Nickelsville Community Kitchen

AIA Seattle’s Committee on Homelessness (COHO) took on the architectural design and construction of a shared kitchen in Nickelsville Tiny House Village (Northlake) to improve the existing kitchen, which was under a damaged tarp. The goal was to create a warm kitchen with proper cabinets, storage, safe equipment and a comfortable place to eat. There were a few constraints. The sinks had to be on the south side due to water access, and code limited the largest enclosed structure to 120sqf. Therefore, COHO proposed compositions created by separate structures that include two kitchen areas and one eating space in addition to covered outdoor areas. COHO provided 3 design options, and the residents selected one to be built. Construction of the chosen design was completed in Fall 2024.

Below is my contribution to one of three iterations of the kitchen design proposals. Key goals in this version included reducing the Northern exposure of open spaces and blending wheelchair access with standard circulation through a universal design approach.