Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion

Location

Seattle, Washington

Owner

Seattle Aquarium

Collaborators +

Project Size

50,000 square feet

Project Status

In Progress

Certifications

Targeting LEED New Construction Gold

Services

Architecture, Interior Design, Planning, Urban Design

The new Ocean Pavilion will be a unique facility, integrating a complex building program into Seattle’s dynamic urban context. The Alaskan Way viaduct, an elevated section of SR-99, historically severed the connections between downtown Seattle and the waterfront. The viaduct was demolished in 2019, providing space for the City of Seattle’s future Central Waterfront. The Ocean Pavilion will sit within this context at the terminus of the Central Waterfront’s landscaped pedestrian promenade and network of major civic open spaces. This unique site is fronted on the West by the edge of Elliott Bay, the working waterfront, and the expansive Puget Sound landscape beyond. The east edge of the building is fronted by Seattle’s dense, rapidly changing downtown, which sits on a bluff 63’ above the waterfront. The north side of the building is integrated with a pedestrian land bridge, which integrates with the Ocean Pavilion, lifting the landscape and public open space from the waterfront to the top of the bluff, while providing pedestrian linkages between Pike Place Market and downtown, with the waterfront and the Salish Sea.

To visibly honor and acknowledge the Aquarium’s location on Coast Salish land, the project team worked closely with local tribes and the Urban Native community to inform and shape the programming, design and cultural framework for the building, landscape, exhibits and public art. Engagement included hearing traditional stories from tribal elders, workshops with tribal youth, and regular design sessions with tribal representatives.