October 31, 1997
Journal staff
SEATTLE -- The Interstate 90 completion and the Bell Street Pier both won major design awards this week.
The I-90 project won the Presidential Design Award for Excellence, one of nine projects nationwide to receive the honor. The award recognizes exemplary federal design achievement in architecture, engineering, graphic design, interior design, landscape architecture, product design, urban design, historic preservation and planning.
I-90 was honored for engineering, energy conservation and landscape architecture. It has the world's largest soft-earth tunnel, two floating bridges and landscaped lids over section of the freeway.
It was selected from among 420 entries in the initial round of competition. Entries came from more than 90 government agencies and departments.
Bell Street Pier, designed by Hewitt Isley of Seattle, won an award for design excellence from The Waterfront Center, a non-profit organization which recognizes achievements in waterfront planning and development around the world. The project won the Center's 1997 award for the best commercial mixed-use development.
The jury said the project is a successful mix of traditional maritime functions, commercial uses and a marina, demonstrating that "seemingly unlikely uses can in fact be housed together on a waterfront and contribute to its diversity."
The 11-acre project includes an international conference center, a cruise-ship terminal, restaurants, retail shops, fish processing, a public marina and the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center which will open next July.
