The Orion Building

Located in the Admiral District of West Seattle, the Orion Building brings 14,000 square feet of quality, sustainable dental/office space to the California Avenue business core. In the building’s design, the design team has emphasized streetscape compatibility to enhance the pedestrian environment. The project fills in a “missing tooth” and continues the cadence along of the sidewalk with street trees, overhead canopies, and pedestrian scaled signage. A prominent weathering steel feature, designed to patina with age, provides visual interest and building identity while serving as a contemporary interpretation of historic architectural cornices. To the west, the facade defers to its residential neighbors, with smaller scaled windows featuring architectural sun¬shade elements and a vibrant terra¬cotta accent color to brighten the base.

The building utilizes several unique product technologies. Long spanning “smart beams” eliminate the need for columns in the tenant spaces. A variable refrigerant flow mechanical system heats and cools the building simultaneously according to needs of individual zones. An innovative CFMU system provides an insulated and watertight partywall by virtue of a built in layer of foam to insulate the wall and create an exterior airspace that sheds water. The CFMU partywall system increases usable building area by 400 square feet.

In keeping with a team commitment to sustainability, the construction team was able to divert more than 80% of the construction waste to a recycling and reuse yard. Over 20% of the building is constructed of recycled or regionally produced materials. The building operates with 35% of the energy provided from sustainable sources. The project was registered with the US Green Building Council in anticipation of receiving a LEED Gold certification for a Core and Shell building.

In the end, a combination of all of these features generated value for the project. Each square foot of space is considered and carefully crafted. The individual innovations and features contribute to the efficiency and distinctiveness of the building. This project is unique in its vision of how a building can contribute and join a neighborhood's character, be a sustainable solution and create a desirable workplace for it users.

The Orion Building Project Team

• P.E. Investments
• Stuart Silk Architects
• Constantine Builders Inc.
• KPFF
• PRS Consulting Engineers
• MacDonald –Miller Facility Solutions
• Merit Mechanical
• BEE Consulting
• Wakerobin LLC