SEATTLE – Runberg Architecture Group, a Seattle-based firm specializing in urban mixed-use, housing and adaptive reuse projects, received the prestigious Judges’ Innovation Award for The Marion West while the Eleanor Apartments was recognized as Multi-Family Development of the Year at the recent NAIOP Night of the Stars ceremony.
NAIOP Washington State Chapter’s Night of the Stars Awards Program, which took place on Nov. 3, is an annual ceremony that recognizes exceptional individuals and companies in the Northwest’s highly competitive development and built environment.
“Runberg Architecture Group is honored to receive these two NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards,” said the firm’s founding principal and partner, Brian Runberg, AIA. “Accepting the Judges’ Innovation Award on behalf of The Marion West was particularly inspiring. This project allows those who would otherwise be pushed to outlying communities to remain in the University District – and we intended to make a visible design statement that investment in the community should be celebrated.”
The Marion West offers 29 units of workforce housing and 20 units of permanent supportive housing. Developed through a unique partnership with the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), YouthCare and the University District Food Bank, The Marion West provides space for counseling and on-site employment training for formerly homeless youth, a food bank and a café. In addition, The Marion West’s 7,400-square-foot rooftop was converted into a garden that provides fresh produce for the food bank downstairs.
Inspired by the “First Lady of the World,” Eleanor Apartments values sustainability, authenticity and individuality. Located a block from a future light rail station in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood, the 260-unit Eleanor Apartments expressly celebrates the motion of water. Rainwater collected from the roof runs through exposed downspouts and open runnels around the buildings and courtyard, recalling historic streams that once ran through the site.
Eleanor Apartments project was chosen from eight finalists for the Multi-Family Development of the Year. Augusta Apartments, another project designed by Runberg Architecture Group was also a finalist for Multi-Family Development of the Year.
Including these NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards for The Marion West and Eleanor Apartments, Runberg Architecture Group has received seven awards and honors in 2017. Runberg Architecture Group’s Odin Apartments, in Ballard, was recognized as Multi-Family Development of the Year at last year’s NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards Program.
About Runberg Architecture Group
Since its founding in 1998, Runberg Architecture Group has earned a name for thoughtful architectural design that balances the unique social, economic and environmental interests of each project. Runberg designs sustainable mixed-use urban environments where people want to be – vibrant, engaging places that create high and enduring value for its clients and communities. The firm understands that quality of life is highest in places where social, economic and environmental interests are in harmony. Runberg’s mission is to design places that achieve this harmony for its clients and communities by honoring the distinct needs and opportunities of each project.
