Seattle Civic Center

The Seattle Civic Square project, which completes the final phase of a ten-year civic masterplan, provides a vital new focus for Seattle’s civic life, reinvigorating the south downtown area for the whole city’s benefit. Civic Square’s rich mix of residential, commercial, cultural, civic and retail uses will create a lively destination in downtown Seattle for people to live, work and play. The public plaza is sculpted to accommodate a range of activities and scales, from personal conversations, to events of a civic nature. An amphitheatre embeds the Civic Square into the city, forming a visual link between City Hall, 4th Avenue and the new People’s Pavilion diagonally opposite.

At the heart of the scheme is a large public plaza, flanked by a landmark 400ft tower designed to achieve LEED Platinum, which will be an exemplary model of sustainable development for Seattle. The base of the tower meets the ground with a series of permeable urban rooms that contribute to the vibrancy of the district, integrating connections with the surrounding streetscape and the new light rail connection under the site. Here, sustainable strategies will be displayed for the benefit of the entire city, with storm water management measures integrated into Civic Square landscaping. Rivulets, fountains and a dramatic cascade animate the entrance to the square from the light rail below, creating a dynamic focus for this key civic forum.



Client: Triad Developments
Consultants: Arup, Skanska, Arup, Atelier Dreisetl, PHA Consult