AIA Seattle Self-Guided ADU Tour
AIA Seattle’s Housing Task Force presents a tour of built DADUs and AADUs in Seattle: June 15, 2019, 11am - 4pm.
Join us as we showcase innovative ADU designs across the city. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just interested in seeing what ADUs can look like in Seattle, this is your opportunity to explore built projects and talk to the architects.
The tour is free to all participants.
The tour is self-guided. In the week prior to June 15, registrants will receive maps and additional information to help locate each featured ADU. Please register for the tour via the button below and provide your email address. You must be willing to sign a waiver of liability at the first stop of your tour.
ADUs on the Tour
1. Crown Hill DADU
Contemporary two-level unit with a flexible space on the main level that includes a sleeping area, office and full bathroom with laundry—convertible for aging in place.
2. Smith-Gillman DADU
A single-story, Crown Hill DADU designed to allow a retired couple to age in place while sharing the property with their children and grandchildren.
3. Tangletown Backyard Cottage
With their children grown, the cottage owners wanted to downsize from their beautiful-but-too-large house but didn’t want to leave their neighborhood and friends. The cottage takes advantage of every available square inch of the allowable 800 sq. ft. while working with limited opportunities for light and views.
4. Interlaken DADU
Somewhat private DADU over a one-car garage, nestled within a park-like environment. The open studio apartment is suitable for visiting out of town family and friends and short term rental tenants while offering a potential living arrangement for future retirees who currently reside in the primary home.
5. Madison Valley Garden Apartment
An AADU originally built to accommodate parents of the homeowners who come for extended stays, with an eye to the future if one parents needs to move in permanently. Green design highlights include a solar panel array, AADU and main house built to energy standards 30% higher than code and a large rain garden.
6. 335 DADU
Created specifically as an investment rental property to maximize the potential of the small single-family lot, this new, two-bedroom DADU in the Central District responds to a combination of design goals, site constraints and code restrictions.
7. West Seattle Backyard Box
This DADU serves as a backyard office/studio for the homeowner who works as a professional photographer and also serves as an extra bedroom for visiting family. The design is a variation on the Backyard Box, which won Most Sustainable and Best of Show in the Method Homes/City of Seattle Backyard Cottage Design Competition in 2010.
8. Stone Solar Studio
In Highland Park, this 670-square foot, affordable NODE prefab one-bedroom studio is Seattle’s first DADU to achieve the International Living Future Institute’s zero energy certification. A south-facing solar roof provides all of the energy for the studio and the main house.
Volunteers Needed! Volunteers are needed to help support AIA Seattle’s ADU Tour on Saturday, June 15 in 3 hour shifts between 11am & 4pm. Volunteers will assist the architect at each site by checking in attendees, answering questions about the tour, and providing additional information. Contact Kirsten Smith at if you can help.
What is an ADU?
Accessory Dwelling Units are small, secondary dwelling units inside, attached to or in the rear yard of a single-family house. ADUs have the potential to increase housing affordability, create a wider range of housing options within the community, enable seniors to stay near family as they age and facilitate better use of the existing housing fabric in established neighborhoods. Information about current ADU permitting regulations in Seattle may be found here.
Seattle has proposed changes to the city’s ADU regulations, which were recently approved to move forward after an appeal of the final environmental impact statement related to the proposed changes. City Councilmember Mike O’Brien is expected to introduce his ADU proposal (the current draft is here) on May 29, followed by public input on June 11 and votes on June 18. The proposal will allow an AADU and a DADU on the same lot, would no longer require off-street parking for accessory units and would no longer require owners of properties with accessory units to live on site. If you are interested in commenting on the proposal, you may do so via email or in person at the June 11 public hearing.
Take the ADU Class – learn about creating an AADU or DADU.
