FEATURE
local atmosphere
Washington Fruit & Produce Co. Headquarters Details GRAHAM BABA ARCHITECTS TEAM
• Brett Baba, design principal • Hill Pierce, project architect • Jenn LaFreniere, project manager
DESIGN TEAM Graham Baba Architects (architecture and interior design), Seattle
• • • • •
IMA Wright LLC (structural engineer), Seattle ARUP (M/E/P/fire protection engineer), Seattle The Berger Partnership (landscape architect), Seattle Brian Hood Lighting (lighting designer), Seattle Premier SIPS (structurally insulated panel roof), Puyallup, WA
• Selkirk Timberwrights (glulam), Priest River, ID • Pacific Window Systems (glazing), Kent, WA • Stusser Woodworks (custom furniture fabrication & white oak paneling), Woodinville, WA
Spartan, daylight-filled interiors at Washington Fruit headquarters are complemented by a warm, simple palette of natural materials. Interior furnishings terminate well below the ceiling. The open feeling of the structure is reinforced by keeping furnishings low and allowing them to float within the space.
form a central, landscaped courtyard. Soil excavated for
Spartan, daylight-filled interiors are complemented by
foundation work was repurposed for the perimeter berms,
a warm, simple palette of natural materials. Private offices
eliminating the need to remove it or add more.
line the south wall, while conference spaces and back-of-
A notch through the berm provides access from the
house functions are set in wood-clad boxes. Interior fur-
parking area to the formal courtyard and building en-
nishings terminate well below the ceiling. The open feel-
trance. Crossing the courtyard on a boardwalk, the visitor
ing of the structure is reinforced by keeping furnishings
is embraced by a fully glazed facade, punctuated by a se-
low and allowing them to float within the space. Lighting
ries of wood columns that march across the building in
consists of custom-designed uplights, which keep the ceil-
regular intervals. The boardwalk aligns with an off-set
ing plane tidy. A raised flooring system further ensures
building entry, which is formed as a wood-wrapped pas-
that the clean aesthetic is preserved and free of cabling.
sageway inserted into the glazed facade.
The deep agricultural roots of the company and location
The building recalls its agricultural roots by pulling the 18-ft.-tall scissored glulam structural columns to the
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See more photos of Cowiche Canyon. View more photos of Washington Fruit.
COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE
OCTOBER 2017
throughout the project.
outside, revealing the physics of its construction and en-
The sales office is located in the short arm of the L to
abling the 175-ft.-long interior volume to be column free.
isolate noise and enhance privacy. Adjacent to the sales
Topped with 68-ft.-long exposed truss girders, the interior
office is a separately enclosed structure featuring a 30-ft.-
reaches 20 ft. at its peak. The repetitive nature of the
long table where farmers with whom the company works
structure ensured easy fabrication and assembly, saving
gather for communal meals. The exposed structural sys-
costs and resources.
tem connecting the lunchroom to the main building cre-
The north-facing courtyard facade is glazed along its length, visually extending the interior space into the
ates a small, partially covered courtyard, nodding to a remnant of an aging barn.
courtyard. Interior light is balanced by a long clerestory
Views throughout the thirty-acre complex are con-
dormer on the south, while the extensive use of large,
trolled, whether to the courtyard, the distant hills, or to
south-facing overhangs and high-efficiency glazing limits
the shallow private office views created between the
summer heat gain. Reclaimed barnwood siding and a
building and the berms. Everything is curated to create a
weathering steel roof round out the exterior materials.
peaceful environment in which to work. CA
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underlie the simple design concept and attention to detail
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