On the Boards: Maritime Innovation Center, poised to become the hub for the region’s growing Blue Tech economy.
- GRAY AWARDS
- 10 minutes ago
- 5 min read
The Miller Hull Partnership’s design for Maritime Innovation Center is a finalist in the 8th annual GRAY Awards.
FINALIST
Breakout category: On the Boards
Designer: The Miller Hull Partnership
Images: The Miller Hull Partnership
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SUBMISSION
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A beloved living and working community landmark, Fishermen’s Terminal serves as the home port for Seattle’s commercial fishing fleet and is poised to become the hub for the region’s growing “Blue Tech” economy. The Port of Seattle has committed to growing Seattle’s maritime industrial and technology sectors by introducing a Maritime Innovation District at the historic Fishermen’s Terminal, comprised of the Maritime Innovation Center in the historic 1918 former Seattle Ship Supply Building for seeding small startups, and the Gateway Maritime Technology Incubator, an interconnected complex of flexible energy-efficient and well-daylit industrial workspaces for more established maritime enterprises. In alignment with the Port’s mission to become “The Greenest Port in North America”, the Maritime Center is seeking full ILFI Living Building Challenge (LBC) Certification, with innovative and sustainable strategies that will become a model for other ports to follow.
An adaptive reuse of the Terminal’s oldest remaining structure, the Maritime Center acts as an incubator organization to support and driv innovation in the maritime sector through collaborative research and development facilities. The design team applied previous experience with the LBC to carefully guide the Port through the challenges and opportunities of the program to meet the ambitious sustainability goals set by the Port Commission.
Meanwhile, the Gateway Maritime Technology Incubator has been planned to co-locate innovative maritime startups within an interconnected complex where chance encounters are maximized to spur further innovation. Located at the primary entrance gateway to the Terminal, daily activity within the complex will be on display to visitors, increasing awareness of Seattle’s maritime history and innovative future. Linking the two buildings, comprehensive landscape and wayfinding improvements are planned across the Terminal in an effort to enhance the visitor experience while accounting for both pedestrian and worker safety on this active industrial site.
The Maritime Center will honor the cultural and economic significance of Seattle’s maritime history and celebrate its vibrant fishing industry. Critically, it will also bridge the region’s time-honored maritime traditions with its modern role as a mecca for technological innovations. The building’s anchor tenant will be Washington Maritime Blue, an organization committed to the development of maritime business, technology, and practices that promote a sustainable future.
The building program includes research & development space, conferencing, and office space for the Blue Tech economy. The building will become a hub for maritime innovation and host events to promote Blue Tech start-ups that will benefit the local maritime industry in the region and state economy. As start-ups become more established, they will expand out to the nearby sites in the maritime cluster along Salmon Bay.
The rehabilitation of the Maritime Center exemplifies what is possible to support equitable sustainable development to address the climate crisis, as well as the revitalization of blue-collar working communities. The design maintains the form and mass of the more than 100-year building along the working waterfront and enhances the iconic pitched roof building by using locally sourced and industrially appropriate materials. Most of the building and its century-old heavy timber structure will be salvaged and reused. Sustainability will be on display with the addition of rainwater cisterns and an on-site photovoltaic array. The Port has also enlisted site-specific public art including works by Tulalip native artist Ty Juvinel and muralist Shogo Ota.
More than an adaptive reuse project, the building goes beyond these benefits to promote regeneration and net positive operations as a Living Building. The project is all-electric and powered by a PV system. Energy reduction through efficiency is nearly 80% for this project and it will produce 105% of its energy demand from photovoltaics. Water use has been reduced by 50% while 100% of gray and black water will be treated or reused onsite. This rehabilitated building’s entire embodied carbon footprint of 832 tons will be offset. Embodied emissions are addressed through reuse, material optimization, and a full carbon offset. Rainwater is collected, treated, and provided for non-potable uses. All gray and black water is treated onsite, keeping the very waters that the fishers rely on clean. Indoor environmental quality is supported through daylighting, natural ventilation, and eliminating chemicals of concern. A battery backup system provides resilience and can help the building serve as a resource for the community.
DESIGN TEAM:
Mike Jobes, AIA - Design Lead
Margaret Sprug, AIA - Principal-in-Charge
Andrew Simes, AIA - Project Manager
Chris Hellstern, AIA, LFA - Living Building Challenge Lead
Catharine Killien, AIA - Project Architect
COLLABORATORS:
Architect: The Miller Hull Partnership
Client: Port of Seattle
General Contractor: Forma Construction
Structural and Civil Engineer: PND Engineers, Inc
Mechanical/Plumbing/ Fire Sprinkler: The Greenbusch Group
Electrical Engineer: Elcon Associates, Inc
Landscape: Hough Beck & Baird, Inc
Traffic Engineer: Heffron Transportation, Inc
Environmental: Herrera Environmental Consultants
Signage: Mayer Reed
Biophilic Design: LENS Strategy | Shepley Bulfinch
Cost: Jon Bayles
LIDAR Scan: University Mechanical
Fire Alarm: Jensen Hughes, Inc.
Indigenous Interpretive Program: Headwater People
Public Historian: Sharon Boswell
Artists: Ty Juvinel l Shogo Ota
DESIGNER PROFILE:
The Miller Hull Partnership is an internationally recognized architecture, planning, urban, and interior design firm that works to create a regenerative and inclusive future through the built environment. Since its founding in 1977, Miller Hull has been designing dynamic and environmentally responsible buildings that provide enduring value for their communities. The firm has a studio in Seattle and San Diego with work extending across multiple typologies for a range of public and private clients where people Live, Work, Learn, Gather, and Serve. Widely recognized for innovative, timeless designs and a partnership-driven practice, Miller Hull has received over 350 local, regional, national, and international awards for design excellence, including the American Institute of Architects Firm Award and Architect 50’s Top Firm for Sustainability.
Sustainability is a foundational value of Miller Hull. The firm has considered natural systems and climatic conditions since its very first project and continues to evolve by broadening sustainability concepts and technology and increasing scientific knowledge. In addition to designing ecologically, Miller Hull’s own operations reflect those principles as well. Both Seattle and San Diego studios are Living Building Petal Certified providing comfortable, daylit, and Red List-free environments for the firm’s staff.
Miller Hull’s passion for sustainability has led to successful projects for its clients and has been recognized by the industry with eight AIA Committee on the Environment Awards and six certified Living Buildings: Loom House, BLOCK Project 009, The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, the award-winning Bullitt Center, and the Miller Hull Seattle and San Diego studios. In 2021, Miller Hull launched EMission Zero — an initiative targeting the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions in the buildings they design.
The 8th Annual GRAY Awards is sponsored by:
