As the 21 Boston project reaches its full height, it joins the tower crane in announcing its presence in upper Queen Anne, seen here from 2nd Avenue West.
In the block of Queen Anne Avenue just north of the Towne Apartments and Trader Joe’s, the 21 Boston project continues the growth of Queen Anne’s Urban Village, a planning concept introduced in the 1990’s by the Norm Rice administration.
At the moment, it appears even larger than it eventually will be, as the building is wrapped with scaffolding and screening mesh to enable completion of the exterior materials.
Though it’s hard to visualize at the moment, the corner of the project has been cut back at the corner of QA Avenue and Crockett streets to provide for an outdoor plaza and Delicatessen access in a sun-lit corner sure to be a popular gathering space.
The Queen Anne Avenue facade, viewed here from the north, also appears bulkier than the finished building due to the scaffolding, especially at street level where the new Safeway frontage is being constructed. At completion, this facade will include many of the characteristics, such as storefront detailing and use of brick, that are found on the retail businesses across the street from the project.
Stepping back from the intersection of Boston and Queen Anne streets does give a sense of the scale shift between the corner coffee shop, Cafe Hagen, and the new project.
Though it’s an illusion, the tower crane does appear to be caught up in the spider’s web of electric bus overhead wires – not the most charming part of the streetscape. Around the corner, on Boston street, this somewhat earlier view shows the visual opening through the site, that will be part of the final project.
Building A, on the left will include more housing, but in this case it’s above the Leasing and Management Offices for all of the housing. Since this photo, Building A has grown.
It now anchors the corner of Boston and First North streets. There’s a lot going on along First Avenue North, including at this gap between buildings A and B.
At this point in the project the two buildings are not connected; but eventually they will be joined by upper level walkways. This next photo shows the initial support structure.
At the corner of First North and Crockett Streets the townhouse apartments are reaching their final form. These will be apartments but will have exterior entrances from the street just as typical townhouse units would.
The townhouse forms stand out from the apartments above to a smaller scale better suited to the residential scale of First Avenue North. The exterior is not the only place in the project where things are “scaling up”. This project includes a large, open central courtyard that is wrapped by the three housing wings. The view below is of Building A, looking to the northeast.
Between Buildings B and C the inner courtyard is now fully visible.
Its large size will be scaled down by planters (note the formwork for the u-shaped one) that will provide trees and shrubs around the circulation and gathering spaces.
And now that some parts of the project have reached their full height, there are some interesting views of the construction elements there.
Here, the workmen are setting the initial prefabricated wall panels for the top level of housing – which is continuously set back (on the right) by a balcony, seen more clearly in the view below. At this level roofing membrane is being installed, along with wall flashing around windows and doors.
Down a level or so, the facade work takes place from the scaffolding that surrounds the building.
The brackets for attaching railings clearly stand out. There are a variety of finishes used to articulate the various elements of the facade. To test out the applications and have them approved for installation, Compass Construction has built a sample facade at street level. It can be seen along First Avenue North.
This is not a literal piece of the facade, but a collection of all the various parts and pieces, assembled here so it can be seen how well they all fit together, using the different mortar and flashings that maintain water tightness. How all this looks from the inside is also starting to become visible.
Here, you can get a sense of the size and placement of the windows in the room. The more finished view also conveys the general light quality.
And of course, while you’re enjoying the view of the Olympics, you can also be thinking about a quick trip downstairs to pick up a few things at Safeway for dinner.
Lots of progress still coming in the next months. Stay tuned !
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