4D Architects
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Kenmore: Lakeside Shell House

Location: Kenmore, WA
Builder: Ben Leland Construction
Project Type: Commercial - Athletic
4D Project: 09017

Lakeside School is located along the Sammamish River in Kenmore. In 2009 the school initiated a project to expand their Ayrault Shellhouse, which was no longer large enough, nor did it provide adequate functionality to the crew teams and camps that were using the building. This water-based use is in a perfect location for functionally, however the existing shoreline codes did not allow increasing the footprint of the existing structure. Our solution to overcome this limitation was to add a second floor while maintaining the existing footprint of the structure. We researched the original 1980s construction and concluded that the foundation and floor slabs were substantially overbuilt for the single story structure, which allowed us to retain the existing building walls, piles and slab foundation to support the new upper floor. A minimum number of new steel structural supports and driven piles were added to support specific loads, and after site design studies and careful analysis of the parking area, we were able to work within the existing gravel parking area to accommodate the parking requirements. We consulted with both a Wetlands Biologist and a Landscape Architect to arrive at greatly improved yard, parking and circulation areas, as well as adding landscaped planting beds.
 
The result is a building nearly twice as large, which provides dedicated training areas, coaches’ offices, locker rooms, and shell storage. The new training room can accommodate more and varied equipment and provides video feeds and screens allowing for review of team and individual crew rowing form. A large deck for outdoor training on the new upper floor, was also incorporated into the design. The exterior of the building was substantially upgraded with a cement based prefinished siding product called “Ceraclad”, which will provide a long lasting, durable finish; an improvement in both aesthetics and maintenance. The addition of a second story has also increased the building’s visibility from the highly traveled public road nearby, while greatly enhancing the overall look of the building from the former tin roof and metal sided single story structure.