The Frye Residence is the first phase for a proposed city ‘Arts District,’ a pivotal project in the transformation of Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood; an active extension to the Frye Museum. 
The master plan consists of an iconic composition of three residential towers straddling two city blocks, marking the skyline with what will be the redevelopment and expansion of the Seattle Frye Museum, transforming the area into a new cultural destination.
This first phase of two 335-foot tall towers consists of six levels of below-grade parking, ground floor retail and entrance lobby, podium amenities with 28 levels of residential floors (approximately 450 units), penthouse residential suites, and crowned with double height resident amenities connected by a linking bridge. With a resulting total program area of 405,000 SF, this first phase has a completion date of fall 2019.
The public entrance to the residential towers, located on Terry Avenue, faces the Frye Museum across the street and is located to maximize the public realm between the two. An important aspect of the development is to accommodate street closure for public events and to enhance the public entrance space to the Frye for a greater civic presence.
Museum activated retail and restaurants animate the ground floor of the towers. The tower, raised 45 feet above ground, creates greater transparency between the green amenity of the podium roof and the tower itself through to the city beyond. Here, reflecting pools frame the grand entrance fronted by two vitrines for the display of large-scale sculpture – this space encourages activity and street spill lighting to animate the public domain.
The towers are wrapped in fully operable ‘shoji screens that conceal a 50% balcony perimeter to each floor.
The perforated metal panels which afford 60% transparency, have a pattern which is a large scale abstraction of the ‘Frye’s ‘Salon’ paintings, for ever referencing the adjacent museums collection. This project, now currently under construction was executed while a Principal with Perkins and Will.