Advancing the Challenges of Tall Building Design Coupled with Seismic Issues

The Emerald City has its share of hidden passages and mysterious dark alleyways, but it is no secret that Seattle, Washington, is a metropolis on the move. According to census data released in August 2021, the city’s population grew by 21 percent over the previous decade to 737,015 people, with tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft bringing people to the area by the tens of thousands.

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Kiara is a 41-story, 435-foot-tall luxury apartment tower over a seven-level podium with six levels of below-grade parking in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, near Amazon’s global headquarters. This modern, sleek tower features over 460 residential units, 15,600 square feet of retail space, and two rooftop decks – one at the top of the podium with a freestanding outdoor pavilion and the other at Level 41 with lush landscaping and an indoor sky lounge. The project is targeting LEED Silver. Construction started in 2016 and was completed in the summer of 2018 (Figure 1). …

Viktoria Tower, at the heart of downtown Seattle, fosters urban living with 249 upscale apartment units ranging from studio to 2 bedrooms, six levels of parking above grade for tenants, and 3,700 square feet of street-level retail which spurs community revitalization. The project is LEED certified and incorporates an assortment of eco-friendly materials, which utilize sustainable building practices. …