The Hyatt Regency Seattle in Seattle, Washington has 1,264 guest rooms and 105,000 sq. ft. of meeting and ballroom space.

The ballroom features 17,860 sq. ft. of custom acoustic panelized linear ceilings. It also has 6,752 sq. ft. of custom acoustic panelized linear walls. The panels — 493 ceiling panels and 339 wall panels — are made with 3/4-in. plain sliced white oak veneered wood.

The wood members have various widths, and the panels themselves vary in width and length. The woven forms and varying surface colors of the linear wood walls and ceilings act like a “woven wood basket,” the architect says.

The wood grille ceilings in the hotel’s restaurant total 3,647 sq. ft. The restaurant ceiling was laid out as dozens of separate floating clouds. The architect was impressed not only with the subcontractor’s craftsmanship but also with the acoustical properties of the wood grilles. A private dining area has an additional 3,088 ft. open reveal continuous linear wood ceiling.

The use of wood reflects a Northwest design sensibility, as described by the architect, which also includes elements such as diffused light and reflective surfaces.

The Amenity Center and Building 2 at Charles Schwab’s Gracy Farms campus in Austin, Texas, features 22,143 sq. ft. of Forest Stewardship Council certified western hemlock linear ceilings in multiple elevations and dimensions.

The wood “softens the modern architectural forms,” says the senior designer at Page, Austin, Texas. The ceilings contribute to “gracious and interconnected public spaces,” the architect says. “They complement the unique natural features of the campus setting in an urban forest.”

The Amenity Center features a 4,188 sq. ft. panelized linear wood ceiling in its lobby. The stained hemlock overhead adds warmth. It’s not an industrial space. Instead, it makes you feel at home. The panelized linear ceilings run on the lower lobby level and at the top of the staircase.

Building 2 has 17,955 sq. ft. of both panelized and continuous linear wood systems — (1) a 8,786 sq. ft. panelized linear wood ceiling in the lobby and hallways, and (2) a 7,774 sq. ft. continuous linear wood ceiling and 1,395 sq. ft. open reveal continuous linear wood ceiling in a multipurpose auditorium and dining room.

The auditorium is “where the magic happens,” the subcontractor says. These ceilings are V-shaped, and angle upwards, inwards and outwards. “The ah-ha moment came when the owners said, “That’s what we wanted. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

The State Farm Arena, Atlanta, a reported $192 million renovation of an existing arena, features about 20,000 sq. ft. of continuous linear wood walls and ceilings.

The most prominent wood feature is the arena’s west side continuous linear ceiling. It’s made of 8-ft.-long, ¾ in. by 3 ¼ in., custom-stained, plain-sliced, white oak veneer over fire-rated particleboard core planks. The ceiling hangs above the upper-level concourse seating, 90 feet above the arena floor.

“The introduction of wood within the bowl and concourses was a strategic decision to bring warmth, comfort and a sense of richness to the building resulting in a space that looks and feels more like a concert hall than an arena. 9Wood was easy to work with to obtain a custom color that complemented the material palette, and provided the flexibility in installation solutions for the various applications used throughout the building.” says Architect Emily Louchart of HOK (St. Louis, MO.)

Situated in the heart of University of Washington’s gothic campus, the brand new 132,000SF Foster School of Business Paccar Hall sits next to UW’s oldest building. Emphasizing the building’s focus on “interconnectedness”, the heavily-glazed five-story building includes terraces overlooking the quad, a café, a 250-seat auditorium, administrative offices and dozens of classrooms. The interior prominently features FSC-certified vertical grain Douglas Fir linear wood panels in the four-story atrium.

The LEED Gold Paccar Hall is heavily daylit. Because 45% of the building’s surfaces are glass, wood offers a warm high-end finish to balance the glazing. Douglas Fir has strong ties to the region’s heritage and it was important to have the members extra thick and wide to match the grandeur and scale of the space. Per the LEED requirements, the wood had to be harvested within 500 miles from FSC-certified forests. In addition, it had to maintain structural integrity and architectural aesthetics even with exposure to the elements. This required us to dig deep within our supply chain.

After thorough research and subsequent samples, the architect selected FSC-certified vertical grain Douglas Fir. The break-through came when we were able to source this wood from the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in Northern California, an FSC-certified landowner. This location barely met the 500-mile requirement. “It was 462 miles to be exact,” recounted our local rep. “I remember the number because they wouldn’t believe me at first!”

Once the species and module had been selected, the focus turned to the installation of the 40-foot tall interior and exterior ceilings and custom mitered walls. The 12-foot long ceiling panels ran end to end for 250 feet and would have to be aligned perfectly. From the fourth-story walkways, the close-up sightline would reveal any misalignment along the long run. The panels weighed about 40 pounds each and had to be raised in a scissor lift both for the interior and exterior. There was little room for recourse once a panel was installed because of the extreme coordination required to maneuver the scissor lift around other trades.

The architect summarized the final installed product by saying, “The Paccar Hall building interior is a warm and rich environment because of the combination of finishes, especially the wood wall and ceiling panels and their textural relationship with the brick, metal, and glass in the space. It is quite striking.” Paccar Hall is set to be a campus center for decades to come.