crosscut.com : Architecture / Design

A building worthy of greenery

Crosscut — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Vancouver's in-city oasis, VanDusen Botanical Garden, hopes to go green big-time with a $23 million visitor center that could be the region's first structure to meet the most rigid sustainability standards.

Sausage Links, tree-cutting edition

Crosscut — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:09:01 PDT

Timber! The Seattle Times has a series of special reports about the lack of oversight in the logging industry and the cost to state taxpayers. According to the report, no one checked when Weyerhaeuser started clear-cutting unstable slopes, some of which eventually slid and cost millions of dollars to clean up. Naturally, David Goldstein at Horse's Ass blames Republican-led deregulation. ...

Googie resurrected in Ballard?

Crosscut — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:00:01 PDT

The group Sustainable Ballard is sponsoring a bike rack design contest. The winners will have their racks made and installed at key neighborhood locations. Sustainable Ballard says there is a "dearth" of bike racks in Square Head City. Winners of the competition will be announced at the Ballard SeafoodFest July 26-27.

Little boxes, crammed together

Crosscut — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Like the skinny houses of two decades ago, dense townhouse projects seem to be everywhere, and they look terrible. An architect and former Seattle City Council member says Seattle can do better.

A design-savvy city defined

Crosscut — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A report lays out a road map, backed by polling that revealed surprising attitudes of Seattleites and Portlanders about their hometown architecture.

Last stand for the Alaskan Way Viaduct

Crosscut — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:00:01 PDT

As the process to replace or remove Seattle's elevated waterfront freeway grinds on, a last-ditch pitch is being made to keep it standing.

Go, Nuke Building!

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:37:01 PDT

The University of Washington's More Hall Annex, aka the Nuclear Reactor Building, has become a cause celeb for fans of mid-century modern architecture and atomic history. The UW is planning to demolish the building, but a graduate student, Abby Martin, has mounted an effort to get the structure listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places. Time seemed to be running out, but it ain't over yet.

The Rose City blooms while the Emerald City fades

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Portland and Seattle are among the top 10 "best-designed" urban areas, but Seattle ranks lower in part because of its record on historic preservation.

The 100-year gamble to save our quality of life

Crosscut — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A close look at the ambitious "Cascade Agenda," which hopes to preserve the central Puget Sound region's natural systems from a Pugetopolis that sprawls all the way to the Cascades. The mechanisms are known, but it's not clear they can work well enough or soon enough.

When it comes to energy consumption, what really drives change?

Crosscut — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:00:01 PDT

A global lecture series sponsored by design consulting firm Arup, "Drivers of Change," examines what life would be like in 2050, and what that means for the current energy crisis.

Ballard landmark lawsuit will be dismissed

Crosscut — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:00:01 PDT

Now that the Ballard Manning's/Denny's has been thoroughly demolished — I took a look at the site last evening and believe me, the landmark structure is hamburger — owner Benaroya will be ending its legal action against the city's Landmarks Board.

Good mourning, Ballard: Googie is gone

Crosscut — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:06:01 PDT

The My Ballard blog reports that the landmark Manning's/Denny's diner was demolished early this morning. A demolition permit was issued by the city just last week.

A Seattle Expo legacy emerges from the trees

Crosscut — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:25:01 PDT

The University of Washington cut down a row of beautiful poplars on campus over the weekend. I love poplars and hated to see that. But as we approach 2009, the centennial year of Seattle's first world's fair, the tree-cutting at least had the benefit of revealing a lovely architectural legacy of the expo.

A Tadao Ando chapel may soon find a home in Bellevue

Crosscut — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:00:01 PDT

The building designed by the acclaimed Japanese architect would be donated by an Eastside arts patron, Barney Ebsworth. A site has been found, but it will take an economic recovery to fund it. Seattle tried but failed to land the prize.

A Manning's Googie twin?

Crosscut — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:36:01 PDT

You may have seen the story about the demolition permit issued by the city of Seattle for the Ballard neighborhood's Manning's/Denny's, which is slated to be torn down for condos. Despite its designation earlier this year as a city landmark, the Landmarks Board later voted not to protect the structure, saying that saving it was not financially viable. That cleared the way for its destruction. But all is not lost for fans of Googie architecture in the Northwest. A Manning's/Denny's lookalike has been spotted in Portland. Forget the old Twin Teepees, we may have twin Googies!

Unsustainable Seattle

Crosscut — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:00:01 PDT

When you consider the carbon footprint of new construction, this city promotes growth and development policies that are wasteful, destructive, and myopic. Greens and historic preservationists need to find common cause in creating a truly sustainable urban landscape.

UW is planning to move a historic fair pavilion

Crosscut — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:00:01 PDT

Next year will kick off the centennial of Seattle's first world's fair, the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition of 1909. The expo was held on what is now the University of Washington campus, and while most of the fair's pavilions are long gone, a few original structures remain. One is the Women's Building, now named Cunningham Hall after Seattle photographer Imogene Cunningham. The university plans to relocate the hall by the end of 2009 to make room for the new Molecular Engineering Building.

The Wing Luke Museum takes flight

Crosscut — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:00:01 PDT

The handsome new space is a striking work of architecture, and the exhibits make up a "meta-museum," continually asking questions about how a museum should relate to its community.

Wanna rent a ranger station?

Crosscut — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:00:01 PDT

America's national forests are in the middle of a "heritage" crisis as historic structures fall victim to budget cuts, vandalism, and neglect. Northwest forests are not immune, but citizens can help. How about vacationing in a fire lookout this summer?

Sneak peek at Washington's 'most endangered' landmarks

Crosscut — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:22:01 PDT

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation will release its 2008 list of "most endangered historic properties" on May 27, just after the Memorial Day weekend. Here's a sneak preview of a few of the endangered properties that made the list, a couple of which will be very familiar to Crosscut readers.