Historical Restoration
Trinity Parish Church
Architect: Stickney Murphy Romine Architects
Owner: Downtown Emergency Service Center
ABC members: Armorclad Floors, Custom Sprinkler Corp., JD Plumbing & Fire Protection, Ketchikan Drywall Services, Nuprecon, RC Painting, SME Inc. of Seattle
Rafn Co. won the Eagle of Excellence award, the highest honor, for interior renovations to the century-old Morrison Hotel.
The Morrison is home to a staff of 80 serving 200 temporary shelter residents each day and 190 permanent residents, many of whom are physically and/or mentally challenged. Rafn had to ensure the safety and comfort of the occupants while demolishing and renovating the entire eight-story interior of the 129,000-square-foot building.
Rafn began with more than 2,000 hours of pre-construction forensic investigation, estimating and construction sequencing. The work was scheduled in three vertical phases while the other two-thirds of the building remained occupied -- an especially complex prospect during the middle phase involving the elevators.
The renovation included seismic upgrades that required installing nearly 600,000 pounds of structural steel, new mechanical and electrical systems, the addition of two new elevators and shafts, and a complete overhaul of the existing elevator.
For the seismic upgrades, Rafn installed 11 three-story, steel-braced frames and concrete sheer walls. The beams, weighing 5,000 pounds each, had to be transported into the building and put in place while keeping streets and sidewalks open.
The old electrical and mechanical systems had to be maintained for the unrenovated portion of the building while the new portions were brought on line.
While removing the parking slab and excavating new footings to support the steel brace frames, Rafn discovered a buried swimming pool filled with rubble, hidden stairways from an old speakeasy and contaminated soils surrounding a buried fuel tank. The biggest surprise was discovering enormous sink holes around and below all the footings and column bases of the entire alley wall, which caused a two-month delay in structural work while engineers found a solution.
Eventually, all of the loose material was vacuumed out and 100 yards of concrete was pumped under ground to stabilize the building.
Shelter services, kitchens, administrative offices and a restaurant remained open during construction. The job was completed seven days ahead of schedule with no time-loss accidents.