Bridges at Rainier is located on the northeast corner of the major intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street. The Rainier Beach High School football field is adjacent to the site on the east. The fairly open site gets plenty of sunlight from the west and east sides but also from the south.
At the beginning of the building concept the two bar buildings with a central space for sunlight and public access was created to get the most site coverage and reach the FAR of 3.08 to create density in the neighborhood. The building facade that faces South Henderson Street was angled in a way to create a triangular plaza that engages street life. This plaza also connects to the courtyard with a covered walkway to encourage pedestrian flow to carry out further onto Rainier Avenue South with multiple access routes. This route makes a safer route from all the accidents that take place for residents and engage with the public life and with the courtyard.
The residential portion of this proposal will be a 5-over-1 construction, meaning the base will be type 1 (concrete construction) and the additional levels will be wood construction. The residential building consists of a range of studio to three-bedroom units as well as amenity spaces for the residents. The ground plan is designed to strengthen the relationship between the building and the public realm. The ground level provides space for commercial spaces and live-work units for local small business owners to keep being part of the community and engage with the pedestrian flow.
