Union Stables
Union Stables
Lot: 14,000 sf Project: 64,000 sf Seattle, Washington Historic Preservation: Commercial
Union Stables
Union Stables is a rare remaining example of a once common building type, the urban horse stable. Constructed in 1909, the four-story, unreinforced masonry and heavy timber building was designed to house up to 400 working horses who pulled wagons and delivered goods to and from nearby Pike Place Market. The building had internal ramps to allow horses to be led from floor to floor, and a mechanical lift to raise hay bales from the alley to a rooftop hay storage loft. The floors were built to slope toward central troughs so the horse stalls could be washed out. Oversized windows with operable hoppers provided light and air, and at the top of the façade a large terra cotta relief of an expressive horse head advertised the building’s function. By the 1920s cars and trucks had replaced horse-drawn transport, and the building was used as a parking garage, an auto body shop, and a furniture warehouse. Subsequently damaged by earthquakes, fire, and deferred maintenance, the building was vacant and in serious disrepair by the 1990s. Now the completed renovation has preserved the building and transformed it for contemporary office use with a seismic retrofit, a restored facade, new stairs and elevator, restrooms, new mechanical and electrical systems, and an added fifth floor with a roof terrace. Special care was taken to preserve as much of the original character of the building as possible. The interior brick walls and the heavy timber structure remain exposed inside the building, and the original carriage door entries at the center of the main façade have been retained. Replacement windows were designed to replicate the original windows, including proportion, divisions, mullion shape, and color. The new fifth floor was carefully designed to minimize its visibility from the street and to compliment the massing and the proportions of the historic building below it. The project is pending LEED Gold certification. Sustainability strategies include the salvage and re-use of 127,000 board feet of old-growth douglas fir, which was repurposed as benches, counter tops, furniture, and flooring within the building. The new construction fifth floor addition includes a deployable exterior sunshade system to control solar heat gain, and a vegetated roof. Union Stables is now a Seattle Landmark, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has met the stringent standards of the U.S. Government’s Certified Rehabilitation Program.
Union Stables, 1910
Union Stables, 2012 Prior to Renovation
Existing Building
Existing Structure
New Vertical Circulation & Mechanical System
New Architecture
Diagrams of Adaptive Re-Use
New Structure: Seismic Retrofit & New 5th Floor
Completed Renovation & Addition with New Windows & Facade Restoration
PAINTED STEEL FASCIA SWISS PEARL CLADDING ALUMINUM CURTAIN WALL WITH EXTERIOR LOUVERS (SHOWN IN RETRACTED POSITION) NEW ROOF TERRACE AND AREAS OF VEGETATED ROOF
NEW DIVIDED LIGHT ALUMINUM CLAD WOOD WINDOWS, TYPICAL
REPAIRED AND RESTORED BRICK AND TERRA COTTA FACADE NEW BRACED FRAMES FOR SEISMIC RETROFIT
BLANCHARD ST
Section Perspective Diagram
NEW FIFTH FLOOR PENTHOUSE NEW EXIT STAIRS AND ELEVATOR CORE
Timber Salvage
New Braced Frame
New Framing for Fifth Floor Addition
Masonry Restoration
Union Stables, 2015
Aerial View Corner of Blanchard and Western
Aerial View Blanchard Facade
Restoration of Terra Cotta Relief Sculpture
Retail Entry
New Fifth Floor Addition
Office Lobby Interior
Steel Support at Salvaged Timber Bench
Entrance to Office Lobby
Salvaged Timber Counter at Restrooms
Office Lobby with Salvaged Timber Benches and Suspended Hay Cart
Lot: 14,000 sf Project: 64,000 sf Seattle, Washington Historic Preservation: Commercial
Union Stables
Union Stables is a rare remaining example of a once common building type, the urban horse stable. Constructed in 1909, the four-story, unreinforced masonry and heavy timber building was designed to house up to 400 working horses who pulled wagons and delivered goods to and from nearby Pike Place Market. The building had internal ramps to allow horses to be led from floor to floor, and a mechanical lift to raise hay bales from the alley to a rooftop hay storage loft. The floors were built to slope toward central troughs so the horse stalls could be washed out. Oversized windows with operable hoppers provided light and air, and at the top of the façade a large terra cotta relief of an expressive horse head advertised the building’s function. By the 1920s cars and trucks had replaced horse-drawn transport, and the building was used as a parking garage, an auto body shop, and a furniture warehouse. Subsequently damaged by earthquakes, fire, and deferred maintenance, the building was vacant and in serious disrepair by the 1990s. Now the completed renovation has preserved the building and transformed it for contemporary office use with a seismic retrofit, a restored facade, new stairs and elevator, restrooms, new mechanical and electrical systems, and an added fifth floor with a roof terrace. Special care was taken to preserve as much of the original character of the building as possible. The interior brick walls and the heavy timber structure remain exposed inside the building, and the original carriage door entries at the center of the main façade have been retained. Replacement windows were designed to replicate the original windows, including proportion, divisions, mullion shape, and color. The new fifth floor was carefully designed to minimize its visibility from the street and to compliment the massing and the proportions of the historic building below it. The project is pending LEED Gold certification. Sustainability strategies include the salvage and re-use of 127,000 board feet of old-growth douglas fir, which was repurposed as benches, counter tops, furniture, and flooring within the building. The new construction fifth floor addition includes a deployable exterior sunshade system to control solar heat gain, and a vegetated roof. Union Stables is now a Seattle Landmark, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has met the stringent standards of the U.S. Government’s Certified Rehabilitation Program.
Union Stables, 1910
Union Stables, 2012 Prior to Renovation
Existing Building
Existing Structure
New Vertical Circulation & Mechanical System
New Architecture
Diagrams of Adaptive Re-Use
New Structure: Seismic Retrofit & New 5th Floor
Completed Renovation & Addition with New Windows & Facade Restoration
PAINTED STEEL FASCIA SWISS PEARL CLADDING ALUMINUM CURTAIN WALL WITH EXTERIOR LOUVERS (SHOWN IN RETRACTED POSITION) NEW ROOF TERRACE AND AREAS OF VEGETATED ROOF
NEW DIVIDED LIGHT ALUMINUM CLAD WOOD WINDOWS, TYPICAL
REPAIRED AND RESTORED BRICK AND TERRA COTTA FACADE NEW BRACED FRAMES FOR SEISMIC RETROFIT
BLANCHARD ST
Section Perspective Diagram
NEW FIFTH FLOOR PENTHOUSE NEW EXIT STAIRS AND ELEVATOR CORE
Timber Salvage
New Braced Frame
New Framing for Fifth Floor Addition
Masonry Restoration
Union Stables, 2015
Aerial View Corner of Blanchard and Western
Aerial View Blanchard Facade
Restoration of Terra Cotta Relief Sculpture
Retail Entry
New Fifth Floor Addition
Office Lobby Interior
Steel Support at Salvaged Timber Bench
Entrance to Office Lobby
Salvaged Timber Counter at Restrooms
Office Lobby with Salvaged Timber Benches and Suspended Hay Cart
