Outstanding Project Award Winner: Climate Pledge Arena Project-PPT Presentation

PPT Presentation

Pdf Summary

The 2021 renovation of Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena transformed the historic 1962 Seattle World’s Fair venue while preserving key parts of its structure and façade. Earlier, a 1995 renovation had lowered the seating bowl and replaced the cable-supported roof with steel trusses. The latest project added a 53-foot-deep basement, parking garage, loading tunnel, south glass atrium, press-level bridge, catwalk and rigging grid, and seismic upgrades. The existing 44-million-pound roof, 20 Y-columns, four chevron braces, buttresses, and curtain-wall façade were retained.<br /><br />To support the roof during construction, the team built a temporary shoring system spanning roughly 400 by 400 feet. More than 3,000 tons of steel formed a 70-foot-tall structure supported by drilled shafts. The system temporarily replaced existing supports and was removed by January 2021.<br /><br />Below grade, excavation and earth retention had to accommodate a complex layout and preserve the landmark façade. Four “snorkels” at the arena’s corners provide air intake and exhaust as well as primary egress routes; the façade’s protected status prevented modifying it. The project used tied-back soldier piles and lagging with a shotcrete face, allowing flexible construction sequencing, locally available equipment and labor, and drainage to limit hydrostatic pressure.<br /><br />Earth-retention work involved 650 drilled-in soldier piles, 2,400 permanent tiebacks totaling 130,000 linear feet, and 680,000 cubic yards of excavation. The project also included 67 drilled shafts for temporary roof shoring and 117 for permanent support.<br /><br />The presentation credits close coordination among the owner, designers, contractors, and specialists across multiple disciplines and offices. This collaboration helped minimize field clashes and nonconforming work while delivering a construction schedule comparable to that of a new arena.

Keywords

Climate Pledge Arena

Seattle World’s Fair

2021 renovation

historic preservation

temporary shoring

drilled shafts

tiebacks

earth retention

seismic upgrades

steel trusses