Sightlife Headquarters

Transparency, By Design

OUTGROWING THE OLD SPACE

A New Home for a Growing Mission

Sightlife, a Seattle nonprofit dedicated to eliminating corneal blindness worldwide, outgrew its previous space and found a new home in downtown Seattle's Park Place building. The 31,500-square-foot headquarters spans two contiguous floors joined by a communicating stair, supporting around-the-clock operations that range from sensitive conversations with donor families to exacting laboratory processes.

A LOGICAL PATH

Transparency Without Interruption

When the design team diagrammed Sightlife's flow of materials, personnel, and information, a clear layout emerged. Visitors move counterclockwise around the building's core, with extensive glazing offering views into the transplant process — from donor identification to the shipment of corneal tissue — without disrupting the work itself.

THE COMMUNICATING STAIR

A major concern during planning was ensuring that growth across two floors wouldn't create organizational silos or erode the culture built in Sightife's previous headquarters. The communicating stair became the answer — both a functional circulation element and a social connector, encouraging interaction between departments and standing as a visual centerpiece of the workplace.

MATERIALITY

Liveliness Within a Rational Layout

Through varied ceiling heights, materials, and pops of color, the design team gave SightLife's efficient, process-driven layout a sense of energy and warmth — proof that a highly technical facility doesn't have to feel clinical.

BUILT TO CONNECT

Spaces for Staff, Donors, and Partners

Beyond the lab floor, the upper level hosts non-process staff, donor receptions, and organizational events — spaces designed to support fundraising, education, and outreach alongside Sightlife's clinical mission. Portions of the facility were also planned with future growth in mind, giving the organization room to expand within the space over time.

A MISSION MADE VISIBLE

Donated Furniture, Uncompromised Quality

Working with general contractor Skanska, the team incorporated donated furniture, reused modular office systems, and repurposed casework throughout the build — proof that fiscal responsibility and design quality were never treated as a tradeoff, but as two halves of the same commitment to the mission.