1521 Second Avenue

Location: Seattle

Project team: Anning-Johnson Co., wall and ceiling contractor; Opus Architects and Engineering with Weber Thompson and John Lang, architects; Opus Northwest Co., general contractor; Building Specialties Inc., L&W Supply and Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, suppliers; BASF Wall Systems, G-P Gypsum, Hamilton Drywall Products, Steeler Inc. and USG Building Systems, manufacturers

1521 Second Avenue is a 38-story residential tower one block from Seattle’s Pike Place Market. The building has 143 high-end condos in about 500,000 square feet of space. The lobby’s ceiling is 21 feet in some areas and includes a fireplace and 10-foot chandelier.

Drywall ceilings were installed in every condo with sound isolators to limit sound transfer, along with additional drywall layers and sound batts to further reduce noise. A 40-foot sloping and radiused accent screen wall, called a Finn Wall, was used on the penthouse level.

Instead of balconies, the units have indoor-outdoor rooms with folding glass windows. In the winter, the windows can be closed so the spaces become solariums. In the summer, the windows can be opened to create outdoor spaces protected by railing.

Judge’s comment: “The interiors of this luxury residential tower incorporate the optimum of the finishes, materials and workmanship in the wall and ceiling.”