Bands of colored concrete radiate out from the Space Needle’s new base building. Photo by Above The Rest

The remodel and renovation at the Space Needle required a substantial amount of ready-mix concrete decorative paving. The overall project consists of a new base building wrapping the legs of the Needle, remodels of the observation deck and restaurant, an expansion of the basement and about 25,000 square feet of architectural concrete hardscape plazas.

The circular plaza around the base building is constructed of integrally colored, ready-mix concrete bands, radiating from the unique structure. It flows into a nautilus-shaped ramp that spirals around the building. The on-grade plaza reaches north to connect to the EMP and the Monorail.

Colored concrete planters rise from the hardscape and radius stairs adjust for the warping grades. To the south, the building walk connects to a new vehicle entrance, drop-off and turnaround for the Seattle Center that features a memorial fountain.

Even the Needle’s new loading dock was not overlooked in the design, as separately-cast bands of concrete connect the basement to Thomas Street to the north.

The design for all the new concrete hardscapes starts from the building. The radius patterns grows from the building, with radial control joints in the concrete matching up with the structural segments exposed within the building. The pattern, color and width changes of each band and section required breaking each pour into very small areas. This allowed a high level of quality control on the finishing, but required the ready-mix supplier to maintain color consistency over the 18-month construction period.