HADDAD | DRUGAN

Haddad|Drugan was commissioned to design a rooftop artwork for Seattle’s new Waterfront Marriott Hotel using custom-fabricated concrete unit pavers that also serve as ballast. The artwork consists of over 45,000 1'x1' pavers.

The design draws on the waterfront location of the hotel, and the past condition of the site as shoreline. The upper roofs abstract qualities of the water into a high-contrast pattern of blue and white that is easily perceived from distances. Bands of rippling waves on the eastern portions of the roof represent the shoreline. These break into a pixel pattern at the western edge that represents shimmering reflections of light on the water at the horizon. The white pavers are embedded with glass cullet to imitate the sparkle of light seen on the water.

The two lower courtyard roofs, visible from the hotel rooms, are in patterns of gardens. One roof is designed as a maze, the other a knot garden. Green and blue pavers create illusions of hedges and pools. The green pavers are embedded with glass cullet that gives the "plants" a textured appearance. Black pavers create a three-dimensional shadowed effect.