SEATTLE, WA
We are so excited to announce that the Empress Assisted Living + Memory Care Seniors Apartments recently topped out, a significant milestone for this transformative project and its soon-to-be residents. Our hardy congratulations to the project team for all the hard work!
More About the Project
Located in the tree-lined residential neighborhood of Laurelhurst, Empress Senior Living is developing Seattle’s newest boutique senior apartments at the heart of this pedestrian-friendly and amenity-rich community. Empress Laurelhurst Assisted Living + Memory Care will provide its residents with the finest services in a newly-constructed and dynamic setting.
VIA Architecture worked with the Empress team to design a seniors community that blended into the surrounding neighborhood without sacrificing the many varied needs of its operators and residents. The entry of the building will be welcoming to residents, guests, and neighbors alike as the VIA team located the entry drive and loading bays away from the entrance, maximizing neighborhood cohesion and opening up the opportunity to fold in an adjacent Metro bus stop into the building design, reducing the number of obstacles on the sidewalk. Large bay windows set within the masonry exterior mean that residents are ‘in the action’ with a clear line of sight up and down the street. A full-service grocer and readily available emergency services mean residents can do their shopping while still living in an active and safe space.
Interior Design by Ralston + Saar Interiors
Within this tight urban context, the design team developed a program that made clever use of amenity spaces from the roof deck down to the basement levels. A daylit lower level shares a staggered courtyard space across all floors, so whether residents are meeting in active spaces or taking in the beautiful views of downtown from the roof deck, all can feel connected in the place they call home.
The design team intentionally held the building back at all levels above grade to create a more residentially scaled backyard and provided the opportunity to create additional landscape and screening elements to create a higher level of privacy for both.
