Seattle, Washington, USA;
Structured around the idea that design efforts must create an inclusive, dignified place, Graham Baba Architects have completed the Ballard Food Bank, a food bank that offers more than groceries and “customers” can charge phones and refill water bottles, soup and sandwiches are dished up in its Kindness Café, and its resource hub offers a place to connect with staff to navigate services and get financial assistance to prevent homelessness.
“When you get your groceries from a food bank, you shouldn’t be made to feel different from grocery shopping,” says Brian Jonas, partner and principal in charge of Graham Baba Architects.
To provide a permanent and secure base for their operations and to address the increased needs within the community, the Food Bank set out to build a new home.
The building must also efficiently and safely maximize the Food Bank’s ability to meet its mission so that it can reach as many of those in need as possible.
The Ballard Food Bank has been awarded a 2023 American Architecture Award Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Set along a major thoroughfare near downtown Ballard, the new design nearly doubles the size and capacity of the existing operation.
The front door, while still visible from the main street, is set back along a side street to provide a more private and welcoming entry to the building.
Directly inside, a waiting area serves as a center point for the community with other services radiating out from a central service desk and seating area.
The Kitchen serves as a community café and also allows the Food Bank to upcycle donated commodity food items into nutritious meals.
The HUB is designed to host a variety of social and medical services including mail delivery, medical services, counseling, financial and housing assistance, veterans’ services, and case management.
Fundamental to the organization’s mission is the food bank Market itself, which here is designed as a large supermarket-style space.
Design cues are taken from other markets in the community to create a dignified and normalized shopping experience for those needing food assistance.
An enlarged and efficient warehouse and outdoor storage yard serve the Market and the food bank’s delivery programs, while a new office space provides an on-site home for those administering the organization’s efforts in the building and community.
The building form takes its cues from the program elements, with a larger industrial shed-like form housing the Market and warehouse; and a smaller, more residentially scaled sloped roof form creating a welcoming entry and housing the Kitchen, HUB, and offices.
The project will restore a formally abandoned brownfield site.
A newly built streetscape, gardens, urban agriculture beds, and seating areas will surround the new building.
A sustainability strategy was crafted around reducing operational costs for the food bank and creating a healthier environment for the unique community it serves.
Project: Ballard Food Bank
Architects: Graham Baba Architects
Lead Architect: Brian Jonas
General Contractor: Wilcox Construction Inc.
Client: Ballard Food Bank
Photographers: Lara Swimmer
