Seattle Aquarium: How our engineers accomplished even the most complex project

Helping to create a complicated building with no straight walls, double-curved surfaces and many openings was an enormous task for everyone involved. But as formwork and scaffolding specialists we took on this challenge for the Seattle Aquarium expansion. Because one thing was certain: not even the most difficult structure was too complex for us!

 

The aquarium, which opened in 1977 on the Seattle waterfront, is now expanding with an impressive new 50,000-square-foot Ocean Pavilion. The public square in the expansion will soon offer everyone a chance to glimpse into the aquarium, even without buying a ticket. The unique aspect of this project? There are no straight walls. This is what made working on this building so complex, and why the best experts were needed.

Since we specialize in creating custom scaffolding and formwork solutions while ensuring a high level of safety for workers, Turner Construction approached PERI USA for this exciting project. It's a whole new type of project—one neither of us has ever tackled before in America. But with our experienced engineers and their diverse areas of expertise, any project can be successfully realized.

And then, it was straight to business—the hard work was just the beginning...

Concept Phase: Where Dreams Become Reality

The first phase involved creating initial concepts and mock-ups for the formwork and scaffolding.

Major Focus: Understanding our client’s wants and needs.

What’s the best way to achieve that? Tim Cruz, Director of Engineering at PERI USA, knows the answer: "To understand what our client wants and needs, it's essential to talk and ask lots of questions because the entire project hinges on this first phase. That’s why we held numerous meetings with them and the suppliers." And that’s where PERI made a difference. The team worked closely with the construction company to understand their needs. From these valuable conversations, our engineers developed the first mock-ups.

In the end, the concepts were well received, showcasing the exceptional skills of our engineers and ultimately helping us secure the contract.

Tim Cruz
Engineering Director, USA
That was the starting point where one question kept us all up at night: Is this construction even buildable?

Proposal Phase: Global Teamwork is the Key

After the project was awarded to PERI, Tim needed to clarify which skills were required and who was responsible for what. It quickly became evident that, in addition to a large project management team, a smaller group would be needed to handle the 3D design.

Major Focus: Who had the availability and exceptional 3D expertise at PERI?

“A complex project like this can only succeed with 3D models to visualize how formwork and scaffolding would work best,” says Tim. But even with 3D modeling, the team wasn’t sure if it would work as planned. What they needed was a collaborative effort, bringing together experts from around the world with diverse skill sets. And that’s exactly what PERI offers. After a brief search, they found Renier Mulder, Project Engineer from the PERI Middle East and Africa Engineering Competence Centre, who is an outstanding 3D expert and an invaluable asset. "I love everything related to 3D. So it was clear to me that I wanted to take on this challenge," says Renier. Under the guidance of Daniel "Dan" Burke, Engineering Team Lead at PERI USA, Tim and Renier successfully tackled the demanding task.

Kyle Jackson, Head of the Engineering Competence Center, served as the bridge between the US team and the Competence Center, which is based in South Africa. The Technical Service Office (TSO) in the Philippines also supported the US team with additional engineering challenges.

This is a prime example of what sets us apart: We have experts working across the globe, who collaborate seamlessly to pool their knowledge and expertise for large-scale projects.

Kyle Jackson
Head of the Middle East and Africa | Engineering Competence Center
Our collaboration on the project went on for about 1.5-2 years. The total number of hours shows how much engineering work went into it, namely an incredible 1,800 hours!

Execution Phase: Our Engineers Dive Into Solutions

Once all the tasks were assigned, the most complicated and exciting phase began. Why complicated? Because this was the phase where it became clear whether the Ocean Pavilion could actually be built. And why exciting? Because there were a series of challenges that made the work even more engaging.

Major Focus 1: Finding a formwork and scaffolding solution to accommodate the complex geometry.

Easier said than done. To tackle this, the teams needed to communicate extensively with everyone involved and be extremely creative to develop tailored solutions. But the close cooperation between PERI offices across different countries made it possible. To accommodate the challenging shapes, a foam system was used in combination with our formwork system. Our engineers had to calculate the exact size of the formwork panels so that the foam could be cut accordingly—otherwise, everything would have to be redone, which would have been time-consuming.

Major Focus 2: Calculating the correct concrete pressure.

This was probably one of the biggest challenges of the entire project. Tim explains: “The challenge was that, at the beginning, we didn’t know if our formwork could withstand the pressure of the concrete. Since the concrete is liquid at first and hardens later, we had to calculate the correct concrete pressure. It was a difficult problem to solve.”

Major Focus 3: Incorporating a roadway on the construction site at short notice.

Short-term changes are common on construction sites, but this one was particularly challenging. Much of the work had already been completed when the adjacent road had to be incorporated to allow for continuous traffic flow. This added significant extra work for the team at the last minute. But together, they found a creative, out-of-the-box solution. PERI UP scaffolding was used to span the roadway cost-effectively while meeting the highest safety standards.

Assembly Phase: Precision to Success

The next phase on the construction site was to get to the heart of the matter: the assembly phase.

Major Focus: Delivering the right material at the right time.

Due to limited storage capacity, not everything could be delivered at once. So, while the systems were gradually engineered, the finished system parts were delivered and assembled in stages. To ensure everything ran smoothly, the team in the USA triple-checked the quantities of all systems. Because accuracy is our strength! And with the final delivery, the entire team did an outstanding job.

Client Expectations? Exceeded!

Although the project won’t be finished until early 2024, we’ve already exceeded our client’s expectations. “Turner Construction was really, really happy with us—whether it was our approach, how we collaborated, or how we handled all the challenges. In the beginning, we weren’t even sure if we could manage such a complex project, but we did it—and I’m really proud of us,” says Tim.

Kyle agrees: “Turner was so impressed that PERI USA received a lot of return work after that.”

Despite the complexity of expanding the Seattle Aquarium, we’re proud to have found the right solutions. All thanks to our expertise, creativity, and close collaboration with our client. We can’t wait to see the final result!