A NEW ENTRANCE FOR LOCAL CLIENTELE
Although the hotel’s restaurant—originally the Georgian Room, now The George—has always been a destination for the local community, its only entrance was through the hotel lobby. Offering street-level access was an important aspect of the redesign.
A pair of enormous, glass and mirror archways now flank the restaurant’s new bar—one opens directly onto the street while the other leads to a secluded lounge behind the restaurant’s bar.
ADA COMPLIANCE WITH HISTORIC CHARM
MG2 also made significant ADA improvements to the hotel, bringing it into the modern era for accessibility while preserving its historic beauty.
“The original ADA plans for the Fairmont Olympic Hotel renovation kept changing because the team would open a wall and find all kinds of wiring that simply couldn’t be moved,” says John Leuck, project manager and a senior associate at MG2. “It was a challenging process, but we were committed to making the hotel accessible to all guests.”
Two ADA ramps and six limited use/ limited application elevators, or vertical platform lifts, were designed to blend in elegantly with the new interior of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel.
“We provided ADA vertical platform lifts in areas where we couldn’t install a ramp, using two different types of lifts: one that was open to the space and another that was concealed behind a finished wood door,” Leuck says. “The concealed LU/LA used doors that matched the hotel’s original wood while the other has beautiful glass surrounding it to blend into a glass rail we used in another part of the hotel.”
COLLABORATION PRESERVES A BELOVED LANDMARK
The revitalization of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel was a collaborative effort with each team member and partner bringing unique expertise to the project. MG2’s work was just one piece of the puzzle, and the firm is proud to have played a role in preserving this iconic piece of Seattle’s history.
For all involved, the multi-phased project was a labor of love. As Sunny Joseph, the Fairmont Olympic Hotel’s general manager, so perfectly states: “The Olympic’s stunning transformation is a tribute to the timeless tale of this hotel—a living expression of the past, present and future of Seattle. Opening the lobby sets the stage for a social experience that will bring forth deeper connections with our guests, our community and this great city as we forge a new future together.”
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT OF RECORD: MG2
DESIGNER, PUBLIC SPACES: Lázaro Rosa Violán
DESIGNER, MEETING SPACES: Parker-Torres Design
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Abbott Construction
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Lund Opsahl
LOBBY BAR SCULPTURE: Fuhtah
TERRAZZO RESTORATION: North American Terrazzo
CUSTOM LIGHTING FIXTURES: Environmental Lighting for Architecture
MARBLE INSTALLATION: Western Tile & Marble
RAILING EXTENSION: Johansen Mechanical
ELEVATORS: Primarius
MILLWORK: Interior Woodworking Specialists
FINE ARTS SERVICES: Artech
CHANDELIER CLEANING: The Service Companies