Modera Redmond and The Main Apartments + Lofts are both finalists for NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards.
Modera Redmond
Modera Redmond is a graceful and efficiently designed community that maximizes both apartment count and resident livability. Its unique shape and ingenious massing attractively fit 300 light-filled residences, two sun-drenched courtyards, 11,000 SF of amenities, and bi-level parking onto a tiny 1.4 acre footprint.
Maximizing both livability and unit count requires very strategic layout, and Modera Redmond is in essence a huge geometric puzzle. We ultimately fit 300 homes by carving out meaningful setbacks and courtyards, then selectively locating and orienting every home to maximize the potential of each building face. This combination increased the building envelope and allowed us to open up smaller apartments to sunlight and views.
Modera Redmond's apartments have high ceilings, larger bedrooms, and ample window area. Hardwood-look premium vinyl laminate floors, stainless steel and slate appliances, and quartz countertops top off the appointments for a modern upscale feel. Attention to design details included precise placement of living room walls to enable generously sized balconies that integrate the outdoors with interior living.
Residents can also enjoy outdoor living with two sunlit courtyards and a rooftop deck. Each courtyard has its own look and feel. One is designed for quiet and contemplation amid trees. The other is for more active get-togethers around a firepit and a trellised, covered barbecue area. Modera Redmond's rooftop deck is the first in Redmond due to a code change in 2017. It features an indoor sky lounge, an outdoor barbecue, landscaped gathering areas, and stunning views of downtown Redmond and far-off Mount Rainier.
The overall exterior, while modern, has meaningful elements that aren’t overly detailed or fussy. The eye-catching shed roof, for example, is inspired by farmhouse structures of the region’s ranchland heritage. It soars over the lobby entrance and highlights the top-floor sky lounge. The sawtooth façade at the east allows for triangular bay windows while making a bold design statement.
The building —with its striking design and full complement of indoor and outdoor amenities— brings urban living to the suburban context of Redmond.
The Main Apartments + Lofts
The Main Apartments + Lofts is the first residential development in 20 years on Main Street in small-town Sumner, with visibility that makes it highly important to its community. While the city supports density, it was critical to mitigate the visual impact of this large mixed-use project by providing several small-scale buildings rather than a single podium-style structure that would be out of scale with its surroundings. Slanted roofs, materials that reflect the character of Sumner, and large amounts of open and green space were incorporated to preserve the small-town feel.
An open space requirement was fulfilled with linked green spaces, alley expressions between the buildings, and outdoor amenities like a fireplace and dog run to create a sense of shared, small-town community.
One of this project's primary challenges was mixing and matching Sumner’s commercial and residential codes to create a mixed-use building plan that worked for both developer and city. The city of Sumner is hopeful about the future of its economy, so facades on Main Street have been designed as residential spaces built to commercial standards, for potential later conversion to retail as the city grows.
This residential/retail flexibility aligns with the emerging national trend of multi-family being built to accommodate mixed-use if retail markets call for it. As with so many other elements in the project, the adaptability being designed into its spaces is the wave of the future.