The adaptive reuse project will align with the Port of Seattle’s sustainability-driven mission
(Seattle, WA) May 2024 — On May 21, the Port of Seattle will break ground on the new Maritime Innovation Center at Fishermen’s Terminal, an adaptive reuse of the Terminal’s oldest remaining structure designed by The Miller Hull Partnership. The highly anticipated project received an Honorable Mention at AIA Seattle’s Honor Awards and Silver for the North America Region in the International Holcim Awards.
Expected to be completed in 2025, the Maritime Innovation Center will support and drive innovation in the maritime sector through collaborative research and development facilities. In alignment with the Port’s mission to become the greenest and most energy-efficient Port in North America, the building is seeking full Living Building Challenge certification, with innovative and sustainable strategies, serving as a model for other ports to follow. Once completed, the Maritime Innovation Center will be Miller Hull’s seventh Living Building, joining the firm’s portfolio alongside the Bullitt Center, The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, and Loom House.
Fishermen’s Terminal is the home port for Seattle’s commercial fishing fleet and is poised to become the hub for the region’s growing “Blue Tech” economy. The Port has committed to growing Seattle’s maritime industrial and technology sectors and the Maritime Innovation Center embodies this commitment by bridging the past and the future. It is the cornerstone of an overall redevelopment of Fishermen’s Terminal which will see investment of over $100 million in the coming decade.
The Maritime Innovation Center will honor the cultural and economic significance of Seattle’s maritime history and celebrate its vibrant fishing industry. Critically, it will also bridge the region’s time-honored maritime traditions with its modern role as a mecca for technological innovations. The building’s anchor tenant will be Washington Maritime Blue, an organization committed to the development of maritime business, technology, and practices that promote a sustainable future.
The adaptive reuse project maintains and respects the form and mass of the 1918 building fronting the working waterfront. Most of the building and its century-old heavy timber structure will be salvaged and reused. Miller Hull’s design will enhance the iconic pitched roof by using locally sourced and industrially appropriate materials. Sustainability will be on display with the additions of rainwater cisterns and an on-site photovoltaic array. The Port has also worked to enlist site-specific public art including works by Tulalip native artist Ty Juvinel and muralist Shogo Ota.
The rehabilitation of the Maritime Innovation Center exemplifies what is possible to support equitable sustainable development to address the climate crisis, as well as the revitalization of blue-collar working communities.
About The Miller Hull Partnership, LLPThe Miller Hull Partnership, LLP is an internationally recognized architecture, planning, urban and interior design firm that works to create a regenerative and inclusive future through the built environment. Since its founding in 1977, Miller Hull has been designing dynamic and environmentally responsible buildings that provide enduring value for their communities. The firm has a studio in Seattle and San Diego with work extending across multiple typologies for a range of public and private clients where people Live, Work, Learn, Gather and Serve. For more information, please visit www.millerhull.com.
