Harley and Lela Franco Maritime Center

Jewel of the Harbor

Harley and Lela Franco Maritime Center

Seattle, WA

Superfund Site to Sustainable Workplace

Harley and Lela Franco’s goal was to create one of the healthiest, sustainable workplaces in the country that encourages employee communication and helps people and planet thrive. The design transforms a contaminated site into a welcoming campus and exemplary model for 21st Century working waterfronts.

Open Communication

A light-filled atrium serves as the building’s heart – drawing daylight and natural ventilation through all levels, promoting community and communications across departments, and advancing health. Sweeping views of Seattle and the Puget Sound reinforce mission and a sense of place.

Working and Natural Waterfronts

The site’s three buildings are linked by diverse outdoor environments that support maintenance and operations of the company’s barges and tugs, graciously accommodate diverse events, and renew natural shoreline functionality at the water’s edge. All stormwater is detained on site and cleaned using bio- and mechanical filtration before being released into the Duwamish waterway.

Client

Duwamish Properties

Overview

Global headquarters balancing marine industrial function with operational efficiency on Seattle’s Harbor Island

Program

Four-story office building with workplaces, shared conference spaces, kitchens, training center, fitness center and live marine touch tank; marine services shop building; landscaped deck area; parking and marine vehicle maintenance apron; low-impact development site improvements

Size

56,961 sf; 3.2 acres

Sustainable Metrics

LEED Gold, Certified

Completion Date

2013

Services

Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

Awards

NAIOP Washington Chapter Night of the Stars Awards, Office Development of the Year, Corporate, 2013

This project celebrates Seattle’s thriving maritime businesses and creates a legacy project that fosters employee health, collaboration and deep-green sustainability both on land and on water.

A major migration corridor for Chinook salmon, the three-acre project site is located on the mouth of the Duwamish Waterway—an estuary that has been degraded by a century of heavy industrial use and runoff.

This project celebrates Seattle’s thriving maritime businesses and creates a legacy project that fosters employee health, collaboration and deep-green sustainability both on land and on water.

Topped by a large skylight, the atrium acts as the heart of the building—harvesting daylight, circulation, natural ventilation and promoting communication.

The atrium is an influential design element that supports community and is the centerpiece for peripheral gathering spaces.

Views of the working waterfront, Seattle, and beyond are maximized and celebrated as a truly unique biophilic quality to all who work in or visit the building.

The third floor communicating stair fosters employee interaction and connects all to the central gallery where the CEO often hosts monthly lunches for the entire staff.

A major migration corridor for Chinook salmon, the three-acre project site is located on the mouth of the Duwamish Waterway—an estuary that has been degraded by a century of heavy industrial use and runoff.

A major migration corridor for Chinook salmon, the three-acre project site is located on the mouth of the Duwamish Waterway—an estuary that has been degraded by a century of heavy industrial use and runoff.

Flexibility is an important component of the design—inside solutions adapt to future configurations, while outside zones for pedestrians and vehicles are delineated simply with color.

Jewel of the Harbor

Harley and Lela Franco Maritime Center