2014 PALLADIO AWARDS Restoration & Renovation WINNER: ZGF ARCHITECTS On the Right Track

PROJECT: Restoration of King n March 5, 2008, “Railroad Italianate,” it was designed historic lighting, reduced the grand Street Station, , WA Seattle, WA, made one by Reed and Stem, the firm that staircase connecting the King Street ARCHITECT: ZGF Architects, of the most important worked with and Jackson Street levels and added an Seattle, WA; Tim Williams, associ- investments in its his- on ’s Grand Central escalator to the exterior. ate partner, project manager; Otory – and it only cost $10. The Station. The brick building with a “It is one of three transporta- Dave Grant, landscape architect city purchased , a granite base features a tower modeled tion hubs in downtown Seattle,” says HISTORIC CONSULTANT: national, state and city landmark from after the Campanile de San Marco in Trevina Wang, King Street Station Artifacts Architectural Consulting, Burlington Northern Railroad (now Venice. Program Manager, Seattle Department Inc., Tacoma, WA; Michael S. Sullivan, principal BNSF). Initially the price had been Like many other historic build- of Transportation. “It was challenging set at $1, but the city found it couldn’t ings, King Street Station suffered a because it is on the National Register GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Sellen Construction, Seattle, WA; Ron write a check for that amount, so it mid-century “modernization,” start- of Historic Landmarks and it is also a Lamarche, superintendent; Garrett offered $10. In spite of the recession ing in 1949 with the installation of an city and state landmark. So any altera- Condel, project manager that hit the country in 2008, Seattle exterior escalator, and going through tion had to be reviewed at the federal LEED: Platinum; Green Building moved forward with plans to restore the mid 60s. All of the ornate vertical and local levels. Our goal was to pre- Services, Inc., Portland, OR; Ralph the historic station and was able to plaster was stripped from the waiting serve as much of the historic elements DiNola, principal in charge; Beth amass $50 million for the project. room walls up to the level of the new as possible and incorporate sustain- Shuck, planner The 62,400-sq.ft., three-story dropped ceiling that was 10 ft. lower able features as appropriate without building (plus another 6,400 sq.ft. than the original. This new ceiling obscuring the historic features. Some This story originally appeared in the for the 242-ft.-tall clock tower) holds hid the original balcony and second of the sustainable elements were hid- August 2013 issue of Traditional Building magazine. We are proud to present it again a special place in the hearts of the level arcade and punctured holes in den by the historic façade.” as a 2014 Palladio winner. citizens of Seattle. Completed in 1906 the original plaster ceiling. This res- One of the challenges was keep- and built in a style sometimes called toration also stripped the station of its ing the station open and operating

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: The King Street Station tower has once again taken its rightful place as an important marker in Seattle’s skyline. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider. Restored to its original grandeur under the direction of ZGF Architects, Seattle’s King Street Station, seen here from the Jackson Street plaza, serves as a center of the city’s transportation hub. It received a LEED Platinum rating. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider. The historic main waiting room with its 34-ft. ceilings and ornate plaster has now been restored to its original beauty. All lighting fixtures in the main waiting room are historic replicas with energy-efficient LED lighting. Photo: Doug Scott The Jackson Street Plaza was formerly a parking lot. Photo: Doug Scott

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LEFT: The plaster work on the ceiling and throughout was repaired and reproduced by EverGreene Architectural Arts. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider. ABOVE: The ter- razzo flooring was in fairly good condition. It required only rebuffing. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider. BOTTOM ROW, FROM LEFT: The historic main waiting room offered trav- elers an elegant welcome to the city. Photo: courtesy of Green Building Services. A mod- ernization in the 1960s lowered the ceiling in the main waiting room by 10 ft. and changed the character of the room. Photo: courtesy of Green Building Services. When restoration began, the architects found that holes had been punched in the original plaster ceiling to support the lowered ceil- ing that was added in the “modernization.” Photo: Ralph DiNola, Green Building Services

during all of the work. “It is a working tower were repaired by two gentle- ing, contributing significantly to the ond floor exits on to Jackson Street. train station,” says Wang. “It has been men from the National Association building’s LEED Platinum certifica- The Jackson Street Plaza, formerly a open since May, 1906 and we kept of Clock & Watch Collectors, Paul tion. Also contributing to this certifi- parking lot, is the roof of the first floor. it open the whole time throughout Bellamy and Norm Nelson. “This was cation is the fact that natural ventila- It is now a public gathering space. construction.” challenging because they are both in tion was restored to the waiting room. “In addition to the new sys- The goal of a LEED Platinum their 70s and they had to walk up and Wang points out that the 67 geo- tems, our renovation removed all of rating was stated from the beginning. down all of those stairs every day,” says wells connected to the ground-source the 1960s additions,” explains Tim “The city was clearly interested in not Wang. “We replaced the roof because heat pump (supplied and installed by Williams, associate partner, proj- just meeting city requirements,” says it was leaking,” she adds, “then we Geo Loop Tec in Seattle) are hidden ect manager, ZGF Architects. “This Ralph DiNola, principal in charge, hired the design team.” by the foundation slab of the building. included removing the exterior esca- Green Building Services. “They knew ZGF Architects and Sellen A glass canopy was installed on lator and the dropped ceiling in the this would be a real flagship property. Construction were brought in the north side to let in more light. main waiting room, restoring win- We discussed the potential of LEED after the first phase and tasked with “Originally the building had glass dows, replacing historic light fixtures platinum, and then we held an eco- upgrading all systems – seismic, elec- canopies on all four sides, but they and re-creating the ornate plaster charrette to determine what sustain- trical, mechanical, plumbing and fire had been replaced with metal. We work in the main waiting room.” ability measures would be possible for protection – in the entire building went back to glass for the north A huge portion of the project the project. From the beginning, all of and the tower, and with repairing and side to maximize natural light,” she was adding steel to the structure to the team members were in alignment re-creating the elaborate finishes in explains. In addition, solar panels were protect it from seismic events. “We in achieving the rating.” the public spaces, especially the main installed on the canopy on the south are located in a zone 4 earthquake The first phase, completed in 2009, waiting room. “Once the design was side of the building. “They are not zone,” Williams points out. “Working involved the roof and the clocks on completed, we realized that we had to prominent and they contribute to with the engineers, we designed a the clock tower. New green-glazed proceed in phases because of limited the energy efficiency of the building system that preserves the entire origi- terra-cotta tile roofing manufactured funding,” says Wang. because they get a lot of sunlight,” nal building. People looking at the by the same company that had sup- Completed in 2011, phase 2 Wang notes. building today would have no idea so plied the original tile, Ludowici Roof involved the installation of a new The building is on an 18-ft. grade much steel was added.” KPFF was the Tile, New Lexington, OH, was used geothermal system that supplies all of with Amtrak located on the first floor civil engineer for the project, ARUP for the roof. The four clocks on the the heating and cooling to the build- at the King Street level while the sec- and Coughlin Porter Lundeen (CPO)

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For additional photos and other content, see the web ver- sion of this article by visiting “The Magazine” on Traditional Building’s home page – www.traditional-building.com.

LEFT: A spiral staircase leads up into the clock tower. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider. ABOVE: Natural ventilation has been returned to the main waiting room as part of the rehabilitation. This was a significant factor in obtaining the LEED platinum rating. Photo: Doug Scott

were the structural engineers. To repair the marble wainscot in as it oxidizes,” Williams explains. “An is near the existing light rail and a In fact, 67 piles weighing 96 tons the main waiting room, ZGF found exact match to this 100-year-old glass new street car system is scheduled were installed inside and outside of the Carrara marble that was an accept- couldn’t be found, and that shape is to be added. In addition, develop- station. They were tied into rebar cages able match. The original was thought no longer available. Just as the city ers are planning to add 900 units of inside the new foundation slabs. And to have come from Alaska, but that was deciding what to do, someone housing and mixed-use development 1,345 tons of steel were installed on was no longer available. A mosaic called Ludowici, and said that they nearby. “The restoration of the station the interior, including new columns band within the marble wainscot had a large quantity of old glass tile has been somewhat of a catalyst for inserted into the perimeter walls on was restored using glass tile found in in storage and wanted to know if the the neighborhood, giving developers both sides of the brick-covered his- Murano, Italy. Mixed-Up Mosaics of company was interested in it. So the confidence that this is a good area for toric columns, new steel wall plating, NYC prepared the mosaics to match city of Seattle was able to acquire the investment,” says Williams. The nearby box columns to reinforce the exist- the 1906 pattern. tiles from the original manufacturer. development is being heralded as the ing structural interior columns and The windows were repaired, or They also happened to be 100 years largest transit-oriented development new beams and diaphragm bracing. In replaced in some cases, by Bear Wood old, so they had oxidized to the same on the West Coast. addition, new shear walls were added Windows, of Tacoma, WA. “All of the color as the tile on the tower. The stars “This is a poster child for what in the main waiting room and steel sashes and frames were old-growth were aligned so that the station was often happens to historic buildings,” floor plate were added on levels two Douglas fir and they were in fairly able to get the tiles to match close to says DiNola. “In the 60s and 70s, and three. The entire clock tower was good shape, but the windows had to perfectly.” they destroyed the aesthetics and his- cross braced and new columns were be restored,” Williams notes. “All of Another area where the stars toric fabric. Our sensibility about added on all corners. the original windows were restored,” aligned to provide salvaged material those energy efficient alterations has While people passing through the says Wang. “We only replaced the for the exterior was with the granite changed a lot.” He adds that historic station probably won’t notice all of aluminum replacement windows. The base. Portions of this granite had been buildings lend themselves to achiev- the new steel, they are sure to notice new windows use thermal pane glass lost when the escalator was added in ing high LEED ratings because they the new ornate plasterwork in the but they have the same look as the the mid 60s. “We needed to replace were designed to be inherently energy grand 8,000-sq.ft. main waiting room original windows.” the granite and the original quarry efficient, with daylighting and passive with its 34-ft. ceilings. EverGreene The historic light fixtures, both was no longer open,” Williams says. strategies. “If you look at the historic Architectural Arts of NYC set up interior and exterior, were re-created “We were struggling to find a stone photo, you will notice that the lights shop in the station and re-created and by Eleek, Inc., Portland, OR. “They that would match. During the excava- are not on.” repaired all of the historic molding are historic in appearance, but they tion, we discovered that the founda- The King Street Station also in the main waiting room. The work use contemporary LED light sources,” tion stone was an exact match, so we received LEED points for its location included re-creating all of the verti- Williams points out. “The LED fix- were able to harvest it from the site. It in a dense urban area, and obviously, cal plasterwork above the 8-ft. marble tures contribute to energy conserva- was taken to the shop and cut to fit.” for being near public transportation, wainscoting and repairing and replac- tion,” Wang adds. What’s the next phase for the his- DiNola adds. ing the original ceiling. In many cases, One area that didn’t require much toric station? Wang says that the city “Ten years ago, it was a rundown new molds had to be created. restoration was the original terraz- is soliciting proposals to develop the place.” says Williams. “Now it is once Williams notes that high-gloss zo flooring. “It was largely intact,” upper two floors. “It is vacant space again a place of tremendous pride,” he paint was used on the plasterwork in Williams notes, “requiring only a now,” she notes. “It could be used as states. “People arriving in Seattle can the main waiting room. “Although it’s rebuffing.” office, commercial or retail spaces. feel the same sense of arrival that they not something we would commonly On the exterior, the team was able These areas don’t have elaborate fin- would have felt years ago. And the use today, historic black-and-white to find salvaged materials for two areas. ishes.” target of LEED Platinum certification photographs of the space and research For one, the glass tile on the pyra- Williams notes that what was once contributes to the city’s reputation as into the original color of the paint, led mid of the tower had originally been called the women’s waiting room has one of the country’s greenest cities.” us to what you see in the main wait- manufactured by the same company not been renovated, and would be an ZGF is now moving on to another ing room today, mirroring the original that provided the roof tile, Ludowici. opportunity for a restaurant in the historic train station restoration, this historic finish as precisely as possible,” “The original 100-year-old glass tile future. one in Sacramento, CA. says Williams. contains manganese, so it turns purple The restored King Street Station – Martha McDonald

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