Piston & Ring Building Renovations

Seattle, WA

As its name suggests, the Piston & Ring Building was formerly an “auto-row” service building. Through the efforts of its owner/developer, the building has been transformed into a dynamic mixed-use facility that includes restaurants, professional offices, and retail stores.

By expressing such essential construction elements as board-formed concrete walls and industrial roof trusses, the design celebrates the intersection of old and new—a characteristic of the building as well as of the Pike/Pine neighborhood in general.

Although its tall one-story façade implies a very ordinary service building, its adaptive reuse is actually quite complex and dynamic. A public stair leads from 12th Avenue to a new lower retail level and an outdoor terrace. This interior circulation network will eventually connect to similar spaces integrated with adjacent developments.

The repurposed Piston & Ring building represents Dunn + Hobbes commitment to revitalizing neighborhoods through infill and incremental development.

Photography: Michael Burns

Client
Dunn + Hobbes, Inc.

Data
14,000-sf commercial renovation

Completed
2007

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