The Washington State Convention Center Addition will be an approximately 1,150,000-sf civic facility in the heart of downtown Seattle, marking a transformative moment in the history of the city. This month, the city’s Design Review Board approved the project to advance to the next phase of public process and permitting, after 3 sessions of open dialogue examining its relationship with the public realm. In this first stage, known as Early Design Guidance, LMN showed how the project’s civic contributions are as massive as its scale, navigating a diverse mix of public-private intersections while catering to the next generation of convention delegates with expectations of a rich urban experience.

Occupying a full city block, the building engages the urban form at all of its 8 levels, from the underground service and exhibit areas, to the street, to the skyline. Each façade presents a highly interactive, transparent edge, blurring the boundaries of the site with the city context and the building program. A glass-enclosed stair along Pine Street positions the interior circulation patterns at the edge of the building, creating dramatic west-facing views to the Pike Place Market and Puget Sound, and broadcasts the energy of convention visitors. A broad street plaza at the corner of Pine and 9^th Avenue collects the activity of local residents and visitors alike. Open air terraces on all levels, designed to accommodate a variety of events, look out to iconic views at the center of the Seattle experience.

The project also includes two adjacent blocks of mixed-use co-development to the north, planned as a 530,000-gross square foot office tower and a 385-unit residential tower, both rising over street-level podiums with retail opportunities.