^{Designing for Community and Connection}

CHUC is a 5-story, mixed-use building in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. With community at the core of its design, particular emphasis was placed on resident interaction. This takes form in cohousing’s essential Common House, which is located on the second floor, adjacent to a bright yellow outdoor courtyard. The Common House includes a dining area and kitchen in which community meals are prepared and eaten. The roof top farms is maintained by the residents and Seattle Urban Farm Company. It provides produce for CHUC residents and Lark, a nearby farm-to-table restaurant. The project considers environmental sustainability and addresses social and economic resiliency in a quickly-changing neighborhood

Seattle, Washington
2010-2016

Project team

^{Harmonizing Seattle’s Old and New}

Schemata’s design nestles the “Classic Box”, landmark Parsonage House (once the rectory for the adjacent University Methodist Episcopal Church) within an L-shaped block of 84 units of student housing. The historic home is recast as amenity space for the residents, while careful siting and landscaping highlight the structure as the “gem” against the backdrop of the new buildings. The design also seeks to clarify the Parsonage’s relationship to the historic church on the adjoining lot. The new, seven-story apartment building will provide housing for the University District, while the historic structure receives a well-deserved rehabilitation and renewed position as an architectural focal point within a unique Seattle block. Built to BuiltGreen 4-star standards, the project is ecologically sustainable, economically practical, and sensitive to the scale and historic character of the neighborhood. 

Seattle, Washington
2014-Present

Project team