REI Seattle Flagship Store

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

Mithun assisted REI with the transition from its grassroots co-op beginnings to a world class retail experience. The building and landscape were crafted around the idea of an immersive user experience that challenged conventional approaches to retail design and has catalyzed an urban revitalization in Seattle’s urban fabric in the South Lake Union neighborhood. A hybrid wood, steel, and concrete structure, the design was optimized to create the largest commercial wood structure built in Seattle in a generation. By using Type III-B construction, the larger timber trusses, glue laminated floor and roof system and the steel structural frame could be exposed to create dramatic creative retail space.

IDENTITY AND ADVENTURE

The REI Seattle Flagship building design honors REI’s humble roots through expressed northwest utilitarian materials and pioneering sustainability strategies, including daylight and stormwater harvesting. The store challenges and invites patrons with features including the freestanding indoor climbing pinnacle and hiking and biking trails around the site.

ICONIC NORTHWEST DESIGN

This store is a beloved destination for tourists as well as residents. It continues to be a timeless anchor in a rapidly evolving neighborhood – a place to shop, eat, learn or just hang out. A Seattle architectural icon, it quietly reinforces the regional cultural ethic of connecting people to nature.