Coates Design Wins Copper Award!

Coates Design Architects, has been awarded the 2016 North American Copper in Architecture Award. This award recognizes unusual and brilliant uses of copper in building design. A short walk from the Seattle ferry, the building reveals the progressive ideas of northwest architect: Matthew Coates. Entries came from across the United States and Canada; Coates Design was the only firm on the west coast to be recognized. The Eagle Harbor Market Building, adjacent to the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, is one of 12 recipients of this award and is the product of out-of-the-box thinking.

The Copper Development Association (CDA) and the Canadian Copper and Brass Development (CCBA) organize this awards program to promote the use of copper and copper alloys. ‘“Copper has been used architecturally for centuries, but every year I’m impressed by the ingenious and unconventional applications architects derive from this age-old metal,” said Stephen Knapp, of CDA. “The award winning projects exemplify not only the formability and durability of copper, but the incredible diversity in the world of architecture.”’

As you disembark from the Bainbridge Island/Seattle ferry, the spectacular Eagle Harbor Market welcomes you with retail shops, restaurants, a bakery and an event center. Its richly detailed copper patina, beautiful indigenous gardens, and nationally recognized sustainable architecture compliment the surrounding environment, and invites visitors and community members to come shop, eat, and play.

Architecturally, copper was chosen for the exterior cladding to provide distinctive color and texture to the building’s massing.  The copper material is envisioned as a “wrapper”, open on the ends, sitting atop a concrete plinth.  The copper suggests a natural and textural juxtaposition with the building’s horizontal ironwood laths and elegant concrete base.

The Market Building was designed to be a sophisticated and distinctive neighbor to the adjacent Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, the most prominent building on the site.  The use of copper as a cladding material created an interplay of exterior volumes between the Market Building and the Museum.  The client’s desire for low maintenance, longevity, elegance and distinctive appearance made copper an obvious choice.

After fabrication the panels were sent to a local architectural metal company who applied an accelerated patina. Panels were cut to a 5 foot uniform length to facilitate handling without damage and joints were staggered. Experience showed that the patina was durable enough that it could be applied prior to installation.

Field panels turn the corners and windows in a single piece. Coping is also one piece secured with continuous 18 gauge stainless steel cleats. All sills are one piece stainless steel that integrates with the copper siding.

The 4500 square feet of copper siding is 20 ounce material fabricated in repeating vertical flat seam panels of three different heights and coursed to provide a random appearance. The 26-1/2” coverage area from coil stock was fabricated into 10”, 13-1/4” and 16-1/2” tall panels to maximize utilization. These were installed in rain screen fashion over 18-gauge stainless steel girts 16” on center. Non-combustible insulation behind the girts provide continuous exterior insulation to the steel framed walls eliminating thermal leaks.

The finale is an architecturally stunning and sustainable building. The patina continues to deepen and glow proving that copper is one of the few materials that looks better with age.