Remove the existing 1960 bathhouse, that was at the end of its useful life, and blocked views to Lake Washinton and replace it with a new bathhouse with seasonal and all season restrooms, storage, paddle board concessions, lifeguard station and outdoor showers. The location of the new bathhouse and two picnic pavilions follows guidance from the Master Plan and opens up views to the lake.
Discovering a new wetland in the area of the proposed building and playground and finding a solution that allowed the project and program to move forward while keeping the state ecology department happy. Working with a high water table during construction and working in Kirkland’s busiest park. Lastly, saving a willow tree adjacent to the building.
We wanted the general public to experience mass timber for its strength, durability and beauty by showcasing it as a finish material in the public spaces. The Juanita Beach Park Bathhouse showcases CLT roof structures in the public restrooms, lifeguard station and the two picnic pavilions. Wanting a clear structural wood expression and sense of warmth at the restrooms and lifeguard structures, we designed the CLT roof to sit on a CLT knee wall around the CMU perimeter walls. We also chose to use weathering steel for the canopies to define the entrance, provide signage and it’s another low maintenance, durable material that has a wonderful patina. For the picnic pavilions, we worked closely with the structural engineer to clear span the pavilions with CLT and create a sense of place that puts structural wood on the forefront of creating a finished, warm, inviting, gathering environment for the community.
The bathhouse form and exterior materials are inspired by the past logging operations and shingle mill on the site. Vertical clear cedar siding wraps the exterior restrooms and lifeguard building to further strengthen the identity of the public component. This is a more traditional use of wood but we wanted the detailing to be precise and take advantage of the materials malleability. The vertical wood siding is allowed to weather making it low maintenance.
The picnic pavilions were designed to be as transparent and simple as possible to preserve views through the park to the lake. The gable CLT roof structure sits on top of structural, board formed concrete portals framing views to Lake Washington. The proximity of the pavilions is designed to have them be rented individually for small groups or together for a larger group.
Materials used:
Facade cladding: Custom Designed Vertical Clear Cedar, Board Formed Concrete
Flooring: Polished Concrete
Doors: Hollow Steel Doors and Frames, Builders Hardware
Sliding Doors: Custom Designed Steel and Wood Doors
Coiling Door: Painted Steel, CESC20, Clopay
Windows: Aluminum, T4000, D8 Aluminum
Roofing: Pre-Finished Standing Seam, TBC - Ultra, The Breyer Company
Interior lighting Manf,: Kurtzon, SSL, Birchwood, Metalux
Interior furniture: Custom Designed Vertical Grain Doug Fir Dressing Corral
Playground Equipment: Landscape Structures
