Community Spark reimagines the connection between Columbia City’s bustling historic district and its quieter, nature-filled residential streets. Located in a culturally diverse neighborhood where green spaces are limited in the historic core, the project addresses a vital need: creating an accessible, welcoming environment where nature and community life intersect.
Mapping Diagram.
The design emphasizes “Reuse and Reduce,” transforming underused urban space into a transition zone that softens the shift from dense, concrete commercial areas to leafy residential ones. Community amenities—including a shared garden and a plant nursery—invite residents to engage with nature, learn about sustainable growing practices, and enjoy the health and social benefits of green space. By weaving together education, ecology, and community gathering, the project sparks curiosity and belonging. More than a park, Community Spark acts as a catalyst, strengthening ties between neighbors while reconnecting Columbia City to the natural systems that sustain it.
Students: Cynthia Tan Studio: ARCH 504 — Myer Harrell — Winter 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
BLOCK105 is a student-designed project that aligns with the Rainier Beach Action Coalition’s mission to expand access to healthy, affordable food. At its core, the project demonstrates how architecture can support community-led food systems while remaining economically viable and replicable. By focusing on equity and accessibility, the design creates a hub where food-related services can thrive and where the surrounding community feels supported.
Interior Perspective Render.
The building is constructed with mass timber and organized around a grid-like structural system. This approach allows for prefabricated components, lowering construction costs and simplifying assembly. The system also makes the building highly adaptable: spaces can be efficiently compartmentalized to house multiple programs, and the structure can be disassembled or reconfigured in the future. Beyond technical innovation, the design is meant to be a model for other neighborhoods—a demonstration of how sustainable, affordable, and community-centered spaces can be achieved. BLOCK105 is more than a building; it’s a strategy for making food equity tangible and scalable.
The Rainier Beach Culinary Center is designed as a catalyst for community empowerment and economic opportunity in South Seattle. As part of the Rainier Beach Food Innovation District, it responds to the neighborhood’s rich cultural diversity by supporting local food entrepreneurs—particularly immigrants and low-income residents—who often lack access to affordable kitchen space and business resources.
Food Hall.
The Center provides shared kitchens, mentorship, and collaborative spaces where small businesses can thrive, while also serving as a hub for ethnic food innovation that reflects the community’s heritage. Four guiding sustainability strategies—Design for Water, Energy, Resources, and Equitable Communities—shape the project. These principles ensure the building conserves natural resources, reduces environmental impact, and supports equity at every level. By weaving together environmental responsibility, cultural vibrancy, and local entrepreneurship, the Rainier Beach Culinary Center demonstrates how place-based design can foster inclusive economic growth. More than just a building, it is a model for resilient community development that celebrates food as a driver of connection, culture, and opportunity.
Students: Navdeep Kaur Studio: ARCH 504 — Patreese Martin — Winter 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
In Rainier Beach, students envisioned a two-story community hub that celebrates food as a catalyst for connection and opportunity. Located on South Henderson Street, the building brings together a grand food hall with vendor stalls, a large commissary kitchen, and training spaces that empower local entrepreneurs. The design aims to strengthen community ties while creating pathways for education, workforce development, and small business growth.
Food Hall Render.
The program includes shared kitchen resources, flexible business classrooms, offices, a community room, and practical support spaces like loading and recycling facilities. At the heart of the design are the four AIA Framework Design Goals: Water, Resources, Energy, and Equitable Communities. Strategies such as efficient energy systems, thoughtful water use, and resource-conscious material choices are paired with a deep commitment to social equity. By weaving together environmental responsibility and economic opportunity, the project positions the Rainier Beach Food Hall as both a neighborhood anchor and a model for resilient, inclusive design.
Students: Gunes Erel Studio: ARCH 503 — Peter Cohan — Autumn 2023 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Bridges at Rainier reimagines a prominent corner with a mixed-use building that blends homes, shops, and live-work units. The design layers pathways and public spaces to encourage everyday encounters and active street life. Discover how architecture becomes a bridge to community connection. A key corner site into a vibrant mixed-use building where architecture itself becomes a bridge to community life. The project responds to the need for housing, neighborhood activation, and flexible space by weaving together residential, commercial, and live-work uses. Rather than treating the building as a boundary, the design opens it up as a place for interaction and connection.
North Elevation
Circulation paths are layered and interwoven, guiding residents and visitors through shared courtyards, walkways, and street-level activity zones. Retail and live-work spaces on the ground floor activate the sidewalk and invite neighbors inside, while upper levels provide a mix of housing options that contribute to density and affordability in the area. By combining private living with public engagement, the project turns a corner lot into a neighborhood hub.
Ground Level – Plan
The result is a design that supports both individual and collective needs—providing homes, workspaces, and gathering places in one. Bridges at Rainier shows how mixed-use architecture can foster connection, encourage economic vitality, and enrich everyday urban life.
Students: Stephanie Williams Studio: ARCH 504 — Myer Harrell — Winter 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Habitat Kitchen is a new food-centered community hub in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood. More than a building, it is a place where residents can eat culturally relevant meals, learn cooking skills, launch food businesses, and build connections that strengthen neighborhood well-being. The project responds to the idea that food is not only nourishment but also a catalyst for health, dignity, and social connection.
Commissary Kitchen Render.
The design combines a commissary kitchen, classrooms, and flexible gathering spaces to support multiple users. Diners can enjoy food created by and for their community. Cooks gain a humane and productive workplace, while food vendors receive the infrastructure needed to grow their businesses. Beyond food production, Habitat Kitchen is a social anchor, where casual encounters can spark lasting relationships. Every detail—light, space, materials, and flow—was designed to ensure people leave feeling better than when they arrived.
Section Perspective.
By centering community voices and everyday experiences, Habitat Kitchen demonstrates how thoughtful design can nurture health, creativity, and belonging in Rainier Beach.
Students: Valerie Lange Studio: ARCH 503 — Julia Nagele — Autumn 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Located in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood, 9019 Rainier brings together housing, youth programs, and public amenities under one roof. The project addresses both a shortage of affordable homes and the need for spaces where young people can gather, learn, and grow. By integrating housing with community services, it strengthens neighborhood ties and creates opportunities for residents to thrive.
9019 RAINIER Diagram and Vignette.
The design includes 121 housing units, ranging from family-sized apartments to housing for youth, ensuring a diverse mix of residents. A dedicated teen center offers recreation, mentorship, and education programs, while a training kitchen provides culinary skills and job training. Public spaces are woven throughout the building, encouraging interaction between neighbors and visitors. Thoughtful architectural choices reflect Rainier Beach’s cultural diversity, and sustainable materials support a healthier environment. With its emphasis on inclusivity, environmental responsibility, and local identity, 9019 Rainier is more than just a building — it’s a hub for community life.
Students: Daniela Casalino Studio: ARCH 504 — Rob Corser — Winter 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
The Hive reimagines food as a tool for empowerment and connection in Rainier Beach. At its core, the project creates opportunities for local food entrepreneurs to thrive by offering affordable access to facilities, mentorship, and a vibrant community hub. In a neighborhood rich with cultural diversity, the design celebrates food as both sustenance and a shared story.
THE HIVE Aerial Sketch.
The program includes a commissary kitchen where small businesses can prepare meals without the high costs of private facilities, a food hall that brings neighbors together to share flavors, and teaching spaces where skills can be passed down to future generations. Flexible outdoor areas host markets, gatherings, and seasonal events, while a rooftop beekeeping program offers both ecological benefits and a symbolic link to community interdependence. Every design decision supports resilience—whether by lowering barriers for entrepreneurs, strengthening cultural exchange, or weaving food systems into the urban fabric. The Hive is more than a building; it is an ecosystem where creativity, culture, and community flourish.
Students: Joy Muñoz Studio: ARCH 504 — Myer Harrell — Winter 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Terrace Kitchen reimagines the role of a community center by directly addressing food insecurity in Rainier Beach, a neighborhood historically underserved and facing limited access to fresh produce. More than just a building, it is a space that connects people through the act of growing, preparing, and sharing food. Its mission is to improve access to healthy nutrition while strengthening community resilience.
Terrace Render.
The design centers around three key programs: terraced gardens that invite hands-on learning in cultivating food, a commissary kitchen that supports local entrepreneurs and shared cooking, and classrooms paired with teaching kitchens where residents can learn about nutrition, culinary skills, and sustainable food systems. Together, these spaces form a cycle of growth, education, and community empowerment.
TERRACE KITCHEN Sketches.
Materiality also plays a role in telling the story. The structure blends mass timber with rammed earth, celebrating natural textures and grounding the building in its environment. Subtle details—like the warmth of wood meeting the tactile quality of earth—create a welcoming atmosphere that reflects the values of nourishment and connection. Terrace Kitchen demonstrates how thoughtful design can address pressing social needs while fostering pride and sustainability in a community.
The Rainier Beach Food Hall is imagined as both a welcoming gateway and a dynamic community hub for the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Located next to the Light Rail Station and Chief Sealth Trail, it offers residents and visitors a striking first impression while fostering economic opportunity, cultural expression, and everyday gathering. The project draws from the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence, centering sustainability and urban livability as guiding principles.
Massing Diagram.
Built with cross laminated timber (CLT), the structure combines environmental responsibility with warmth and durability. Its double-height food court supports local vendors, providing an inviting place for neighbors and visitors to share a meal. A rooftop community garden and spaces for murals allow the community to contribute directly to the design, reinforcing a sense of ownership and pride. Beyond food, the project includes a professional commissary kitchen for food trucks and caterers, along with a teaching kitchen, classrooms, and meeting spaces that expand educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. Together, these elements create a vibrant, multi-use destination that strengthens connections across Rainier Beach while showcasing the power of design to serve both people and place.
Rainier Landing reimagines how housing and food systems can work together to support a thriving community. Located in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood, the project responds to urgent needs for affordable housing while tackling food insecurity head-on. Its guiding vision, Urban Farmhouse, merges the comfort of home with the productivity of urban agriculture, fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
Rainier Landing Form Diagram and axonometric.
The mixed-use development provides well-designed, affordable apartments above active ground-floor spaces dedicated to community activities and local food production. Residents have access to shared gardens, rooftop greenhouses, and spaces for food preparation and education. Materials are chosen for durability and warmth, creating an inviting environment while reducing environmental impact. The design encourages daily interaction between neighbors, whether through tending vegetables together or hosting meals in shared kitchens.
Rainier Landing Courtyard.
By combining housing with hands-on food access, Rainier Landing offers a replicable model for addressing both shelter and nourishment in urban settings. It’s a place where community grows—literally and figuratively—rooted in the values of connection, sustainability, and resilience.
Students: Cameron Reese Studio: ARCH 504 — Patreese Martin — Winter 2024 Location: Seattle, Washington
Project Description
Rendezvous reimagines how food, community, and sustainability intersect in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood. Designed as a vibrant food hub, the project brings people together through shared meals, learning, and cultural exchange while addressing urgent environmental challenges. At its core, the design seeks to strengthen community resilience, promote equitable access to resources, and celebrate the neighborhood’s diverse identity.
RENDEZVOUS Sketches.
The project’s architecture is inspired by the flow of water, symbolizing both life and movement through the community. A food hall, commissary kitchen, and learning center anchor the space, serving as platforms for local entrepreneurs, chefs, and educators. Beyond its program, Rendezvous emphasizes system integration—designing every element of the building to work in harmony. Energy conservation strategies reduce reliance on nonrenewable sources, while rainwater harvesting and reuse showcase a sustainable approach to resource management. The project follows the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence, merging technical innovation with social impact. By prioritizing both environmental stewardship and equitable engagement, Rendezvous demonstrates how design can create a shared space where food, culture, and sustainability converge.
Students: Justin Sze Studio: ARCH 505 — Elizabeth Golden — Spring 2024 Location: Berlin, Germany
Project Description
Light-haus is envisioned as more than just a building—it is a symbol of hope and resilience for Berlin’s refugee community. Like a lighthouse guiding ships safely to shore, the project provides refuge, orientation, and the promise of belonging in an unfamiliar city. At its heart, the design reflects the belief that architecture can foster connection, stability, and possibility for those navigating displacement.
LIGHTHAUS Concept map and Upper plan.
The building serves as a vibrant hub, offering spaces for gathering, learning, and support, while its luminous presence becomes a visual marker of welcome. Its form and function emphasize openness and community, creating a place where new beginnings can take root. As time progresses, Light-haus shines outward—its impact extending beyond its walls to inspire the broader Berlin region. By embodying unity and resilience, the project transforms into a guiding light, one that symbolizes hope not just for refugees but for the entire city.
