Yesler Community Center

The entry is oriented to a key neighborhood intersection–engaging the street with a large welcoming roof and highly transparent corner that opens views to the building’s internal street and activities within.
The Center's gymnasium was the first in Seattle to provide high daytime lighting levels without artificial lights.
Views are open from the gymnasium, to the Commons, to the street beyond, creating dynamic connections within the building that also beckon the larger community.
Yesler Community Center replaces a much smaller facility built in the 1950s with a fresh venue reflecting new opportunities for redevelopment in the next decade.

A Center of Community

Yesler Community Center

Seattle, WA

Legacy of Firsts

As the first public housing development in Washington, and the first racially integrated housing development in the country, Yesler Terrace has a rich history. As a pioneer project ahead of the larger neighborhood redevelopment, Yesler Community Center celebrates this history and provides a welcoming environment for gathering and enrichment.

Foundation for the Future

The center offers local residents a renewed sense of community, strengthened by shared ties to the city and the environment. The building is an important resource center and anchor through a period of change as redevelopment occurs throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

Supporting Community

Yesler Community Center provides a safe haven of activities and educational programs – from athletics to arts, daycare and computers – for a vibrant and diverse population. It was the first LEED® Gold certified community center in Seattle, and features innovative daylight harvesting and energy performance strategies.

Client

Seattle Parks and Recreation Department

Overview

Full-service community center within an inner-city neighborhood near downtown Seattle

Program

Gymnasium, kitchen, computer room, teen room, fitness center, arts and crafts space, multipurpose room, daycare and public art

Size

22,000 sf; 1.5 acres

Sustainable Metrics

LEED Gold, Certified

Completion Date

2005

Services

Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

Awards

AIA Washington Civic Design Awards, Citation, 2006

AIA Committee on the Environment, What Makes it Green, Sustainability: A Collaborative Process, 2005

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The entry is oriented to a key neighborhood intersection–engaging the street with a large welcoming roof and highly transparent corner that opens views to the building’s internal street and activities within.

The Center's gymnasium was the first in Seattle to provide high daytime lighting levels without artificial lights.

Views are open from the gymnasium, to the Commons, to the street beyond, creating dynamic connections within the building that also beckon the larger community.

Yesler Community Center replaces a much smaller facility built in the 1950s with a fresh venue reflecting new opportunities for redevelopment in the next decade.

A Center of Community

Yesler Community Center