By Rachel Gallaher
Updated: Jan 25, 2021
One such route, which travels between the cities of Mukilteo (which sits about 30 miles north of Seattle) and Clinton (a hub on the eastern side of Whidbey Island) moves more than two million vehicles and nearly four million riders annually, meaning its terminals get a lot of traffic. By the early 2010s, the Mukilteo terminal was feeling its age—it was built in 1957—and needed to be brought up to contemporary environmental and building standards.
At the end of 2020, a new, two-story terminal building, designed by LMN Architects in partnership with KPFF Consulting Engineers was revealed, and opened, to the public. Designed with input from seven local tribes whose traditional fishing rights encompass the area’s coastal waters, the terminal’s shape is inspired by traditional longhouses, and a palette of concrete, steel, heavy timber, and CLT is a firm embodiment of Northwest aesthetics.
“We’re excited to welcome ferry riders and the public to our first new terminal in 40 years,” comments Amy Scarton, head of the Washington State Department of Transportation. “With its many green features and tribal-influenced design, it’s unlike any other in the system.”
The elevated Great Hall area, where walk-on passengers can wait for their boat, was constructed with a shed roof built with northwest Douglas fir beams and a cross-laminated timber roof deck. The north and south walls are glass curtainwall with operable glazing that opens automatically to cool the space in the warmer months. To the north, the tall glass wall provides dramatic views to the Salish Sea, which is the tribal name for the Puget Sound.
“The rhythm of the roof beams and purlins is echoed in the modulation of the glass walls, punctuated by the composite timber and steel columns,” says LMN principal architect Howard Fitzpatrick. “Aesthetically, LMN’s goal was to interpret the form and spirit of the historic longhouse, which has been the traditional communal building of Pacific Northwest Indian tribes for thousands of years. Rather than a literal recreation of the typology, the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal represents an interpretation of the longhouse that seeks to capture the simplicity and clarity of the form in a contemporary idiom.”
A traditional longhouse is entirely clad in cedar planks on the roof and walls, but, as Fitzpatrick explains, glass walls in the terminal provide both daylight and views to commuters, while the volume of the space recalls the historic precedent. “The tribal communal space of the longhouse is reimagined as a gathering space for the 21st century,” he says, “where travelers come and go much like they have for thousands of years from this beach.”
In addition, tribal cultural motifs created by local, Native American artists James Madison and Joe Gobin are displayed throughout the building. In conjunction with the terminal, a new waterfront promenade connects a path from downtown Mukilteo, through the terminal and on to the beach, creating an elevated pathway for public use and connecting different facets of the area to encourage community.