Masins Office Buildout

Several years after expanding and renovating the 44,800 SF Seattle Masins furniture store, a project that included major structural and seismic improvements, W.G. Clark was selected for another major renovation to convert the space from retail to commercial office space.

The early 20th Century building, located in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square district, is a heavy timber structure with four stories and a basement. Work was completed on a fast track schedule that required complex scheduling and strong communication between the landlord, tenants, architect, subcontractors, and general contractor. We created new offices on four floors, along with meeting and event areas, classrooms, restrooms, and coffee/kitchen areas. The spaces were created for three tenants that focused on offering opportunities for collaboration, education, and social impact.

The construction team worked closely with the designers to select materials and finishes, and to provide input for constructability issues specific to heavy timber buildings. The team brought together the vision of keeping the offices open with a combination of full glass walls facing the corridors and large glass panels above the offices, allowing natural light to be shared across the interior spaces. Exposed seismic elements, including the structural steel moment frames that had been added during the previous renovation, were incorporated into the design as attractive architectural features. W.G. Clark’s craftspeople completed the finish carpentry with attention to detail, in some cases even carefully removing and repurposing existing walls and other original elements.