Metro Hippie

Throwin’ another gorgeous urban infill project at all you beautiful peops out there.  Let’s talk Remington Court in Seattle for a moment, a 4,300 sq ft development in the Capitol Hill neighborhood brought to us by HyBrid Architecture + Assembly.  The project features a trio of 1,500 sq ft townhouses and an attached 1,000 sq ft single-family abode.  A beautiful use of materials and daylighting makes this mod residence a Metro Hippie mecca!

I actually met with the internationally renowned Hybrid crew a couple weeks back at their studio in Seattle to discuss a potential different project (hopefully more details of this will be reportable in the future)… they were some cool cats and had a whole arsenal of innovative developments up their sleeves.  The majority of their concepts involved Cargotecture, a term they coined a couple years back to define the combination of architecture + cargo shipping containers.  To get in on some of this Cargotecture action for yourself, check out Hybrid’s site… they have some incredible examples of these containers used as homes, office complexes and even ski resorts… pretty savvy!

Back to the subject at hand… Their Remington Court project was site built, opposed to much of their work which is prefabricated in a warehouse.  The specific property that was developed had its constraints and a unique plan was conceived to have three identical townhomes face the street and gain passive-solar and ventilation techniques.  With a bit of extra property in the back, a detached single-family home was constructed, fully utilizing the space that was allotted…

Each of the three townhome units feature a plethora of eco-features.  Plenty of glass is incorporated, emitting natural light throughout interiors and warming the radiant concrete floors.  When the sun’s not out (pretty much October through March in Seattle), gas fired hydronic in floor heating systems take over.  The interior spaces are open, making each floor feel welcoming and comfortable.

As if these urban dwellings weren’t hip enough, vegetated rooftop patios were built on top of all four units, single-family included.  360 degree views are awarded to the lucky homeowners, who get to soak in the downtown skyline, Mt. Rainier and the Olympic mountain range on a clear day.

Another neat feature of the development is the long-term planning that went into its livability.  Most projects around the country are built solely with the short term needs of the client in mind, and that’s no good!  Hybrid recognized that zoning laws evolve over time and designed Remington Court to engage a higher density ratio.  In each of the three townhomes, a separate ground level entrance was built with the intention of having them be potential stand alone units.  The ground floors are pre-plumbed for kitchen installations and an MDF floorboard can be placed to plug the stairwell, fully isolating the lower unit from the upper… diggin’ the long term vision… now that’s sustainable!

Photos by Lara Swimmer

It seems like a gorgeous infill project like this is going up somewhere in the country on a weekly basis… exciting times to see so much quality design being produced.  Certainly makes my searching for projects to write about that much easier ; )

-j