Aloha Botique
Seattle, Washington
Location
Stay
Project type
Architect,
Master Planning
+ Programming
Role
Aloha Boutique was conceived as a compact, design-forward hotel located on a tight and highly constrained site at the south end of Lake Union, directly across from Kenmore Air’s seaplane base. The project explored how a small-footprint, hospitality-driven building could engage one of Seattle’s most dynamic waterfront edges while capturing iconic views of Lake Union, downtown, and the Space Needle.
Challenge
The site presented a complex set of constraints, including stringent seaplane flight-path restrictions, limited buildable area, and the need to balance openness and privacy in an intensely active urban setting. In addition to accommodating a full-service boutique hotel program, the design had to carefully modulate building massing to preserve key view corridors while responding to the operational realities of the adjacent seaplane base.
Solution
The proposed design organized 115 guest rooms above a discreet below-grade valet parking structure, maximizing usable area while minimizing the project’s visual impact at street level. A sidewalk café activated the ground plane, creating a direct relationship with South Lake Union Park and the surrounding pedestrian network. Above, a rooftop event and conference venue—with an outdoor terrace—was positioned to take full advantage of panoramic views across Lake Union toward downtown Seattle and the Space Needle, while remaining carefully sculpted to respect flight-path limitations. The building’s massing and articulation were tuned to balance hospitality presence with contextual sensitivity.
Materials + Craft
Material selections emphasized durability, refinement, and a contemporary Pacific Northwest sensibility, with a masonry façade chosen to ground the building in the industrial history of South Lake Union’s brick warehouse fabric. Carefully detailed brickwork was paired with generous glazing and subtle metal accents to balance solidity and transparency, framing views while managing solar exposure and privacy. Façade modulation, window proportions, and shading strategies were tuned to the hotel’s orientation and proximity to the seaplane flight paths. Though ultimately taken through the City of Seattle’s MUP review process, the project was not constructed after the property was sold and combined with an adjacent parcel for a larger-scale hotel development—leaving Aloha Boutique as a fully realized exploration of small-site urban hospitality design.
