NWCB's 2021 Outstanding Project of the Year Award Winners

The recipients of NWCB's 2021 Outstanding Project of the Year Awards have been selected!

1. OREGON

Interior - Commercial

OHSU Casey Eye Institute Elks Children’s Eye Clinic

Western Partitions Inc.

Photo © Cooper Howard

The five-story OHSU Casey Eye Institute Elks Children’s Eye Clinic and Research Center will be the nation’s first free-standing children’s eye clinic. It currently is attached to the existing eye clinic by a new skybridge. The building will offer services for pediatric eye care and research. It will also house the Translational Clinical Trials Center and the World Family Macular Degeneration Center.

What makes this building unique are sensory aspects tailored to children’s vision with bright colors, tactile sensory areas, and child-friendly graphics. The lobby is geometric in shape with a ceiling featuring a Decoustics ceiling panel system.

Another lobby feature is a Rulon wood wall featuring a graphic showcasing donors to the Casey Eye Clinic. WPI also installed Vitrulan woven-glass wall coverings throughout the building.

A big challenge was construction of the children’s play/waiting area, which had fun and exciting openings with sharp angles for children to access the room. The concierge area was round and had angled soffits. Laying down smaller track was more time-consuming to make those angles accurate. Communicating with other trades on the fireproofing was essential.

Trades:

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Laborers International Union of North America Local 737

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Plasterers Local 82

Suppliers:

Building Specialties

CWallA

GTS Interior Supply

L&W Supply

Knez Building Materials Co.

Service Partners

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

CEMCO

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

Rulon International

Simpson Strong-Tie

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

2. OREGON

Interior - Residential

Modera Davis (The Gossamer)

Western Partitions Inc.

NWCB 2021 POY winner project 2

Photo © Cooper Howard

The Modera Davis project, now officially named “The Gossamer,” is a 12-story, high-rise complex of 204 luxury apartments located in the heart of the famous Portland Pearl District. The building has underground parking, three retail spaces at ground level, and multiple amenities.

Entering the lobby, visitors are enveloped by an architectural feature dubbed The Ice Cave during construction. The multi-dimensional space required tedious layout, framing, hanging, and finishing to achieve the desired architectural look. A spider web of complex framing appears to float with 49 unique points on the floors, adjoining walls, and ceiling. The design posed many challenges, from concept to construction, and required departmental collaboration. Superintendents, foremen, and multiple trades (MEP, framers, tapers) were involved in The Ice Cave construction.

Other great detail work included a wraparound “floating mailbox” in the mailroom; a dramatic drop ceiling in the leasing office; and Axiom trims in the club room and conference spaces. Major challenges were the tight working spaces, on-time deliveries, and crane coordination with multiple trades. Constant exposure to the general public required the safety and field management teams to work closely together.

Architect:

SERA

Trades:

International Union of Painter and Allied Trades

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers

Building Specialties

CWallA

GTS Interior Supply

Knez Building Materials Co.

L&W Supply

Service Partners

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

BASF

CertainTeed Gypsum

Clark Dietrich/Vinyl Corp.

Clinch-On Cornerbead Co.

Georgia-Pacific

GRABBER

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Simpson Strong-Tie

Sto Corp.

Trim Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

3. OREGON

Exterior - Commercial

adidas East Village Expansion

Western Partitions Inc.

NWCB 2021 POY winner project 3 adidas

Photo © Cooper Howard

The adidas East Village Expansion consists of two new buildings expanding the adidas North American Headquarters in Portland. Both buildings were designed to incorporate Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) as a key architectural feature.

The design and incorporation of CLT as the floor and roof structural component is new to the Portland area. The innovative building design led to challenges on how to attach exterior panels and curtain walls while bypassing the floors. WPI actively participated in the architectural design throughout the preconstruction process. This successfully supported slab topping; installation of prefabricated wall paneling; and curtain wall assemblies.

WPI’s prefabricated panels expedited dry-in on both structures, while minimizing the onsite workforce and maximizing quality. WPI prefabricated and installed 410 panels on the project, both single-story and multi-story, so that only stitching of weather barrier onsite was required. This effectively supported the trades in beginning their work earlier with assurances the sub-straights were correct for installation. WPI also installed the fiberglass-framed windows.

The proactive partnership with adidas, Turner Construction, and LEVER Architecture made this project a win-win for Portland and prefabricated exterior panels.

Architect:

LEVER

Trades:

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

Building Specialties

CWallA

Service Partners

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Simpson Strong-Tie

USG Building Systems

4. OREGON

Exterior - Commercial

140 Columbia

Western Partitions Inc.

NWCB 2021 POY winner project 4 columbia

Photo © Cooper Howard

The 140 Columbia project is a 20-story, high-rise apartment building located in the heart of downtown Portland. What made this project unique was the use of panelized wall assemblies from studs to finish of the first six floors; the rainscreen precast concrete façade; integration of an existing parking structure, and its location in downtown Portland.

It will provide low-income housing, rooftop amenities on level 6 and a dog park on level 16. The building has stunning views of the Willamette River, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University).

An existing parking structure needed to remain open throughout construction, and the jobsite was surrounded on all four sides by busy city streets. To overcome both issues, WPI panelized complete wall assemblies for the first six floors of the building. The panels included all framing, sheathing, water-resistive barriers, and ARCIS precast concrete panels.

Flying in fully finished wall assemblies reduced the duration of installation and the number of lane closures in surrounding traffic. Some panels were in excess of 3,400 pounds and were installed during peak holiday season. Reducing the overall footprint was critical to the project’s success. Through teamwork, engineering, and perseverance, WPI was able to deliver a high-quality project on time and within the established budget.

Architect:

WDG Architecture Dallas, PLLC

Trades:

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

L&W Supply

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Simpson Strong-Tie

USG Building Systems

5. OREGON

Light-Gauge Steel Framing

OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC)

Western Partitions Inc.

Photo © Teresa Burcher

Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center is a marine sciences laboratory and classroom/learning center located in Newport on Yaquina Bay. It houses both laboratories and classroom and learning centers, and the location enables researchers and students to have close access to the marine habitats they are studying.

Along with fostering collaboration between marine science disciplines and nurturing the next generation, this building was designed and built to withstand a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, including a tsunami that could follow, making this building the evacuation center for the bay. To achieve this design, WPI partnered with Heartland Construction to engineer the exterior of the building. The design called for the use of bypass framing for 3 stories. This required coordination from the ground level to the roof deck to ensure the 40-foot studs were hoisted and installed correctly and safely because the winds on the Oregon Coast can easily reach and exceed 20 miles per hour. There are few buildings like this in North America. The execution of this building project amounts to the combined feats of planning and engineering and is testament to the seamless collaboration between all partners on this project.

WPI provided all the metal interior and exterior framing, sheathing, drywall, and finishes.

Architect:

Yost Grube Hall Architecture

Trades:

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

Manufacturers:

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

6. OREGON

Renovation

Pacific Source Headquarters

Western Partitions Inc.

Photo © Teresa Burcher

The Pacific Source Headquarters in Springfield has 400,000 square feet of floor space spread over two stories. The building’s main feature is a stunning, sawtooth skylight that measures nearly 1/8 of a mile in length and stands 33 feet off the floor.

In one of its main challenges, WPI installed soffits on both sides of the skylight from one end to the other. Off the central hallway, the renovated building has multiple administrative offices, a call center, a multitude of training rooms, and several lounges and break rooms for employees.

WPI installed roughly 123,798 square feet of acoustical ceiling, 4,722 square feet of perforated metal panels and 2,072 square feet of custom, wood-finished ceilings. About 14,400 square feet of walls were framed and finished, 261,454 square feet of insulation installed, and 429,740 square feet of sheet rock installed, with 338,805 square feet of Level 4 finish.

Architect:

GBD Architects

Trades:

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

District Council of Laborers

Suppliers:

Building Specialties

CWallA

Grabber Construction Products

GTS Interior Supply

L&W Supply

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

BASF

CEMCO

CertainTeed Gypsum

ClarkDietrich/Vinyl Corp.

Fry Reglet Corporation

FSorb

Georgia-Pacific

GRABBER

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Simpson Strong-Tie

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

7. OREGON

Restoration

Hayward Field

Western Partitions Inc.

Photo © Teresa Burcher

The Hayward Field renovation project at the University of Oregon is a world-class, track-and-field facility constructed on a 12-acre site with 12,650 permanent seats (with expandable seating to roughly 25,000), a nine-lane track, private suites, multiple concessions, and a ten-story tower resembling the Olympic Torch.

After a two-year renovation, the space includes an indoor track-and-practice area, locker rooms, basement weight rooms, hydrotherapy room, sports medicine clinic, barber shop, waffle shop, anti-gravity treadmill, and a museum displaying awards and the history of Hayward Field. The new facility, opened in early 2021, will be used for Olympic Trials and NCAA championships in the future.

Architect:

SRG Partnership Inc.

Trades:

District Council of Laborers

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Plasterers Local 82

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

L&W Supply

Service Partners

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

Clinch-On Cornerbead Co.

Dryvit Systems, Inc.

Fry Reglet Corporation

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

8. OREGON

Suspended Ceiling

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

Performance Contracting, Inc.

Photo courtesy of 9Wood © Thomas Nelson

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact was specifically designed to encourage a team-based, interactive approach to research and dramatically reduce the time it takes for discoveries to enter the market with new procedures, medical devices, or treatments.

The first of three buildings on the University of Oregon campus combines labs and classrooms into an innovation center with cutting-edge facilities. PCI’s scope included framing, drywall, insulation, finishing, plaster, fireproofing, expansion joints, clean room, and impressive acoustical and specialty ceilings throughout the building.

Because of the tight schedule and lack of field-cutting area, a dedicated craft worker started on ceiling details months before work began to accommodate long lead times for producing the customized metal and acoustical material for the first-floor atrium. On the finish details, aligning metal trimmed reveals with acoustical ceilings, wood ceilings, and acoustical plaster was essential.

In the seminar room, PCI used customized, prefabricated, radius track as support for the wood ceilings and for a better finished result. Using BIM three-dimensional modeling for the ceilings and dry training rooms resulted in accurate ordering, installation, and seamless integration of MEP. The result is an amazing building showing creative design, intricate finishes, and true craftmanship.

Architect:

BORA Architecture & Interiors

Ennead Architects

Trades:

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Plasterers Local 82

Suppliers:

CWallA

GTS Interior Supply

Knez Building Materials Co.

L&W Supply

Spears Construction Supply

Valhalla Construction Products

Western Materials

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

Clinch-On Cornerbead Co.

Dryvit Systems, Inc.

Fry Reglet Corporation

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

9. OREGON

Project Under $500K

BLRB Architects Office

The Harver Company

Photo © Gabe Hurley

The Harver Company entered the BLRB Architects office in Bend for this award category to showcase how many scopes of work can be carried out in even the smallest of spaces. The office features a dark-color paint scheme, with topographical map graphics seamlessly laid out on the walls and even within the glazing. This required high-quality, gypsum-board finishes. Distinctive Armstrong Lyra PB Vector cloud ceilings used 4-inch Vector Axiom.

A mixture of other Armstrong acoustical ceilings and beautiful Navy Island Sound Ply walnut ceilings are featured throughout the space. Wood veneer wall panels providing a continuation of the ceilings are a matching walnut Sound Ply product. One of the challenging features was to create an illusion of the wood ceilings continuing through the clerestories separating the meeting spaces. The wood ceiling had to start and stop at the glazing but still look continuous throughout the acoustical assembly. Custom tackboards provided by FSorb were also installed by The Harver Company.

The BLRB Architects project provides a small yet powerful example of the industry’s creativity and a testament to the quality of the craftworkers of The Harver Company’s central Oregon division.

Architect:

BLRB Architects

Trades:

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Suppliers:

GTS Interior Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

Clinch-On Cornerbead Company

CEMCO

FSorb

Grabber Construction Products, Inc.

Hamilton Drywall Products

Plexxis Software

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

10. WASHINGTON

Exterior -- Residential

NEXUS

Performance Contracting, Inc.

Photo © Lucas Finlay

NEXUS is a 40-story, 440-foot condo tower with 389 units — the first new condominium built in downtown Seattle in ten years. The unique building design for NEXUS consists of a series of six stacked boxes rotated with an 8-degree offset on levels 8, 19, 28, and 37. A destination retail space takes up the ground floor, and 316 stalls of parking are available on 11 levels.

The building’s design contributed to challenges in the schedule. The rotating floors required go-back work to remobilize and finish the floors where outrigging was used to access the underside of the rotated slabs. PCI had to hold back framing of the demising and unit walls until the outrigger system was disassembled and moved up the tower. PCI’s crews would then drop back down to finish uncompleted areas. Even though PCI anticipated this out-of-sequence work, production was slowed. The deficit was overcome by bringing in the company’s most experienced framers and hangers to make up for production time loss.

The scope of work included framing and sheathing of exterior wall assemblies; installation of fluid-applied, air-and-weather barriers and insulation; framing interior metal-stud wall assemblies; installing and finishing gypsum wallboard on the walls and ceilings; installing sound-absorbing wall panels; installing metal-panel and acoustic wood ceilings; fireproofing; and applying Venetian and Fellert acoustical plaster.

Architect:

Weber Thompson

Trades:

Plasterers Local 82

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

Drywall Distributors, Inc.

Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

Award Metals

CertainTeed Gypsum

Fry Reglet Corporation

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

11. WASHINGTON

Exterior - Commercial

QuilCeda Creek Casino

Alliance Partition Systems

Photo © Rachel Anderson

The brand-new 126,000-square-foot QuilCeda Creek Casino and multi-level parking garage in Tulalip is located across from the old casino (which has now closed) on 15 acres of tribal land at Exit 199 off the I-5 corridor.

The new QuilCeda Creek Casino features:

1,500 gaming machines (an increase of 500 machines) and 16 game tables with new games;
“The Kitchen” – an exciting food hall experience with venues serving a variety of made-to-order dishes;
“The Landing” – classic favorites on the menu for full-service, a-la-carte dining;
“The Stage” – expanded entertainment offerings including live music and sports viewing on massive state-of-the art video walls;
A 1,000-stall, six-story parking structure with additional surface parking and charging stations for electric vehicles.

Alliance Partition Systems was tasked with carrying out an engineered, delegated design of cold-formed metal framing of the 37-foot radius walls and installing weather barrier and exterior sheathing.

The challenge was to verify the many different radiuses, sizes, and quantities of the walls with multiple gauges. Alliance managed the seamless construction, and the new site opened in early 2021.

Architect:

Thalden, Boyd, Emery

Trades:

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CB Wholesale

CWallA

Manufacturers:

CertainTeed Gypsum

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

12. WASHINGTON

Light-Gauge Steel Framing

Seattle University Center for Science and Innovation

Anning-Johnson Company

Photo © Kevin Scott

The Center for Science and Innovation represents the future of STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) education at Seattle University. It will be housed in a new five-story, 111,000-square-foot LEED Gold building for biology, chemistry, and computer science programs. It contains state-of-the-art research and teaching labs, a computer science project center, and a dynamic space for innovation.

The many challenges on this project were addressed with a team effort. The job was hit with harsh rain throughout the entire exterior and structural build. A field management team continuously made suggestions, such as using cordless blowers to push water and shooting track in place instead of snapping lines. The team used aluminum I-beams with plywood to safely and quickly work in high areas of the atrium.

The main feature stair area was complicated because the stairway structure was already in place, requiring designing and building temporary stair treads and landings to do the work. The team’s tapers researched and found a lift that could be used for three of the floors, which was safer and less expensive. Because the company panelized parts of the exterior and used booms, less time was spent working on the exterior and exposed to the weather than with a scaffold or swing stage.

Architect:

Mithun

Trades:

Cement Masons and Plasterers Local 528

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Plasterers Local 82

Suppliers:

Drywall Distributors

Foundation Building Materials

Manufacturers:

Award Metals

CEMCO

Georgia-Pacific

GRABBER

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

13. WASHINGTON

Interior - Commercial

Puyallup I-5 Emerald Queen Casino

Western Partitions Inc.

Photo © Doug Walker Photography

The Puyallup I-5 Emerald Queen Casino project has over 18,000 square feet of exterior framed walls, ceilings, and soffits. What makes this building unique is the sheer size of the project, clearly visible from the freeway. The building covers over two city street blocks with exterior framed ceilings totaling over 90,000 square feet.

The exterior framing consisted of prefabricated panels, built by WPI Prefab in Portland, and “stick-built” framing of soffits and ceilings. The largest panels were 52 feet long and 12 feet wide. Over 320 individual panels were installed during 12 sequences of work.

A major challenge was setting such large, prefabricated panels — many of which were over 15 feet above the roof deck, where scissor lifts were not permitted. Another challenge was fabricating and setting V-shaped panels to align with the windows below. Stick framing was maneuvered around a tight site and large overhangs. Making such connections were often 100 feet in the air on a boom lift — not for the faint of heart!

Finally, WPI installed massive, framed openings for two of the largest LED screens in the Pacific Northwest. The larger of the two screens is over 100 feet wide by 18 feet tall.

Architect:

Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc.

Trades:

Cement Masons and Plasterers Local 528

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

CertainTeed Gypsum

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

14. WASHINGTON

Interior - Residential

Rufus 2.0 Block 21

Performance Contracting, Inc.

The Rufus 2.0 Block 21 project is an addition of two office buildings to the Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle. The two towers — one at 24 stories and the other at 8 stories — are connected by a three-tier skybridge and contain four levels of underground parking. The two towers add 850,000 square feet of office space, while the shorter tower provides a permanent space for Mary’s Place, a homeless shelter for 200 people. The shelter includes private and dorm-like rooms, kitchens, lounges, and offices for staff and volunteers.

A monumental challenge was constructing two vertical high rises on one condensed lot. With the fast-paced schedule and double the correspondence, coordination between the design team, GLY Construction, and PCI was critical to keep pace with field construction. PCI ventured beyond the typical framed walls and ceilings into constructing furniture from metal studs, such as continuous benches in common spaces; two-story, crate-like collaboration spaces; food-service counters; reception desks; and support framing for other ceiling and wall finishes.

PCI’s scope of work was metal-stud framing, gypsum-board assemblies, and insulation buildouts of three retail spaces on the ground level; five floors of tenant improvements; and shell-and-core work on 96 elevator lobbies, four main lobbies, and support areas such as kitchens, food service, restrooms, and mechanical/electrical rooms.

Architect:

Graphite Design Group

Trades:

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

Building Specialties

CWallA

Drywall Distributors, Inc.

L&W Supply

Service Partners Building Specialties

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

CEMCO

CertainTeed Gypsum

Georgia-Pacific

GRABBER

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Simpson Strong-Tie

USG Building Systems

15. WASHINGTON

Renovation

Angel of the Winds Casino Expansion

KHS&S Contractors

The Angel of the Winds Casino expansion and renovation project elevates the property to a destination resort with the addition of a 750-seat concert/conference hall, a 12-lane bowling alley, 200-seat buffet, and 60-seat steakhouse — along with 275 slot machines and 12 table games.

The design takes its cues from Washington’s natural landscape with modern details for balance. The main casino design creates a dynamic guest experience with sweeping pathways and ceiling elements, while the entertainment block has dramatic lighting and bold colors. The project was unique for KHS&S because of new elements, such as a bowling alley and interactive golf simulator on the main floor.

The KHS&S team used a QML layout tool to save 50 percent of the layout budget. They also used Lean Software Development for pre-task planning and prefabrication of exterior panels; 3,047 feet of prefabricated curves for interior soffits; and prefinished, glass-reinforced-gypsum corners. Weekly Work Plans, Stand-Up Lean Boards, and other tools were used as well.

The casino was open during construction, so KHS&S remained solution-oriented. By using EIFS, panels were dried in a building onsite quickly and ahead of schedule, and the duct work was designed to be 12 feet wide, benefitting MEPs and trades.

Architect:

Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc.

Trades:

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

GTS Interior Supply

L&W Supply

Spears Construction Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

Award Metals

CertainTeed Gypsum

Fry Reglet Corporation

Hamilton Drywall Products

HILTI

Plexxis Software

Safti-Seal Inc.

SCAFCO Steel Stud Company

Trim-Tex Inc.

USG Building Systems

16. WASHINGTON

Stucco

Seattle Asian Art Museum Expansion and Renovation

Western Partitions Inc.

NWCB 2021 POY winner project 16 seattle asian art museum

This project focused on expanding and renovating the magnificent Seattle Asian Art Museum, a 1933 masterpiece of Art Deco design. Located in the lush Volunteer Park, the museum is home to an extensive Asian art collection, making it one of the most beloved treasures in Seattle.

The scope of work was to meld old and new by applying a state-of-the-art insulated and drainable stucco system over existing building surfaces.

The existing surface required extensive patching and repair before applying the weather barrier, Cascadia clips, Z-furring, and 2-inch mineral wool. This was followed by Hal-Tex breather board attached to Z-furring and covered with one layer of 30-minute Fortifier paper. After applying metal lath and trim accessories, a ½-inch stucco brown and ¾-inch limestone plaster finish were applied.

Once the brown coat was cured, WPI was able to hang a ¾-inch coat of the colored limestone plaster. However, this finish system would only allow about 700 to 800 square feet to be applied each day. When nearly dried, a hard towel and float-out were applied to achieve the desired marbleized, Venetian-look finish. The freshly renovated museum has been masterfully restored to its original glory.

Architect:

LMN Architects

Trades:

Cement Masons and Plasterers Local 528

Laborers International Union of North America Local 737

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

Commencement Bay Construction Products

GTS Interior Supply

Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel

Manufacturers:

CEMCO

Fry Reglet Corporation

GRABBER

Simpson Strong-Tie

17. WASHINGTON

Suspended Ceiling (Acoustical)

Hyatt Regency Seattle

Performance Contracting, Inc.

Hyatt Regency Seattle is now Seattle’s largest hotel, located near the upcoming convention center expansion. The 45-story hotel measures 1.4 million square feet with 1,260 hotel rooms, six levels of underground parking, two 20,000-square-foot ballrooms, meeting spaces, lounge, and retail. The building’s modern exterior is composed of polished, white concrete panels and structural glass walls.

The ground-floor lobby features a full-height white, Venetian plaster wall, mimicking the white exterior. PCI installed 31,000 square feet of wood wall and ceiling panels in the level 3 ballroom, plus wood ceilings in the hotel’s restaurant and fitness room. Specialty metal panel ceilings included products from Ceilings Plus, Armstrong, and Hunter Douglas.

PCI worked with four different ceiling vendors to install 40 different types of ceilings: linear metal; custom wood grilles; exterior metal panels; acoustical ceiling panels; triangular metal-panel ceilings; and Unistrut. The Ceilings Plus Trilusions panels in the lobby area feature eight types of ceiling panels. A perforated, square-metal panel in the lobby flows to exterior metal-panel ceilings for a seamless look from interior to exterior.

Installing 40 different types of ceilings required extensive preplanning and architect-approved shop drawings, plus 10-week lead times. Due to the sheer size of the project, PCI had to rotate in several different acoustical ceiling journeymen and apprentices to meet the deadlines.

Architect:

LMN Architects

Trades:

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Suppliers:

CWallA

Foundation Building Materials

GTS Interior Supply

Manufacturers:

Armstrong World Industries

HILTI

18. WASHINGTON

Project Under $500K

Muckleshoot Casino Center Bar

KHS&S Contractors

Muckleshoot Casino received a significant upgrade and expansion, which included a dynamic new center bar in the middle of the 157,000-square-foot gaming floor. The Muckleshoot Center Bar has 546 lineal feet of prefabricated, curved soffit work. All elements were prefabricated offsite and organized into wall kits, then assembled onsite.

The PanelMax gypsum wallboard milling machine was a key tool for eliminating corner bead and taping joints — speeding up the production schedule for all finishing work. Important elements of this project were extensive prefabrication; Glass-reinforced gypsum; sand and gravel; SCAFCO track-bending; Howick steel roll-forming machines; and custom brake shapes.

One specific challenge in working on the center bar was an existing wall that split the soffit into three distinct operations on the casino floor. This wall was to be removed just before completion. Half the perfect circle needed to be designed with one set of specific constraints while the other half was designed to meet a separate set of constraints. Visually, it was important to keep the fluid and smooth attributes of one consecutive piece. A final challenge was completing this work while the casino remained open and active.