What We Build

March/April 2009

Northern Light, Western Hospitality

New Anchorage convention center reflects the dramatic Alaskan landscape and its changing patterns of light

By Debra Wood

The Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center features reflective materials that highlight Anchorage’s unique natural light. (Photos Courtesy Kevin G. Smith)

The $107-million Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center opened in September and is expected to attract thousands of visitors to Anchorage, Alaska.

“The center is helping to stimulate the tourism industry,” says Jerry Neeser, president of Neeser Construction in Anchorage. The AGC of Alaska-member general contractor led the design-build team that completed the project a week early and $5 million under budget. The city used the budget savings for center enhancements, such as artwork.

Julie Saupe, president and CEO of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, says there has been pent-up demand for a new center. She adds that bookings have jumped from $87 million at the previous center, which remains open, to $107 million annually and are continuing to grow. The new center is named for the native Athabascan people who first settled the Upper Cook Inlet basin area some 1,500 years ago.

Anchorage had tried for years to build a new convention center but could not convince voters to spend the tax dollars. Alaska Center for Convention and Trade, a joint venture of JL Properties and Venture Development Group, both of Anchorage, proposed building the center as a public-private partnership, with an initial plan to lease the building back to the city.

Later, the city purchased it using tourist tax dollars, with the private developers managing the project and assuming the risk for cost overruns. Saupe says the move was instrumental in moving the project forward.

Large windows draw natural light into the concourse areas of the convention center.

“It’s become an important and attractive addition to the community,” adds John Rubini, CEO of JL Properties.

The 200,000-sq-ft, three-story building, which cost $79 million to build, includes a 50,000-sq-ft exhibit hall, 25,000-sq-ft ballroom, 11,000 sq ft of meeting space, 46,500 sq ft of lobbies, prefunction and circulation space, a four-bay loading dock, storage rooms, office space, a kitchen, electrical and mechanical rooms and a third-floor terrace with a snow-melt system. The surrounding sidewalks and truck bays also are heated.

“It has become a significant component of the urban fabric of our downtown,” says Larry Cash, president and CEO of RIM Architects, Anchorage, the architect-of-record. Design architect LMN Architects, Seattle, drew inspiration for the center from Alaska’s dramatic light spectrum, nearby mountains and the neighboring landscape.

The top-level ballroom features skylights, windows and reflective beads.

“The original architecture of the building is closely committed to its relationship with the city, and at the same time the Alaskan quality of light is dramatic and changes over the course of the year,” says Mark Reddington, design partner at LMN. He studied natural light patterns and their effects on the building at different times of the year.

“We extended the idea to make light interact with the building by selecting materials in and out, so every surface is light reflective,” Reddington says.

The project broke ground in April 2006. The center sits on a foundation of spread footings, says Sam Adams, project superintendent for Neeser Construction. The first 55 ft, 7.5 in. of the structure is concrete, with primarily 16-in.-thick shear walls surrounding the exhibit hall. The balance is braced-frame steel.

The entrance and a glass wall face north toward City Hall and the city center. The lobby soars to 98 ft above the ground and features a “light scoop,” clerestory glass windows that project above the roof and draw southern light into the depths of the building.

Neeser Construction completed the convention center early and $5 million under budget, allowing the owner to purchase art for the interior. (Photos Courtesy Kevin G. Smith)

The prefunction areas and one end of the ballroom are wrapped in glass, offering panoramic views of the mountains. In addition, the ballroom ceiling has ten 20-ft by 20-ft skylights, and hanging, chrome-plated beads cover the upper portions of the walls.

“They shimmer as the air moves,” Cash says. “They are subtle, interesting and help with reflecting the natural light.”

Concrete panels, precast at the staging area, clad the lower portions of the structure and create interesting shadows. Curtain wall, metal framing and a bonded-aluminum panel grace the upper sections.

“By offering views of the mountains, which are so big and close, and engaging the daylight, which is so distinctive, the building has its own unique personality,” Reddington says.