Denny Park Apartments

This photo shows the project at street level from the southwest.
Photo credit: Michael Seidl

Overview

  • Location: Seattle, WA
  • Building type(s): Commercial office, Multi-unit residential
  • New construction
  • 39,700 ft2 (3,690 m2)
  • Project scope: 6-story building
  • Urban setting
  • Completed January 2006
  • Rating: Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties Built Green --Level: Three Stars

Denny Park Apartments includes 50 units of affordable rental housing, 4,400 ft2 of commercial space, and parking for 35 vehicles. The residential portion includes a community room, an office, common laundry facilities, and a common landscaped courtyard. The urban-infill project also includes new city sidewalks and right-of-way landscaping.

Of the housing units, 40% are reserved for households at or below 30% of the area median income (AMI), 50% are reserved for households at or below 50% AMI, and 10% are reserved for households at or below 60% AMI. The AMI for King County was, in 2004, $70,100 for a family of three.

Environmental Aspects

The mixed-use, urban-infill project was designed to provide opportunities for occupants to live, work, and play in close proximity, minimizing dependence on automobiles.

Innovative planters filter stormwater falling on the project site, releasing it slowly into the municipal system while allowing evaporation and transpiration. Low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce water use indoors.

The project's energy design focused on maximizing daylighting while minimizing western solar gain during the summer months. The building is oriented along an east-west axis, with half the units facing north and half facing south. The common room and courtyard (the heart of the project) are located at the south side of the building, where they are warmed by late-afternoon western sun. To encourage occupants to use the operable windows for natural ventilation and cooling, residential units were not provided with air conditioning. A central natural-gas hydronic system provides heat and hot water.

Materials were selected largely for their cost-effectiveness and durability, and a jobsite recycling program led to the recycling of 91% of construction waste, by weight. Indoor air quality is protected by finishes with low chemical emissions and a no-smoking policy for the entire project.

Owner & Occupancy

  • Owned by Low Income Housing Institute, Corporation, nonprofit
  • Occupants: Individual(s)
  • Typically occupied by 90 people, 100 hours per person per week; and 20 visitors per week, 3 hours per visitor per week

Building Programs

Indoor Spaces:

Office, Living quarters

Keywords

Integrated team, Design charrette, Green framework, Transportation benefits, Indigenous vegetation, Stormwater management, Efficient fixtures and appliances, Massing and orientation, Glazing, Passive solar, Lighting control and daylight harvesting, Efficient lighting, Durability, Benign materials, C&D waste management, Connection to outdoors, Daylighting, Natural ventilation, Moisture control, Low-emitting materials

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Case Studies Database provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's
Building Technology Program, High Performance Buildings.