Project team: Robertson & Olson Construction, general contractor; Hewitt, architect; Magnusson Klemencic Associates, structural engineer; Turnstone Construction, decorative concrete contractor; Kulchin Foundation Drilling and Emil’s Concrete Construction Co., concrete contractors; Cadman, ready-mix supplier
In developing a segment of the Issaquah Highlands called Grand Ridge Plaza, Regency Centers employed Hewitt to meld the built environment into the natural landscape. Various artistic expressions utilizing concrete were included in this effort.
• Artistic shotcrete retaining wall along 10th Avenue Northeast: This wall was originally built as a decorative gabion-basket retaining wall, however the owner wanted the wall to be deepened to accommodate the design of a large commercial store and improve the appearance of the existing wall.
To accomplish this Kulchin Foundation Drilling installed a soil nail-supported shotcrete wall that was textured to resemble large blocks of stone in an ashlar pattern. This pattern was carved into the shotcrete before it set and stained to prompt the wall to appear as carefully stacked individual stones.
Texturing and staining was performed by Turnstone Construction. The result is a beautiful adornment to a street that leads to a residential neighborhood, and it was additionally a cost-effective means of supporting 18 feet of earth behind a commercial building.
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