Miller Hull

The American Institute of Architects selects Pike Place MarketFront for a 2019 AIA Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design

1-24-2019 | News

Miller Hull receives recognition for its design of the Pike Place Market expansion.

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

SEATTLE (Jan. 24, 2019) The Miller Hull Partnership, an international, award-winning architecture and planning firm, has received a 2019 AIA Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design for Pike Place MarketFront from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).

This honor underscores the point that the contribution architects make to clients and the public is not only a matter of single buildings, but also how those buildings relate to one another and create the infrastructure for a community and a civilization, explains AIA President William J. Bates, FAIA.

Completed in 2017, Pike Place MarketFront is first major addition to the iconic Pike Place Market in nearly 40 years. The new community space complements the culture and spirit of the original Market, catering to the present, but looking to the future as the gateway from the heart of downtown to the waterfront. Soon, Pike Place MarketFront will connect directly to Overlook Walk, part of Seattle’s multi-phase waterfront revitalization plan that is currently in design.

“We were so humbled when we were selected for this project because we knew how important it was going to be for the city of Seattle,” said David Miller, founding partner of Miller Hull and design lead on the project.

Pike Place MarketFront is located in a highly compact neighborhood, one that embodies true urbanism. Miller Hull’s design opens the city’s treasured landmark with grand public gathering space, framed by a contemporary lightness and transparency. Contextually inspired by the toughness of the Pacific Northwest, Pike Place MarketFront oozes simple, utilitarian character through its cast-in-place concrete and engineered timber base, capped by an open-air structural steel framed pavilion.

Like the existing Market, Pike Place MarketFront is an active public space built to serve the surrounding community and the nearly 40,000 people from across the world who visit the area each day. An extension of the existing neighborhood, the project added 50 vendor stalls, public restrooms, 40 low-income and senior housing units and retail/office space.

This programmatic complexity and prominence within the Seattle community demanded deep involvement from a wide range of stakeholders, including the merchants who would be using the space. Over two years, the design team participated in and facilitated hundreds of public meetings, seeking comment on design direction and development that led to a new urban place that tantalizes visitors and longstanding residents alike.

“This recognition echoes the importance of the project to the city, as well as the importance of public space in urban areas in general,” said Miller. “We are very excited about this award and we hope that Pike Place MarketFront will become a can’t-miss experience for all.”

The jury for the 2019 AIA National Institute Honor Awards for Regional and Urban Design included Lance Hosey, FAIA (Chair), Gensler, San Diego; Jonah Cohen, FAIA, Hacker; Jeffrey Huber, AIA, Brooks + Scarpa Architects; Marcel Quimby, FAIA, Gensler, Dallas; and Claudia Herasme, New York City Department of City Planning.

For additional details and materials on Pike Place MarketFront, please visit this link. For more information about The Miller Hull Partnership, call (206) 682-6837 or visit www.millerhull.com.

About The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
The Miller Hull Partnership is an architecture, planning, urban and interior design firm that creates dynamic and environmentally-responsible buildings, striving for a regenerative and inclusive future. The firm has a studio in Seattle and San Diego with work extending across typologies for public and private clients, including single-family, multi-family, mixed-use, civic, commercial, higher education, independent K-12, community, cultural, gateways, infrastructure and public safety. Widely recognized for innovative, timeless designs and a partnership-driven practice, Miller Hull has received over 350 local, regional and national awards for design excellence, including the AIA National Firm Award and Architect 50’s Top Firm for Sustainability. For more information, visit www.millerhull.com.

Media contact:
Katherine Misel, Communications Specialist
The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
kmisel@millerhull.com
206-254-2072

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