(Above image: Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena won the 2024 Overall Sustainable Architecture Project presented by World Architecture News. Photo credit: Ema Peter Photography)

When you think of groundbreaking sustainable architecture and interior design, a sports arena isn’t usually what comes to mind, but Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena shows that with the right leadership and vision, it can be. The first arena in the world to achieve net-zero-carbon certification through the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), the Climate Pledge Arena opened in 2021 ushering in a new era of sustainable venue design, and reimagining what it can mean to design sustainably. Populous, the firm behind the project, alongside partners, Amazon, the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, and WNBA’s Seattle Storm have redefined what arena design can be, and moved the sustainability goalpost for what is achievable.

One unique challenge Cheong and the Populous team faced was that the building is considered a local and national landmark. The original building, the Washington State Pavilion was designed for the 1962 World’s Fair by architect Paul Thiry who designed the cable-suspended roof (now supported by steel trusses) with a shape referencing a cedar-woven rain hat worn by the area’s indigenous Salish people.

Cheong and his team had to design around the iconic 44-million-pound roof and strategize how to modernize the structure while preserving its form and expanding the size for capacity. “The roof was essentially untouchable,” Cheong explained. For that they dug down for an expanded footprint, while temporarily suspending the roof structure over the construction site, for an arena that guests enter at ground level, while 80% of the internal structure is underground. Cheong says of this feat “Retaining, recycling, and reusing that roof was a passive strategy and it took a lot of design, engineering and expertise to pull that off. That process alone is a wonderful example of the commitment to restoring this landmark and celebrating what would otherwise be a constraint as one of the defining features of the project.”

Not only did the team get creative for preservation’s sake, but Cheong also points out that the roof is “Where you would look to implement a lot of solar panels — they would be all over that pyramid-shaped roof.” The team focused on what they could touch to solve this design problem. Cheong says that he and his team asked, “What’s actually achievable?" Explaining that with a focus on the atrium, “We integrated a very thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing design of a solar panel array on the glass atrium.”

Populus enacted some groundbreaking strategies and features to achieve their goal of being a net zero-carbon arena, some passive, and some active. One of the never-before-seen active strategies they used was called the “rainwater to rink system.” This system collects rainwater from the roof of the stadium which then is transported to a 15,000 gallon underground cistern where the water is then filtered, purified, and pumped into the electric zambonis that resurface the ice. “It's truly the greenest ice in the NHL!” exclaimed Cheong. This feature is incredibly unique, and it was cool to be a part of designing and imagining this type of sustainable system,” said Cheong. And with unwavering support to achieve the highest standards in sustainability from the project stakeholders, bold, creative solutions weren’t just an option, but a basic requirement for the project.

Another historical feature that was essential to preserve was a perimeter curtain wall, which connected the interior and exterior spaces, and allowed the team to take advantage of the sunlight and surrounding greenspace. “We wanted to expose the activity within the arena to the surrounding Seattle Center campus.” explains Cheong. “The original historic building was all glass on all sides, and we just leaned hard into that idea and the original design’s intent,” explained Cheong. ”We don’t have to depend on artificial light sources during non-event times because there's a lot of natural light going both into the concourse areas at street level, but also into the seating bowl area.” He explains that, “Some might argue that it's challenging to have complete transparency and light coming into an arena space but turns out it’s one of the defining elements of the climate pledge arena experience. It's one of a kind.”

Another world’s-first achievement is the dual suspended professional arena scoreboard. This signature feature was one of Cheong's favorites to implement. As a lover of hockey, he knew the audience needed a connection to the action on the ice that they can't experience anywhere but Climate Pledge Arena.

From the outside of the North Plaza located in the Seattle Center is another of Cheong’s favorite things about the arena — you can look through the massive cathedral glass window and see the seating bowl area. “It is unlike any other sort of viewer vantage point into a pro sports facility. You are almost at eye level, or maybe even slightly above the center hung scoreboard in the 18,000 seat arena.” he says. “You can stand at that glass window and essentially see the entire interior of the building with a little bit of very specific design attention put into the fact that you cannot see the ice or the court,” marveled Cheong.

With the addition of the Climate Pledge Arena to their portfolio, Populous has embodied their mission to bring people together through experiences that capture their senses, amplify their joy, and to share human moments. They have created a space where memories will be made, a place sports teams can call home and a beacon of sustainable standards that future arena designers can follow.

Read more articles from the ‘Perspective: Design Is Everywhere’ issue here