Location: Bellevue, Washington

Client: Alliance Residential

This multifamily project in downtown Bellevue offers over 300 units, with a large south-facing common courtyard that connects to a stepped public plaza echoing the curved form of the lobby. Large planters that step with the plaza are lushly planted with several trees, shrubs, and grasses, with integrated benches providing places to rest. The resident courtyard has an outdoor kitchen, pergola, string lights, firepit with lounge seating, artificial lawn, and integrated seating to provide a variety of spaces for active and passive use. New street trees and planting strips with shrubs, grasses, and groundcover along 112th Ave NE, NE 2nd St, and 114th Ave NE provide shade and a buffer from the street for pedestrians in this highly walkable urban neighborhood.

Private courtyards at Levels 2 and 3 feature several large raised planters with trees, shrubs, grasses, and groundcover, enhancing the outdoor space for adjacent units and units above. Strategically placed bioretention planters on Level 2 also contribute to stormwater management. An amenity deck on Level 9 overlooks downtown and has views out towards the Cascade Mountains. It features a large outdoor kitchen, firepit with lounge seating, and large raised planters with trees and grasses to frame the views. Large swathes of green roof on Levels 5 and 9 help mitigate stormwater, reduce the urban heat island effect, and provide visual interest for the units overlooking those spaces.