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Updated designs have surfaced for Amazon's new headquarters in downtown Seattle. Instead of the biospheres' uniformly diamond-shaped supporting structure (compare with previous renderings), the new images we just received from the project's architects, NBBJ, show a much more organic web of... View full entry
Reminiscent of a greenhouse or conservatory, the three intersecting biodomes replace an earlier plan for a six-story office building and would establish a visual focus and “heart” for the three-block project, according to plans filed with the city.
The spheres will offer “a plant-rich environment” filled with species from mountainous ecologies around the globe, chosen for their “ability to coexist in a microclimate that also suits people,” according to the plans.
— seattletimes.com
Yesterday, on Earth Day, Seattle's latest green building celebrated its grand opening: The Bullitt Center, a super-efficient office space at 1501 East Madison Street, was designed to become the world’s largest functioning, commercial Living Building, using an estimated 83 percent less energy than a typical Seattle office building and achieving Net Zero Energy and Net Zero Water. — bustler.net
The award-winning firm of world renowned Seattle architect Jim Olson has been selected to design the new Museum of Art at Washington State University. — news.wsu.edu
A brand new green building project is set to become one of the world’s most sustainable commercial office builds not for the new and innovative technology it has implemented but for the unique approach to green building the developers have taken. — DesignBuild Source
The initial responses of some local architects to the arena drawings were underwhelming.
While cautioning that the renderings are preliminary, Seattle architect and critic Mark Hinshaw said some of the views of the proposed arena seem like "boxes with a tight lid" that could be any number of public buildings.
"One thing that seems missing is any kind of dramatic roof expression that we have seen with a number of landmark buildings — particularly ones that involve large audiences.
— seattletimes.com
In 2006, the developers of Olive 8 — a swanky hotel/condo complex planned for downtown Seattle — were looking for a way to build beyond the 300-foot height limit that zoning allowed. Doing so required some compromises — but not the kind of backroom deal residents of Chicago or Baltimore might assume. — grist.org
I’m no architecture critic, but the word “iconic” keeps popping to mind. In an industry full of soulless suburban campuses, give Jeff Bezos & Co. credit for building this in the city, at least. — geekwire.com
The geeks speak on two new planned tech campuses. Which one do you prefer? View full entry
CLIPS OF SEATTLE LIBRARY: INTERVIEW WITH HOMELESS MAN AND SHOTS OF STRUCTURE.
This footage is part of a feature length Documentary film that I am making about my father Rem Koolhaas.
— vimeo.com
A jury of internationally recognized design professionals and Seattle civic leaders have declared a winner among three semi-finalists in Urban Intervention: The Howard S. Wright Design Ideas Competition for Public Space. The winner is ABF, of Paris, France, for its design, In-Closure, which envisions an interactive wall around a forested landscape that is both flexible and dynamic, embracing social life in the city at multiple scales. — bustler.net
What might happen at Seattle Center when Memorial Stadium goes away? Are there imaginative and unique uses for a large urban park? What is the Jelly Bean and why is it floating next to the Space Needle?
Join us Friday, May 11, for presentations by the finalists of a design competition, Urban Intervention, that explores the future of Seattle Center and public space. The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets should be reserved in advance.
— AIA Seattle
If you're in the area, head out to see the finalist presentations on May 11th. In the meantime, you can see the preview videos from the finalists here. View full entry
Back in March, three finalist entries were announced at Urban Intervention: The Howard S. Wright Design Ideas Competition for Public Space. [...] We had already published PRAUD's "Seattle Jelly Bean" proposal, and here's now also the finalist entry "Park" by Southern Californian practice Koning Eizenberg Architecture in collaboration with ARUP.
All three finalist submissions are currently in the process of design phase two.
— bustler.net
Also, Koning Eizenberg Architecture is currently hiring. View full entry
Grand plans for Seattle Center evoke hovering "Jelly Beans," "dematerialized urbanism," and "catalyzing atmospheres." That's just what Seattle needs: more gobbledygook. — crosscut.com
Knute Berger, of Seattle-based Crosscut, opines on the long-pondered use of "gobbledygook" in archispeak, in reference to the architect's project descriptions from the recently announced results in the Urban Intervention Design Ideas Competition. View full entry
With their entry Seattle Jelly Bean, Boston architects PRAUD (Dongwoo Yim & Rafael Luna) were one of the three finalist teams which have now been invited to compete in the second phase of the competition through April until the final presentation in May. — bustler.net
Urban Intervention: The Howard S. Wright Design Ideas Competition for Public Space has selected 3 finalists and 7 commendations. In the spirit of the 1962 World’s Fair, Seattle Center and AIA Seattle invited multidisciplinary design teams to compete in an international design ideas competition to re-envision a nine-acre site in the heart of Seattle Center and use it to explore innovation in public space in the coming century. — bustler.net
