Heartwood

Heartwood addresses two pressing issues of our time—climate change and urban housing shortages. From inception, the architect, atelierjones considered these two challenges together.

Upon completion in 2023, Heartwood opened its 126 apartment doors to tenants making 60%-120% Seattle area median income for years to come. Located in the heart of Seattle, the project is fully leased. Through its innovative OZ financing structure, pioneered by owner Community Roots Housing and developer Skipstone, Heartwood relied on no public equity, harnessing a mix of conventional loans and private equity. Integrating solution-based answers to both innovative housing financing models, and lower-carbon, long-term, durable workforce-housing buildings was fundamental to Heartwood’s success.

Heartwood was built with 1000 m3 use of mass timber over eight stories to create a carbon net-negative superstructure of 67,500 SF. It relied upon the rich Cascadia ecosystem for all timber, sourced within 500-miles from sustainably managed forests. Intent on utilizing wood to its highest and best use, atelierjones worked closely with DCI Engineers, Timberlab and Swinerton, designing an all-wood column-to-beam connection with necessary fire protections. Design choices resulted in 38% lower ‘upfront carbon’ than a conventional counterpart. When accounting for the ‘stored carbon’ in the mass-timber, a University of Washington life-cycle analysis demonstrated a carbon-negative superstructure storing 3% more carbon than it releases from cradle-to-grave.

This proof-of-concept tall mass timber building culminated years of work by Seattle-based architect, atelierjones, on the International Code Council Tall Wood Building Code. Heartwood was the first completed Type IV-C project in the US under the new codes that atelierjones contributed to since 2016. Since inception, atelierjones has envisioned a lower carbon future that supports circular economies, renewable bio-based materials, and provides livable urban housing. Heartwood has been recognized globally with multiple awards, including as a Built By Nature Prize winner.

Awards:
Seattle AIA 2022 Award of Merit
Seattle AIA 2024 Honorable Mention