Lucia Engineering, Inc.

Safeco Field (Professional Baseball Stadium for the Seattle Mariners)

Date: March 1997 to July 1999

 

Safeco Field was constructed to replace the Seattle Mariners previous stadium, The Kingdome. Lucia Engineering did extensive work on this project, designing all of the form and falsework for the stadium. One of the most recognizable and unique features of Safeco Field is its retractable roof, which allows flexibility in Seattle’s mild climate. The roof acts as an umbrella for the stands, offering both an open stadium in fare weather and a closed stadium in cold or rainy weather. The roof consists of three major sections that can extend in a telescoping manner to cover the field. A parallel set of tracks on the north and south sides of the stadium allow these sections of the roof to move into place. Each section is structurally independently and powered by electric motors, which can fully open or fully close the roof in approximately 10 minutes, while being nearly silent. Lucia Engineering designed and managed the installation for the form and falsework for
concrete portions of the tracks and system, runways, for this retractable roof.

 

 

Century Link Field (Seattle’s multipurpose stadium, home of the Seahawks and Sounders)

Date: 2000-2002

 

Century Link Field is located on the block north of Safeco Field, in the old location of the Kingdome. Lucia Engineering worked on this project with the General Contractor, Turner Construction Company, who worked alongside with the architectural firm Ellerbe Becket, in association with Loschky Marquardy & Nesholm Architects of Seattle, to design the 1,500,000 square foot project. The construction of this stadium was complicated because of the soft soil in the area, due to its location in a tidal marsh. To compensate for the soft soil the stadium sits on over 2,200 pilings driven 50 to 70 feet below the ground, creating a pier-like foundation. Lucia Engineering designed and managed the construction of portions of the concrete pylon supports at the north and south ends of the stadium, supporting the 200,000 square foot roof. Post-tensioned cables were used to achieve its final shape and positioning. To minimize damage in the event of an earthquake, the roof has a friction pendulum damper system, which disconnects the roof from the support pylons so that it is able to move independently of the structure. This marked the first time this technology had been applied to a large-scale roof. During construction this system was tested when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Seattle. The structure responded as expected, resulting in minimal damage. The project was completed on budget and a month ahead of schedule.

 

 

Martin Luther King Way Retaining Wall

Date: March 2015- May 2015

 

Our project on the corner MLK Way and S Andover Street concluded today. The project involved constructing a 250-foot long soldier pile (Fortis Pile) retaining wall, stabilizing the slope, which has had a history of movement, culminating in a substantial slide this past spring. The recent slide occurred during the excavation of the site which was being developed for a new townhome complex. Working alongside Versatile Drilling we used forty-two Fortis Pile to construct the retaining wall designed to support and prevent further sliding from the east side of Beacon Hill. By using the Fortis Pile in our design, we were able to eliminate the need for tieback anchors into Beacon Hill, while also decreasing the amount of steel pile necessary to support such a significant slope. With this retaining wall now in place the construction these new townhomes will continue.

 

 

Alaskan Airlines Arena At Hec Edmundson Pavilion (University of Washington, Seattle)

Date: 1999-2001

 

Hec Edmundson Pavilion is the indoor Basketball arena and event center on the University of Washington Campus. The arena was originally opened in 1927, consisting of a beautiful brick exterior, but used steel framed columns to support the roof structure. These steel columns restricted the views of fans during events held in the Pavilion. The University of Washington decided to remodel this building in order to make it more suitable for fans and players as well as improve the usage of the building’s overall space. One of the Universities essential criteria for the renovation was to keep the existing exterior and roof structure due to its aesthetically pleasing appearance and historical relevance. LMN Architects was hired to reconfigure the interior of the building. Lucia Engineering worked with the Sellen and Cooney-McHugh Companies to manage the steel framing changes. We were able to remove 20 view-obscuring support pillars in the upper level and replace them with two massive super trusses, both 243 feet in length, placed above and behind the sidelines in a non-obscuring position for spectators. The remodel increased seating capacity from 7,900 to 10,000; taking 19 months to complete at a total cost of $40 million.

 

 

Artemis Hotel

Date: 2013

 

The Artemis Hotel located in Des moines, Washington, is approximately 266,000 square feet and consists of five hotel levels and two parking stories. The project in total has a projected cost of $70 Million. Lucia Engineering was hired by Absher Construction Company to do the design work for the shoring portion of this project. The shoring wall is approximately 520-feet long and consists of 65 Soldier Pile (Fortis Pile), ranging from 14 to 23 feet in length. The hotel is set to open in November 2015.