Residential

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Mary's Place Burien

client

Mary's Place

type

Residential/

location

Burien, WA

Design for Community

Serving greater Seattle since 1999, Mary’s Place provides overnight shelter, nourishing meals, housing support, youth programs, and health resources to women and families experiencing homelessness. Expanding the reach of their services, Mary’s Place has engaged Graphite as design partner to help them design a new, ground-up shelter in Burien, Washington. The 4-story, purpose-built shelter will provide overnight accommodation for up to 200 guests as well as resources to assist families in each step of the way on their journey out of homelessness.

M ary’s Place Burien is part of an innovative partnership with Mercy Housing, which will co-locate 90 units of permanently affordable housing on site, 30 of which will be reserved for families transitioning out of homelessness. This co-location creates a unique opportunity for families to move from shelter into housing, while maintaining their community and school connections. Site resources and amenities will be available to both populations, fostering supportive connections within the projects and to the broader Burien community.

Taking visual cues from the surrounding landscape, the building is rooted in the Burien site through an animated, layered cladding design that references the gentle, cascading hills of the Burien Site and adjacent Cascade and Olympic foothills. Wall panels in varying hues also pay homage to Coast Salish tribal traditions of woven textiles and baskets, further anchoring the shelter in the unique geography and cultural history of Burien.

A Place for Families

Interior spaces evoke joy, hope and optimism for guests with light, airy common areas and private sleeping rooms for families. Sized to accommodate families of a variety of sizes, guest sleep rooms are arranged on each floor to provide a sense of interior community within the shelter, with each cluster sharing informal gathering spaces and hygiene facilities amongst a group of guests. A large multi-purpose room on the ground floor provides space for gathering, dining, and celebrating, while a dedicated “kids club”, adjacent outdoor play area, basketball court, and soccer pitch provide active outlets for guests of all ages. Through thoughtful programming and design, Mary’s Place Burien will serve as a respite and source of community support for guests as they look to a brighter future