March 13, 2014

Youth theater rises in Bellevue park

Photo courtesy of Pease Construction [enlarge]

Space between the roof beams has been filled with 204 precast planks since this photo was taken. A 3-inch concrete topping slab is next, followed by 18 inches of soil and a layer of grass.

Pease Construction recently set the distinctive concrete roof beams for the new Bellevue Youth Theatre that is being built into a hillside at Crossroads Park in Bellevue.

About a month ago, the 12,000-square-foot theater resembled a miniature Kingdome, with its concrete beams connecting to a precast compression ring. Crews have since installed 204 precast hollow-core planks that fill in the spaces on the roof between the beams. They also formed concrete infills at the top of the inner ring and exterior walls, and are now placing the front side wall forms and installing form liner for radius parapet walls.

The roof planks will eventually be covered with a 3-inch concrete topping slab, 18 inches of soil, and grass.

Construction is expected to be finished this summer.

The theater in-the-round will seat 150 people. Support space will encircle the theater with a lobby, dressing room, storage, green room, rehearsal areas, an office, workshop, restrooms and sound/lighting booths. An outdoor stage will provide seating for at least 400 more patrons.

The lawn behind the building will roll up and over the roof to create an earth-sheltered building, with openings for the outdoor theater and access to the lobby, offices and workshop spaces.

Rendering by Becker Architects [enlarge]

The park's lawn will roll up onto the roof of the theater.

The green roof will reduce the energy needed for heating and cooling, and an adjacent geothermal water source will be used as a heat exchanger to supplement heating and cooling. Natural light will come in through six sculptural “trumpets” on the roof. Three of the trumpets will also release mechanical and plumbing exhaust, and the other three will have air supply ducts.

All that is expected to help the building achieve LEED gold.

Becker Architects of Bellevue is the designer. Principal Robert George Becker described the project as an “environmental sculpture.”

Other design team members are: CT Engineering, structural; Ecotope, mechanical/plumbing; Interface Engineering, electrical; PLA, lighting and theater consultant; Sparling, acoustical; Eastside Consultants, civil; Richard VanDeMark/Rana Creek, landscape; Morgan Sound, sound and audio-visual; O'Brien & Co., LEED; and Engineering Economics Inc., commissioning.

Major subcontractors are: Design Air, Gerdau, Mills Electric, Site Development Inc., Stoneway Concrete, Snyder Roofing, Sessler Inc., Northshore Sheet Metal and Central Premix Prestress Co.

Pease was the lowest of four bidders, with a base bid of $8.63 million and a final contract of $8.8 million with additives. The engineer's base bid estimate was $8.2 million.

Bellevue Youth Theatre now leases space from the Bellevue School District in the former Ivanhoe Elementary. The theater is run by the Bellevue Parks and Community Services Department.