The Prow in Seattle by Aidlin Darling Design

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On the 16-ha grounds of the online company Expedia, Aidlin Darling Design have created an employee retreat that emerges seamlessly from the coastal landscape at Elliott Bay. Expedia counts among the world’s largest operators of travel-reservation portals; since 2017, they have been developing the harbourside area into a new corporate headquarters.

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The company wanted to establish a sanctuary for employees that would be on corporate grounds yet away from the usual office hubbub – a creativity-fostering, peaceful oasis of contemplation both solitary and shared.

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The foundation for the project by Aidlin Darling Design was an open-area plan by the landscape architects from Surface Design. It envisioned the grounds cascading towards the water in tiers, and retaining walls of dry stone would delimit the individual plateaus.

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The Prow smoothly continues this landscape design. It owes its low shape to the desire for an unobstructed view of the coastline from the office buildings situated farther east. At the same time, the building embodies the constant motion that is a core component of Expedia’s DNA. Moreover, this motion can be seen everywhere in the vicinity: a freeway goes past the Expedia campus to the east, and there is a much-frequented public path along the coast to the west. Behind The Prow, ships cruise on Elliott Bay even as an approach corridor leads planes over the corporate grounds to the nearby Seattle-Tacoma airport.

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The planted flat roof of The Prow rises from the terrain to the north; to the south, it juts more than 15 m. Beneath this protrusion a single, generous space opens onto an outdoor terrace. The south and west facades of the new building are extensively glazed, while large sections of the campus-facing east facade have been closed off with a dry-stone wall.

© Adam Rouse

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The interior, which measures around 350 m², is determined by natural materials from the region – all natural stone and reddish Douglas fir. These are complemented with black-lacquered steel and dark-varnished cedar. Three different seating areas are available here to employees and their guests: a large conference table for 20 people, an upholstered arrangement for informal chats and a fireplace corner for contemplative periods.