March 20, 2026

Gold Winner — Creative Use

Photo courtesy of NWMI [enlarge]

Glass brick was chosen for its tactility, human scale, and ability to animate the space with light and shadow.

U.S. Bank Center, Seattle

Mason contractor: Fairweather Masonry

Architect: SkB Architects

General contractor: Andersen Construction

Masonry supplier: Ann Sacks Tile & Stone

At U.S. Bank Center, the ground plane experience was reimagined to remove the weight of 1980s Postmodern architecture, creating light, open spaces that encourage gathering, interaction and human comfort. The original three-floor retail podium, designed like a 70s—80s indoor mall, featured centrally placed escalators that blocked daylight and limited visual connections.

The design team repositioned the escalators to the perimeter and introduced a feature stair as a visual and spatial anchor connecting all three floors. A translucent glass brick wall screens the escalator while still indicating movement, striking a balance between functionality and spatial elegance. Glass brick was chosen for its tactility, human scale, and ability to animate the space with light and shadow.

Cedar Hall’s repositioning transformed a transactional, inward-facing lobby into a civic space at one of downtown Seattle’s busiest intersections. Large operable doors now open the hall to Fifth Avenue, and previously hidden ramps and barriers were replaced with gently sloping, continuous paths that allow all users to share the same route. Stairs and ramps are paired, emphasizing the feature stair as the primary vertical connector.

Material continuity — brick, glass, and tile — plays a central role, filtering light, registering movement, and establishing rhythm at a human scale. The glass brick wall softens infrastructure while signaling motion, helping to dissolve the boundary between public and private.

Completed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the redesign draws people back into the city, activating the space as a place to pause, gather and belong. Cedar Hall now exemplifies how thoughtful materiality, spatial clarity, and human-centered design can transform a hidden, transactional podium into a vibrant civic destination.

Other Stories:

• Gold Winner — K-12 Education
  
• Gold Winner — Higher Education
  
• Gold Winner — Public
  
• Gold Winner —Tile
  
• Gold Winner — Commercial
  
• Gold Winner — Restoration
  
• Gold Winner — Residential
  
• Gold Winner — Multi-family