Graphite Design Group collaborated with Amazon to design Mary's Place Family Center, a nonprofit supporting families experiencing homelessness.
Mary’s Place provides much-needed emergency housing and services to families in an unusual location—inside one of Amazon’s office buildings in their downtown Seattle campus.
Graphite designed 8 floors of the office building for Mary’s Place to serve over 300 people per day.
The project was recognized at the AIA Seattle Honor Awards and the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Awards last month for its experimental approach to urban development that represents a collision between two very different populations—where privilege meets need.
Mary’s Place is a first of its kind in both type and process.
Graphite invited Mary’s Place staff to explore ideas for each aspect of the guest experience.
The group brainstormed words, images, and scenarios for the ideal setting that would enable Mary’s Place to better serve the community.
The outcome is a safe, dignified, and joyous temporary shelter.
The vital community project provides much-needed emergency housing and services while acting as a model for how other cities can activate underutilized space to answer larger urban housing challenges while balancing growth and social equity.
