Upward Integration of Geotechnical Curricular Content Using a Project in Seattle, Washington, USA

Abstract

The King Street Center project occupies a city block in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle, Washington, USA, and was completed in 2000. The project was comprised of a mid-rise building that includes two below-grade levels of underground parking, requiring excavation ranging from 3.0 to 9.1 m below grade. The site was bounded by historic city utilities and structures that required careful consideration of construction alternatives for shoring, dewatering, and foundation support. Key geotechnical design elements of the project included soldier pile and tieback walls, sheet pile walls, secant walls, gravity walls, shallow foundations, deep driven and augered-in-place piles, construction and permanent dewatering, and construction vibration mitigation. Design elements were not only influenced by on site soil and groundwater conditions, but also by off-site sensitive historic structures and utilities, as well as pavement sections immediately adjacent to the site. This project forms a case study that was used to develop several student design assignments and final projects.