Project By: GGLO
Lot size: 0.6 acres
Project size: 7,500 gross sq. ft.
Location: Boise, ID
Design Team
Sean Canady / Principal-in-Charge
Kevin Reed / Project Manager
Connie St. George / Project Architect
Kimberly Frank / Interior Design Principal
Mark Sindell / Landscape Architecture Principal
Consultants/Collaborators
5th & Grove Beta Office, LLC/deChase Miksis / Owner/Developer
Axiom / Structural Engineer
Musgrove Engineering / Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
The Land Group / Civil Engineering
Andersen Construction / General Contractor
SEED Idaho PC / Commissioning/Leed
Design for Integration
The scale, form, materials and details of 5th & Grove combine Boise’s new and old urban architecture and fabric. The design approach seeks to enhance the life of the street and the alley while blending into the city. The resulting dialogue adds to and invigorates the existing buildings and neighborhood by creating a space for new businesses and introducing a contemporary form within the downtown streetscape.
Design for Discovery
5th & Grove reimagines how urban infill development responds to its context by creating a lively architectural dialogue with surrounding buildings, streets, alleys and parks while also embracing the existing and evolving built fabric of downtown Boise. The design extends the footprint to the surrounding lot lines and then slices the mass into two distinct elements. The larger form has an open floor plan, with sizable operable windows facing east to CW Moore Park across the street and mountain range beyond and west to Boise’s skyline. The alley elevation is composed of a rhythmic series of vertical windows on all floors, activating the ground. The narrower and lower vertical element, adjacent to the new multi-family development, serves the formal and active entries with ancillary common spaces that include stairs, restrooms, shower, bike storage, lockers and mechanical spaces. Both elements are topped off with a green roof that is visible to adjacent residents.
Design for Resources
Internally, the building provides flexible spaces with large openings to the street and exposed ceilings. The heavy timber LVL wood joist structure and exposed plywood sheathing provide a rich, natural texture visible from the street. Modeling and analyzing the building for embodied carbon and operational impacts were important factors in pursuing LEED BD+C Silver and LEED O+M accreditations.
Design for Water
Beyond water monitoring and low-flow water fixtures, the landscape and planting plan serve as a natural stormwater infiltration system while grounding the project to place with native plants. In addition to the green roof, an infiltration planter at the ground level was installed with native plants that mimic the sedges and rushes along the Boise River.
Design for Well-Being
The mental and physical effects of the building, passersby and neighboring residents were an important consideration in the design. The active entry encourages the use of the stairs and bike transportation while the formal entry provides accessible access to the upper floors.
