Tapestry Square

Project

Year

2020

Location

Vancouver, Washington

Client

Ginn Group

The Challenge

Weaving Together Big-Box Retail with Single Family Zones

First Forty Feet’s design for Tapestry Square reimagines an underutilized site in Vancouver, WA as a vibrant, walkable neighborhood that bridges two distinct edges: established single-family homes and large-format retail. Rather than treating these as unintegrated parts of the neighborhood, the design weaves them together through complementary uses—introducing a mix of housing types and small-scale commercial spaces that serve as a transition zone and complete the surrounding community fabric.

Neighborhood Retail

By combining diverse housing, small business opportunities, and meaningful public spaces, Tapestry Square transforms an overlooked site into a cohesive neighborhood built on creativity, connection, and everyday life.

The Tapestry of People

Each block is imagined as a place for people of like minds—a tapestry of small communities within the whole. Makers, artists, go-getters, high-flyers, beekeepers, and librarians all find a home among their peers, with architecture and landscape tailored to support their shared interests. Workshops open onto shared courtyards, porches face lively lanes, and flexible interiors adapt to the evolving lives of residents.

Mid-Block Parklets

A fine-grained network of walkable streets, shared lanes, and mid-block passages encourages movement at the pedestrian scale, connecting residents to nearby shops, transit, and parks. At the center of the plan, a community parklet and a series of communal living courts provide spaces for informal gathering, shared gardening, and creative play. These intimate green spaces anchor social life within each block while softening the transition between private and public realms.

A New Center

At the heart of Tapestry Square is a neighborhood center designed to bring people together. Framed by local shops, cafés, and a small parklet, it serves as the social core of the community—a place for daily rituals, casual encounters, and shared events that give the neighborhood its identity and rhythm.

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