Pioneer Park Condominiums

New Condominiums with Activity Center & Retail Space

Puyallup, Washington

Background

As part of its downtown revitalization program, Puyallup is building a civic center around Pioneer Park. This project is the third built project (preceded by a new library & farmer's market) and will be followed by a new city hall along with retail and housing to the east of the park.

Located at the park's Northwest corner along Pioneer Avenue, the project is a public/private partnership between Puyallup and a Seattle developer. It consists of 37 condominiums over a community activity center and retail space. The facility is about 55,000 square feet.

Solution

The building is a simple, rectangular slab animated by a variety of colorful bays and anchored at key corners by brick clad entry towers.

Surrounded by city streets on 3 sides, the building comes out to the sidewalks creating much needed fabric and pedestrian activity, especially along Pioneer Avenue. Parking is subordinated to the rear in an enclosed yard with continuous canopy structures. The southeast corner which connects diagonally to Pioneer Park is a tower rotated in plan and capped with a sloped roof (housing a special penthouse unit) which gestures to the park. The tower serves as a primary entry point for both the Activity Center and the housing component.

Internally the facility consists of three floors of housing over the activity center. Housing units to the North are flats that look out over Pioneer Avenue. Units to the South are topped with a continuous shed roof that creates 2-level loft units on the top floor. Many of the southern units enjoy views of the park and Mt. Rainier beyond. The building also features a number of corner units with views in two directions.

The project qualifies for a LEED silver rating and includes a number of sustainable design strategies. The building is oriented along an East-West axis to control daylight and to aid natural ventilation from summer cross winds. Site development includes the remediation of contaminated soil and mitigation of storm water through the use of permeable paving and planter bed irrigation. The entire project uses natural ventilation for cooling. The second floor is a 12 inch concrete slab which serves as a thermal mass. During summer months, the ground floor is flushed with cool air overnight to help keep the activity center cool during the day. Two light wells provide daylight to the housing corridors. A glass floor system allows the daylight to penetrate to the lower floor. Parking structures are designed to accommodate a green roof to the North and a photo-voltaic array to the South.