The Chiller Plant and Condenser Replacement projects are an essential part of the City’s capital maintenance and energy efficiency goals. Working closely with the City, CBRE, and sub-consultant team, we started our design effort by evaluating the building to identify efficient strategies to reduce and stabilize the load. A series of upgrades and replacements to the 30-year old air handling, chilled water plant, and building management controls systems have been implemented with minimal interference to the 5,000+ occupants. These improvements will reduce overall energy usage through higher performance equipment and improved building programing to take advantage of nighttime air flushing and demand load delivery. A key part of the strategy was to replace the interior cooling towers with more efficient units on top of the 6th Ave parking garage. Highly visible from I-5 and the surrounding buildings, a custom perforated screen and frame system was developed to integrate the equipment at a scale appropriate to the building. An abstracted pattern of varying hole sizes was designed to create a subtle image of waves, representative of the both the nearby waterfront and the evaporative cooling process of the towers behind.

The Kent YMCA is is a 51,000 sf community and recreational center constructed in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Seattle and the City of Kent. The Y is the focal point of the new Morrill Meadows Park, a  redeveloped site that joins and enhances two existing City parks. The new Y includes community meeting rooms, a demonstration kitchen for healthy eating programs and family support spaces for infants and children. Recreational resources include a lap pool, leisure pool, and spa/therapy pool, sports courts, an indoor track for social walking, and fitness studios.

Housing a multitude of activities for patrons of this summer camp, the 8,000 sf indoor-outdoor Creative Arts Center blurs the lines between interior and exterior, providing campers with a space to get inspired and an outlet to express themselves through sculpture, painting, music, and movement.  

The Yesler Terrace Steam Plant was constructed in 1941 to provide district heating for the Yesler Terrace housing development. The building was designated a Seattle Landmark in 2011. The adaptive re-use and expansion repurposes the long-unused concrete structure for community programs including Head Start, Youth Tutoring, Job Connections and meeting rooms.

Miller Hayashi assembled a sub-consultant team to prepare a capital plan of life-cycle upgrades for the 62-story Seattle Municipal Tower.  The project cataloged building forensic assessments, prioritized an implementation plan, and prepared budget level cost analysis for the $26M refurbishment of the primary envelope assemblies.

Current capital improvements to the building include the replacement of the building’s chilled water system, including replacement of all of the valves throughout the tower, three 1000 ton chillers, and all associated piping and controls located on the 14th floor.  The chiller plant is currently shut down for construction and planned to be operational Spring 2020.

The expansion and renovation of the West Seattle YMCA adds 6,000 SF of new fitness spaces, family activity spaces, a healthy eating kitchen, and community meeting spaces. The project opens the 1980s CMU building to create a new, more transparent and inviting face to the public. The building addition bring views of the Y’s activities to the street, and allow generous daylighting of the primary fitness areas. 

The 9,000 square foot station is located several blocks from the historic Station 37. The station provides a safer, healthier working environment for the firefighters and accommodates a new generation of fire-fighting equipment. The energy efficient station has living areas arranged around a landscaped 'living roof' terrace on the second floor and a green-screen trellis planted along the west facade. The project is LEED Gold certified.

2012 Masonry Institute Honor Award

The design of the replacement building for the Magnuson Park Beach Comfort Station and Lifeguard Shelter marks the legacy of the park as a Navy Airfield with a slender, wing-like structure parallel to the shore and access road.

The City of Seattle's first LEED Gold Certified building, the learning center familiarizes users with the Pipers Creek watershed and with a wide variety of sustainable building approaches.

The Garfield County Courthouse, located in Pomeroy, WA, is the 4th oldest courthouse in the State of Washington. The 1901 structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Historic Rehabilitation project was supported by local funds and a grant from the State of Washington Historic County Courthouse Rehabilitation Program. The project included restoration of the exterior facade and historic finishes, accessibility and seismic upgrades, electrical upgrades and a new mechanical system. The project was a collaboration with Rich Cardwell of Cardwell Architects.

2012 State Historic Preservation Office Valerie Sivinski Award: Garfield County Courthouse Rehabilitation

The addition and renovations 'unfold the box' of the 1976 structure, creating an inviting and light filled home for expanded library services. A new entrance defines a strong civic presence in the community by opening to Greenwood Avenue North. 7,500 square foot addition, 7,500 square foot renovation.

2008 Seattle Design Commission Design excellence Award

The new roof springs from the parapet of the existing structure and creates a generously daylighted public services area visible from Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA. King County Library System, 5,000 square feet addition, 5,000 square feet renovation.

2012 AIA Washington Civic Design Merit Award

The new 7,000 sf High Point Branch library opened in June, 2004. The branch creates a civic focal point as the High Point neighborhood develops a renewed identity within the city. The project draws on Northwest Modern precedents to create a transition from the surrounding residential neighborhood to a growing cluster of community services and businesses. Artist Steven Gardner created terra cotta panels depicting astrological myths from diverse cultural traditions.

This new 4,000 square foot branch provides collections and services in six languages to a diverse urban community. The storefront branch is located on the first floor of the Village Square II Building. The design reflects the weaving and layering of experiences in this historic community. Art work by Rene Yung celebrates the teacup as a vessel of sustenance and exchange.

2006 American Library Association/IIDA Library Interior Design Award

Miller Hayashi Architects were Associate Architects for the new 28,000 square foot Anacortes Public Library, in Anacortes, WA. Daylighting studies at Seattle's Lighting Design Lab helped create an open interior bathed in natural light.