A collection of new images have been unveiled by the architects at Olson Kundig highlighting the firm's recent restoration and renovations of the Seattle Space Needle.
The $100 million revamp made its debut in 2018 and was overseen by Olson Kundig Design Principal Alan Maskin. This project was discussed with Alan when we had him on the podcast...
Conceived in close work with Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board, the cutting-edge redesign includes 196-percent more glass coverage than before while also featuring improvements that "make the original structure more legible and provide visitors with a widened lens of the stunning city and surrounding landscape," according to a press release.
The renovations include the addition of floor-to-ceiling glass panels along the structure's observation level where a revolving glass floor is also located. The glass floor allows visitors to view the Needle's 12 floor-moving motors as well as a new "kinetic mechanism" that powers the turntable design.
In a press release, Blair Payson, Project Architect at Olson Kundig said, “The extraordinary skill and dedication required to design and build the Space Needle in 1962 brought out the best of our collective design and consulting team. In collaboration with Front, Arup and MKA, we pushed the use of glass to the very limits of contemporary technology in a manner we are confident the original designers would support.”
I spent half my life in Seattle and must say most changes there in the past 50 years are awful. This, however, is magnificent. Without changing any of the Needle's landmark identity, they have given it a brand new excitement and vitality. Congrats!
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I spent half my life in Seattle and must say most changes there in the past 50 years are awful. This, however, is magnificent. Without changing any of the Needle's landmark identity, they have given it a brand new excitement and vitality. Congrats!
Does image 7, highlight one of the gears / the mechanism, I have heard others reference as the expected Kundig kinetic wow!?
I can't say it better than this:
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