Seattle’s Vertical Convention Center Breaks the Mold

The very earliest convention centers—exquisite, soaring amalgams of art and technology designed to showcase innovations in the most innovative way possible—were some of history’s great buildings, like the Crystal Palace in London (1851) and the Palais de l’Industrie in Paris (1855). But over the years, convention centers became something far more banal: functionalist, energy-sucking megabuildings, simultaneously turning their back on and gobbling up their cities while forcing their attendees to endure generic spaces, with little natural light, endless and confusing corridors, and flexible spaces that never feel right no matter how you flex them.

But increased competition and tighter urban constraints have forced long-needed innovation. A good example is LMN’s recent addition to Seattle’s Convention Center, known as the Summit, a structure that bills itself as one of the world’s first high-rise convention centers. Located in the middle of Seattle’s narrow downtown, the Summit uses its vertical orientation to its advantage, adding energy, speeding up circulation, and opening up space for creativity.

For years, the city had been turning away lucrative convention business, unable to accommodate demand with its Arch building (2010), which had been expanded in phases but remained landlocked by downtown’s dense grid. Unlike most convention centers, which are built on the periphery of urban cores, Seattle had nowhere to expand outward. Instead, they looked up. The four-city-block site that would become the Summit had been a transit tunnel staging area, a bus transfer station, and then a long-vacant lot. The challenge was making something that felt like an authentic part of the city.

The Summit Connects Inside and Out

The 1.5 million-square-foot edifice, hosting six stacked levels of convention function, is all about connection. Visitors aren’t lost in cavernous hallways or isolated from the city—every floor is designed to facilitate engagement, both within the event and with the surrounding urban environment via movement, visibility, and connection.

“You’re literally bringing people closer together,” LMN principal Leo da Costa explained. Floor openings, atriums, open stairs and escalators, and expansive windows create an intuitive flow, eliminating the disorientation common in traditional convention centers. “You’ve been to those before, where you don’t know where you are or where you’re going,” he said. Summit is instead dominated by natural light, clear sightlines, and an openness that encourages exploration. Meeting rooms are positioned with access to daylight and city views. Even interior spaces have windows that look into pre-function areas, allowing glimpses of the city beyond. The facility also takes advantage of Seattle’s pedestrian culture, allowing visitors to walk between the new and old buildings rather than relying on shuttle buses. “It’s a new way of thinking about making a convention center in a city,” said LMN partner Mark Reddington.

LMN also stressed integration with the city itself, making it a more active and connected place. The street-level Mixing Zone serves as a gathering spot, blending public art, retail, and social engagement. The Hillclimb’s cantilevered edge over the sidewalk, with its mirrored soffit, reflects the street life below, pulling the outside world into the architecture itself. “When you walk down from Capitol Hill, you see the reflections of the art and the people,” da Costa explained. “It brings the street into the building.”

The public art program features work from 26 artists, many from historically marginalized communities, from large-scale installations to subtle interventions that guide visitors through the space. One of the most distinctive pieces is a 180-foot-long chandelier, composed of wood and perforated panels designed to mimic the cellular structure of Pacific Northwest trees, casting intricate shadows across the floors below.

Built for Sustainability—and Economic Impact

The unique setting wouldn’t have been possible without bold structural engineering by Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA). The Hillclimb’s ability to mingle with the city is facilitated by a hybrid system of steel trusses and cantilevered supports that transfer loads back into the main building. The glass curtain wall enhances the sense of openness while serving as a structural diaphragm, reinforcing the stability of the cantilevered space. And the core of the stacked building consists of long-span trusses that support the exhibit hall and flex hall, two of the largest column-free spaces in the convention center. These trusses, running both through the exhibit halls and even the parking garage, create structural efficiency while maintaining the large, open spaces necessary for major events.

Certified LEED Platinum—one of only three convention centers in the world to achieve this distinction—the building features a radiant heating and cooling system that conditions only the lower occupied zones of its massive spaces. Photovoltaic panels on the roof generate renewable energy, while a rainwater harvesting system collects and filters stormwater, storing it in large tanks for reuse in landscaping irrigation and restroom facilities. The 14,000-square-foot garden terrace provides a striking outdoor event area with views of the historic Paramount Theatre and Camlin Hotel, and also helps regulate the building’s temperature and manage stormwater runoff. The native and water-efficient landscaping reduces the need for irrigation.

Two years after its opening, Summit has proven its value not just as an event space, but as a catalyst for urban-scale reconnection. It’s helped, at long last, start to knit together Capitol Hill, First Hill, and downtown, bringing a sense of place to what was a blank and disorienting experience over the I-5 Freeway. And since opening, it has generated an estimated $558 million in economic impact, according to the Seattle Convention Center (SCC). “We built this to drive business for the city, and it’s doing exactly that,” said Jeff Blosser, retired CEO of the SCC. “Hotels, restaurants, and local businesses are seeing record activity, and we’re now attracting events that never would have considered Seattle before.” Combined with the Arch building, it’s allowed SCC to host multiple large conventions simultaneously, eliminating scheduling bottlenecks that often kept away large shows.

The building is starting to inspire other cities to rethink their own facilities. “We’ve had visitors from nearly every major convention center in the U.S. and Canada,” notes Reddington, who adds that Houston, Austin, and Salt Lake City are all considering vertical expansions. “It’s no longer just about maximizing exhibit space—it’s about creating a dynamic, connected experience that enhances the city around it,” he says.

“It sells itself,” adds Blosser. “Once people are in the building they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got to book this.’”

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• Architecture
• Cities
• Interior Design
• Sustainability

• Embodied Carbon
• Energy efficiency
• Sam Lubell
• Seattle
• Summit
• Water