NBBJ

This project addresses the rapidly evolving needs of the city’s most innovative commercial tenants and the future of work by repositioning all of the building’s public spaces. Boldly current and reflective of complex fabrication techniques, the spaces are now centered on the human experience and are ready to support the city’s meteoric growth as a high-tech hub.

The design elements directly reference motifs found in and around Seattle, from wood ceilings that emulate the motion of wind and waves to a fractal travertine wall inspired by the region’s tectonic activity. They all work in harmony to shape a series of calming spaces for tenants and visitors to work, recharge, and connect.

Advanced technologies, such as VR modeling, were at the core of a design process through which the team developed a highly tactile and emotional experience for the spaces. The fractal wall was computationally designed and engineered, and each of the 1,400 stone pieces used in its construction was optimized.

Two Union Square Repositioning

Grasshopper is a visual programming language and environment that pairs with Rhino 3D, a software program also developed by Robert McNeel & Associates. Grasshopper allows users to build algorithms by dragging and connecting components on a digital canvas. From parametric modeling and fabrication, lighting performance analysis, to building energy consumption, Grasshopper provides an intuitive way to explore design without requiring programming experience.

Grasshopper

<p data-start="190" data-end="758">Revit is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) software developed by Autodesk, widely used across architecture, engineering, and construction disciplines. It allows users to design, model, and document buildings and infrastructure in a single, coordinated environment. In Revit, every element in a project is part of an interconnected database. Changes made to one view&mdash;such as a plan, elevation, or section&mdash;are automatically reflected in all other views of the model. This parametric relationship ensures consistency and reduces the risk of errors in documentation.</p>
<h2 data-start="760" data-end="782">Core Capabilities</h2>
<p data-start="784" data-end="1234">Revit supports both 2D drafting and 3D modeling, but its primary strength lies in its data-rich modeling environment. Each object in Revit is not just geometry; it carries information about its physical properties, materials, and relationships to other components. Revit includes tools for architectural design, structural engineering, and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) systems, enabling multiple disciplines to work within the same model.</p>
<p data-start="1236" data-end="1641">The software also allows for the creation of schedules, material takeoffs, and detailed construction documentation directly from the model. Because Revit stores all information in one file, edits are reflected across all drawings, schedules, and sheets automatically. This feature is particularly valuable for coordinating complex projects where multiple people and teams are contributing to the design.</p>
<h2 data-start="1643" data-end="1674">Collaboration and Workflow</h2>
<p data-start="1676" data-end="2024">Revit is designed to support collaboration in various forms. Worksharing enables multiple team members to work on a single project file simultaneously, with a central model managing updates. For distributed teams, Revit can integrate with cloud-based platforms like Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, allowing real-time collaboration across locations.</p>
<p data-start="2026" data-end="2471">Revit also facilitates interoperability with other software used in the AEC industry. It supports import and export in multiple formats, including DWG, IFC, and DGN, and can connect with analysis tools for energy performance, structural analysis, and daylight simulations. Its API (Application Programming Interface) allows for customization and automation through tools like Dynamo, enabling advanced workflows and repetitive task automation.</p>
<h2 data-start="2473" data-end="2500">Practical Applications</h2>
<p data-start="2502" data-end="2889">In architecture, Revit is used for conceptual design, detailed design development, and construction documentation. Engineers use Revit for structural analysis and to coordinate MEP systems with architectural and structural elements. Contractors and project managers use Revit models for quantity takeoffs, construction sequencing, and clash detection, ensuring fewer conflicts on site.</p>
<p data-start="2891" data-end="3071">Revit is also applied in facility management, as the detailed model can serve as a digital twin of the completed building, providing valuable data for operations and maintenance.</p>
<h2 data-start="3073" data-end="3085">Summary</h2>
<p data-start="3087" data-end="3554">Revit provides a unified environment where design, documentation, and analysis coexist in one coordinated model. Its parametric nature, data integration, and multi-disciplinary capabilities have made it a standard in the AEC industry. Whether used for designing a single-family home or a large-scale infrastructure project, Revit enables teams to work more precisely, maintain consistency across outputs, and manage complex building information in an organized way.</p>

Revit

Work Intuitively: Create stunning visualizations instantly by using a plugin that requires no prior specialized knowledge to use. Click "start" to see and experience your designs like never before.<br /><br />Avoid Disconnected Workflows: Design, document, and visualize simultaneously from one model. Instantly see changes made in your design model in Enscape.<br /><br />Make Better Decisions Faster: The ability to see and evaluate design decisions in real-time allows you to iterate more effectively and easily share the results with teams, partners, and clients.<br /><br />Set Your Firm Apart: Bring your designs to life with stunning quality. Enscape has full VR support, multiple panorama export, web standalone and desktop standalone app, panorama tour, and video animation to help clients understand the full scale of your project through an immersive environment.<br /><br />Used by renowned architecture firms in over 150 countries, such as Foster + Partners and Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), Enscape brings your designs to life and enables you to make informed decisions and design intuitivel

 The real-time integration means there’s no need to sync models or import or export files. You can even design via the rendering window and have it reflected live in your model.

Access more than 392 predefined high-quality materials in the Enscape Material Library. 

Fine-tune materials in the Enscape Material Editor. Make use of height maps and adjust textures to raise the level of realism in your visualizations.

Choose from multiple versions of the same asset to convey the right story. 

Simulate lighting situations at different times of the day or check the artificial lighting concept in your building at night.

Render in different styles: White mode, Light view, Polystyrol mode, and Outline.

Create stunning renderings for client presentations 

Enscape 3.5: OUT NOW! Discover Your Next Visualization Asset

Enscape for Mac: Archicad, Vectorworks & SketchUp Now Supported

Visualizations by the Enscape Community — Highlights

Enscape

Enscape is a real-time rendering and VR plugin that empowers design workflows by turning building models into immersive 3D experiences.

Unity Reflect is a design review and coordination solution that connects all project members on one immersive, collaborative, real-time platform regardless of device, model size, or geographic-location

Unity Reflect

Rhinoceros 3D is a 3D computer graphics and computer-aided design application software developed by the American company Robert McNeel & Associates. Utilizing NURBS mathematical modeling to produce precise representations of free-form, curving surfaces, Rhino is used in industries such as architecture, industrial design, automotive design, product design, and multimedia and graphic design.

Two Union Square Repositioning

Key Facts

Tools Used in the Case Study

Grasshopper

Revit

Enscape

Unity Reflect

Rhino 3D

User Experience

Gallery

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