The management is pleased to announce that the hugeasscity RSS syndication functions have been repaired and are ready for your mainlining enjoyment. All apologies for any inconvenience. (That will teach me to use some random hack’s recent comments code… )
Way up north in Seattle’s Pinehurst neighborhood, in a process that stretches back to 2006, Safeway has been working to get a rezone for the construction of an expanded store at NE 125th St. and 15th Ave. NE. In December, the City Council passed an ordinance allowing Safeway to apply for the rezone, and today […]
You know land is expensive when it pencils to do what you see in the photo above. That looks to be about 60 vertical feet of shoring. Soon to grow out of this hole in a very steep slope at 300 5th Ave will be a 24-story building with 460k sf of office, 20k sf […]
[ Rendering of the Bernard Apartments ] Inspired by The Seattle Condo Blog’s summary of new and proposed development around Denny Way west of I-5, I thought I’d take a crack at doing the math: Hyatt Place Hotel and Apartments (Denny and 6th): 160 hotel + 56 apt. Borealis Apartments: (Denny and Dexter) 53 units […]
Looks like a pleasant place for a promenade, no? What fun to push a stroller around that streetlight pole as oncoming traffic rushes past an arms-reach away. Oh, how exhilarating to feel the wind in your face as a bus roars by so close you could reach out and touch it. Or for an exciting […]
[ Seattle City Hall is LEED Gold Certified, though its energy performance is not stellar. Photo: Dan Bertolet ] On Tuesday, Mayor Greg Nickels delivered his annual “State of the City” speech, during which he touted his intention “to make Seattle America’s green building capital.” And here’s the plan: appoint a panel to develop a […]
[ Image: Darick Chamberlin ] Is there something bouncing around in that big brain of yours that belongs on this blog? Well then, good people, please don’t hesitate to send us your ideas, images, and iPods. A special email address just for you has been created on the noisetank server farm: hugeasscity@noisetank.com “noise isn’t noise”
This is Grace Architects proposal to integrate the Ballard Denny’s into the new project. No joke. And some of our “respectable” news outlets have been eating it right up, following today’s decision by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board to give the Denny’s building landmark status. No joke. My solution is clearly superior: Far more elegant, […]
[ Looking north on MLK Blvd; Photo: Dan Bertolet ] This doesn’t look like the Seattle that I know. But drive a couple minutes south down MLK Blvd from where it crosses Rainier Ave and this is what you’ll find: development that actually makes sense for the 21st Century. The buildings are part of Rainier […]
[ Photo: Ballard News Tribune ] The old QFC on 24th is gone, torn down to make way for a 400 unit Condo Complex. Right now the site is an ever deepening hole, making way for the required parking. Now I know the transformation of Ballard into the yuppie projects is supposed to be seen […]
Yup, I’m a southend snob, and will do anything to avoid crossing the ship canal. But see below for evidence that I’ve been up there: pics of new and newish multifamily housing that I came across semi-randomly. I don’t have too much to say about these other than it all makes me very sleepy. Granted, […]
Name That Year in US History: The President of the United States is being accused of starting a War on false pretenses. The President precipitates the War – believing that the military will prevail easily – but claims publicly that the enemy provoked the hostilities. The opposition party supports the War at first, and continues […]
The City has recently embarked on a year-long process to do what so obviously needs to be done in South Lake Union: upzone. Last December, keeping Amazon in town was deemed important enough to ram through the upzone of two blocks for 160-foot buildings. But for a neighborhood-wide rezone, a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) […]
[Rendering of proposed 6-story mixed-use building at 23rd and Union] I sent this email to the Central Neighborhood Association Group email list. Reposting here as I think the comments are very relevant. (Go here and here for info on the proposed development at 2203 East Union. Design Review is scheduled for March 5, 8:00pm at […]
This 9-unit condo building at East Pine and Summit is a good example of how infill development can be done with minimal impact on neighborhood character (unlike the project soon to rise one block to the east). Tucked in behind a classic old storefront and an auto repair shop, it has no direct access to […]
[Illustrations of “green matrix” and “the human scale” in Mumford’s The City in History, published in 1961] He had a pretty good one, Mr. Mumford did. Here, from The City in History, is his reaction to the sprawling, car-dependent development that was already well under way 50 years ago: “By building up sub-centers, based on pedestrian […]
Seattle architecture is uninspired. But don’t take it from me. The jurors at the last annual meeting of the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects said so. Yet other culturally similar cities get the goods. What gives? Below is a sampling of housing designed by San Francisco architecture firm David Baker + Partners. […]
Cars are like wombs. Inside, you’re safe and warm, practically in the fetal position as the seat envelops you firmly yet comfortably. As you travel, the white noise and the swaying and jiggling closely mimic the experience of a fetus in the womb. This is why a car ride will put a baby to sleep […]
