Abstract:
The current home of the Seattle Kraken NHL team at the Climate Pledge Arena, in Seattle Washington, started with the renovation of the existing 1962 World’ s Fair exhibit which was transformed into a modern 900, 000 square ft., 17, 000 seat arena with all modern amenities. The existing arena was below grade and included minimal event and amenities space. To transform the arena, the site was excavated about 60 ft. below grade to provide this additional space. The support of excavation system selected was permanent soldier piles and lagging with permanent tiebacks. This excavation was also completed with the iconic concrete roof, weighing in at 44 million pounds, supported in place on temporary underpinning. The support of excavation and foundation systems at the site are divided in four zones: the main arena , the snorkels, the pylons, and the south buttress, each of which had their own unique design and construction challenges. In the end, the construction team installed approximately 178, 000 square feet of permanent shoring, including 2, 400 soldier piles and 130, 000 linear feet of tiebacks. To support the new arena structure above, 199 drilled shafts of varying diameter and depth were installed at the site.