As one of the nation’s oldest continuously operated public markets, Seattle’s Pike Place Market preserved its historical flavor while adding a touch of modernity with its award-winning MarketFront project that used low volatile organic compound (VOC) coatings from Tnemec.
“The project is located right on Puget Sound off Elliott Bay,” explained project manager Steve Doub, senior associate and specifier with The Miller Hull Partnership. “We needed a coating system that was going to resist Seattle’s heavy rainfall, salt air and moisture-laden winds blowing in from the ocean.”
The MarketFront addition includes a commercial hall and upper level steel-framed pavilion with 47 vendor spaces, low-income senior housing, a neighborhood center, an underground parking garage and public viewing terraces overlooking Seattle’s revitalized waterfront.
Constructed on a Brownfield site, the MarketFront’s non-residential spaces earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. All the project’s exterior coatings from Tnemec complied with the National AIM rule, which is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard for VOC emissions in Seattle.
A shop-applied coating system for the pavilion’s exterior steel consisted of Series 115 Uni-Bond DF, a waterborne acrylic primer that adheres tightly to metal, and Series 1095 Endura-Shield, a low-VOC, aliphatic acrylic polyurethane finish coating with excellent color and gloss retention.
“We try to specify as many low-VOC coatings as possible,” Doub shared. “On the exterior applications, you don’t have to use low-VOC coatings, but we consider it a worker safety and health issue.”
Field-applied coatings included Series 394 PerimePrime, a single-component micaceous iron oxide and zinc filled aromatic polyurethane primer; an intermediate coat of Series 27 F.C. Typoxy, a polyamide epoxy; and finish coat of Series 750 UVX, a polycarbamide finish coating formulated to resist ultraviolet (UV) light degradation and weathering while retaining color and gloss.
“Whenever we specify paint on exterior metal in the Northwest, we use the same coating system,” Doub explained. “In other coastal cities like San Diego, most of the contractors want to paint over galvanized metal, but galvanizing leaves a rough texture that can telegraph through paint. Using primers, we feel we get a better finish and the performance is just as good as painting over galvanized metal.”
Pike Place MarketFront received the national American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2019 Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design, which recognizes the best in urban design, regional and city planning and community development. The project also was recognized with the 2018 American Architectural Award from the Chicago Athenaeum.
Tnemec Coatings Specification
Series 27 F.C. Typoxy
Series 115 Uni-Bond DF
Series 394 PerimePrime
Series 750 UVX
Series 1029 Enduratone
Series 1095 Endura-Shield
Project Name
Pike Place MarketFront Project
Project Location
Seattle, Washington
Project Completion Date
June 2017
Project Team
Owner
Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority
Seattle, Washington
Project Architect
The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
Seattle, Washington
