Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) is a non-profit, community-based provider of kidney dialysis services, treatment for chronic kidney disease, and research and public outreach for kidney-related health issues. NKC is the nation’s oldest provider of kidney dialysis and the largest in the Puget Sound region.

With an antiquated distribution center and West Seattle clinic, and various administrative offices spread throughout the region, NKC commissioned Mahlum Architects in 2017 to design a combined campus near Sea-Tac Airport (the geographic center of the NKC service area) that consolidates a 32-station clinic, new administrative offices, shop spaces, and distribution center into a 47,200-sf Pavilion building and an adjacent 15,800-sf Logistics Center.

The design of the clinical facility builds upon and expands the landscape-centered concept developed for the nearby Rainier Beach Clinic, where patients enjoy views into landscaped courtyards in a clinical setting designed to emphasize warm, natural materials and an intimate, residential feeling in lieu of the more institutional design typical of most dialysis clinics, while maintaining critical staff sightlines to patients and being mindful of cleaning and maintenance concerns.

The administrative offices on the second floor of the Pavilion utilize an activity-based workplace concept, in which workstation clusters are broken up into departmental “neighborhoods” to mitigate acoustic concerns, which ample places for private meetings, informal collaboration spaces, and support spaces distributed throughout the floor. Individual workstations are oriented around the perimeter of the floor with direct views to the outside, with shared collaboration spaces lining a central circulation spine. At the north end of the spine, near the main entrance and closest to the Logistics Center, is a two-story shared campus commons space that can be utilized for daily lunch break, informal meetings, and more formal “town hall” meetings for the entire staff.

The Logistics Center contains a state-of-the-art warehouse where dialysis kits are assembled before shipment to other clinic locations, as well as shop and lab spaces for equipment repair, and additional administrative offices.

Project responsibilities as Project Architect included early working sessions with the owner to determine programming requirements, site analysis, coordination with the construction manager and consultants, overseeing the project team to produce contract documents, and construction administration.

The project is LEED Silver certified.

Completed while employed at Mahlum Architects (2016 – present)
Client: Northwest Kidney Centers
Owner’s Representative: Spectrum Development Solutions
Project Principal: Anne Schopf
Project Designer: David Sarti
Project Manager: PJ Bauser