Project Description
This 11,100 sf 'pavilion in the park,' exhibits the urban design plans for future development of Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. For future transportation, reassembly and reuse in a new location, the structure is designed to separate into sections. Currently the pavilion is used to tell the story of the South Lake Union neighborhood - its past, present and future. Visitors to the center are able to understand and visualize the future plans for this emerging and changing part of Seattle.
The building, designed to be relocated in the future, takes a minimalist approach to the site. Its structure sites lightly on the land, suspended above the gently sloping site, atop short concrete piers. The building edges are cantilevered, allowing the grade and vegetation to run uninterrupted beneath.
The structure is comprised of four-sided steel bents, paired together with bolted connections and free-spanning the interior gallery and exhibit space. Building envelope components are designed as pre-fabricated and modular assemblies, clad with durable exterior materials such as metal wall and roof panels. The linear service bar component, housing the service functions of the pavilion, faces the park and is clad with softer wood materials and colors in harmony with the adjacent park and open space. Expansive floor-to-ceiling glass along the street facade opens the interior of the building to the sidewalk and streetscape, inviting those passing by to become engaged with the exhibit and activity inside. The wood roof structure cantilevers over the steel frame to provide a broad eave and protection from the elements.
By collaborating closely with the client who has a dedication and commitment to sustainable design practices, the project incorporates several environmental strategies, including: off-site prefabrication for greater construction efficiencies, storm water management with on-site bio-retention swales and recycled and environmentally responsible building materials.
Demountable - Designed for Flexibility
A primary program element for was to create a building and core that could provide adaptable exhibit space, capable of being reconfigured and reused for the presentation of multiple residential neighborhoods throughout the South Lake Union Region over a lengthy period of time. In addition to creating flexible interior space, the building itself was designed to be demountable, separating at three integrated joints to break into four separate modules (each forty feet in width and seventy-three feet in length) capable of being transported along surface streets. Each module may be moved to the new location, reconnected, and the building may resume functioning in its current capacity, or perhaps be reprogrammed for an entirely new use. All interior and exterior finishes and assemblies have a joint at this break point, covered by a removable plate, cap, or coping to suit each surface or location. This demountable aspect of the building is demonstrated to the public at the interior through the use of narrow aluminum closure plates on the floor and wall surfaces where they cross the disconnect joints. Barrier-free access to the main entrance and the catering kitchen is maintained by incorporating gangway ramps with integrated hinged joints, allowing the ramps to adapt to the topography of future building locations.
Such durability and flexibility allow the building to be reused for an unlimited number of years.
Materials and Assemblies
Several factors drove the selection of materials and assemblies including durability, recycled content and environmentally-responsible materials. A primary goal was to design assemblies and select materials that would facilitate the required demountable aspect of the project. The structural system of four-sided free-spanning rigid frame bents, along with the GLB wood purlins and OSB sheathing, allowed for most of the structure to not only be pre-fabricated off-site, but also finished painted, sealed, and stained in a controlled environment prior to transport to the site.
The steel frames were designed to incorporate shop-welded rigid corner connections with splice plates and exposed bolted connections at the vertical components of the bents. All finish-painted frame components were transported to the site, joisted into place, and spliced together quickly and efficiently.