Commissioned by the Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), this dynamic new space for arts and culture responds directly to feedback from community focus groups with an emphasis on people of color. Located on the third floor of King Street Station, this adaptive space centers on dynamic areas to serve community needs, creating a welcoming and vibrant community arts and cultural hub in the heart of Seattle.
Photo: Benjamin Benschneider
Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Seattle, Washington
Designed by Schacht Aslani Architects (now Mithun), ARTS contains a large multi‑disciplinary arts presentation gallery; a public “living room” lobby; a multi‑use conference room for large meetings and public presentations; an artist‑in‑residence space; as well as offices and meeting rooms.
In the presentation space, kinetic gallery walls designed by Olson Kundig enable the community and artists to reconfigure the displays as needed for changing exhibitions and events. Suspended from a custom‑designed elevated track inspired by the railroad tracks that serve the station below, a set of eight movable walls with integrated lighting support a wide range of displays and spatial configurations. The result is a flexible space that can easily transform to meet the evolving needs of ARTS and the community.
Throughout, new architectural interventions emphasize transparency, highlighting and revealing historic elements of the original building such as the historic masonry and steel structural system, ornamental stairway, and original terrazzo floor. In addition, the construction of the third floor met rigorous sustainability requirements—it is the first City of Seattle funded project to be designed to LEED® v4 Gold certification.
This project continues the long legacy of creative ‘found’ arts spaces in Pioneer Square, which is otherwise rapidly transforming. The introduction of a long‑term public and cultural hub in the beautifully restored King Street Station is a real benefit to the city.Kirsten Ring Murray, FAIA
Design Principal
Copine
Seattle, Washington
ICE CUBE
Seattle, Washington
Team
-
Jerry Garcia
Awards
2020
AIA Washington Council Civic Design Awards, Citation Award
2019
AIA Seattle Design Awards, Honorable Mention
AIA Seattle Design Awards, Young Voices Selection
Publications
2022
Lowenthal, Heather. “Showcasing Artists of Color.” Seattle Magazine, Oct. 2022, 14. Print.
2020
“13 winners in AIA civic design awards.” Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, 7 Oct. 2020, 2. Print.
“13 winners in AIA civic design awards.” Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, 7 Oct. 2020. Web.
2019
Kiley, Brendan. “ARTS at King Street Station brings democracy to arts space.” The Seattle Times, 20 Mar. 2019, B1, B8. Print.
“Open Season.” Seattle Magazine, March 2019, 56. Print.
Pintos, Paula. “Seattle Office of Arts and Culture / Olson Kundig.” ArchDaily, 17 Jul. 2019. Web.