The Port of Seattle recently broke ground on the new Maritime Innovation Center at Fishermen’s Terminal. The highly anticipated project, expected to be completed in 2025, is an adaptive reuse of the Terminal’s oldest remaining structure designed by The Miller Hull Partnership. The project received an Honorable Mention at AIA Seattle’s Honor Awards and Silver for the North America Region in the International Holcim Awards.
Seattle has long been a critical player in the maritime industry, with its strategic location along the Pacific Northwest coast. The city has a robust shipping, fishing and marine manufacturing companies network. However, the industry faces numerous challenges, including environmental concerns, aging infrastructure, and the need for digital transformation. The Maritime Innovation Center seeks to address these challenges by acting as a hub for research, development, and commercialization of cutting-edge maritime technologies.
The adaptive reuse project maintains and respects the form and mass of the 1918 building fronting the working waterfront. Most of the building and its century-old heavy timber structure will be salvaged and reused. Miller Hull’s design will use locally sourced and industrially appropriate materials to enhance the iconic pitched roof.
In alignment with the Port’s mission to become the greenest and most energy-efficient Port in North America, the building is seeking full Living Building Challenge Certification with innovative and sustainable strategies. It will serve as a model for other ports to follow. Sustainability will be on display with the addition of rainwater cisterns and an on-site photovoltaic array.
The project is part of an overall redevelopment of Fishermen’s Terminal, the home port for Seattle’s commercial fishing fleet. With an investment of over $100 million in the coming decade, Fishermen’s Terminal is poised to become a hub for the region’s growing “Blue Economy.” The building’s anchor tenant will be Washington Maritime Blue, an organization committed to developing maritime business, technology, and practices that support a sustainable future.
