February 18, 2009

AIA Seattle Project of the Month: ‘Now everyone wants a building like this'

Photo by Nic Lehoux [enlarge]

The uphill side of the Kitsap County Administration Building brings a new civic presence to Division Street.

Architects love hillsides. Floors can be set like a partially open chest of drawers, yielding a winning combination of long views and lots of steps, inside and out. It also offers a critical edge in energy efficiency, because inside walls dug into the sloping ground have the earth as insulation.

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Previous columns:

• Looking back at 2008’s Projects of the Month, 01-14-2009
• AIA Project of the Month: Mambo Palazzo works a little magic on Queen Anne, 12-10-2008
• AIA Project of the Month: 100 years later, a civic dream comes true in South Park, 11-19-2008
• AIA Project of the Month: Tacoma's Stadium High is old, yet brand new, 10-08-2008
• AIA Project of the Month: UW's new Conibear Shellhouse is ‘so Seattle', 09-10-2008
• AIA Project of the Month: North Cascades center lives up to its promises, 08-13-2008
• AIA Project of the Month: Virtual surgery center offers real training for doctors, 07-09-2008
• AIA Project of the Month: Live Aboves: A wise, modest project meets its lofty goals, 05-14-2008