U.S. Coast Guard Shore Operations & Administration Building

The HSW team was awarded this project as the result of a Design/Build competition for the United State Coast Guard.  This ground-up facility is designed as a hub for USCG administration and communications at the US Coast Guard’s Integrated Support Command (ISC) Seattle.  Located adjacent to Pier 36 on Seattle’s waterfront, the building functions primarily as an office and communications center for the Coast Guard.  The four-story building houses a command center and vessel tracking center where all marine activity is tracked in Puget Sound, the Washington coast, and into Southern Canada.  The structural steel frame system is designed to meet Department of Defense AT/FP (Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection) requirements, with security standards that include progressive collapse avoidance and blast resistance.  The exterior cladding system is a combination of metal panels, glazing and precast concrete or CMU.

The Shore Operations Facility project was designed with consideration for sustainable building practices and has achieved a LEED Silver rating.  This is the first LEED Silver project achieved by the U.S. Coast Guard.  Some LEED standards include: Potable water usage was reduced by over 50 percent by using ultra low water plumbing fixture technology, which, in turn reduced the overall wastewater by 53 percent.  The largest contributor to this savings was the use of waterless urinals, which reduced the amount of potable water used annually by 140,000 gallons.  The building’s energy performance was also enhanced, which reduced the overall energy cost budget by over 25 percent.  Refueling stations for alternative fuel vehicles were provided and all of the HVAC equipment on the project is free of HCFC’s and Halons to eliminate ozone depletion.

High Liquefaction Zone:  To counter the soil conditions on this waterfront site, our design team employed a “stone column” ground improvement strategy.  The building is supported on vibratory driven “stone columns” that improve the soil and minimize the potential for liquefaction during seismic events.