How does more taxes, pro-abortion, pro-partial birth abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-regulation, how does that play…(ANDREW NAPOLITANO, FOX News senior judicial analyst: The Big Story with John Gibson, 7/7/04) So I am thinking about that bland phrase “pro-regulation”, and how it’s actually code for “tree hugging mother f*k*r”. And how pointless, really, it is to point […]
The “blame the buildings” series (here, here, and here) was meant to emphasize how energy use in buildings accounts for a bigger chunk of total CO2 emissions than is generally recognized. Of course it also matters where buildings are located relative to other buildings and services, since location has a big impact on transportation-related CO2 […]
I really feel like an outsider. Maybe it’s just red state/blue state sort of thing. I feel foolish because I insist on believing that it’s OK that our government should raise taxes in order fix problems. Especially problems like bridges threatening to break apart, or even Seattle’s Ferries rusting towards decrepitude. So when Chris Gregoire, […]
That big hole in the ground that’s been there forever at 1111 East Pike on Capitol Hill is finally getting filled with building. Designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen; five stories of condos over ground-level retail over two underground parking levels, currently under construction. Looks to be a good mate to Agnes Lofts up at […]
The LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot program was only launched last summer and already it has been discussed in Time Magazine. A quote: “What is causing global warming is the lifestyle of the American middle class,” says Duany. “It’s terrible for nature and for humans.” Great to see this in one of the most mainstream […]
After extended weekend meetings, the Seattle Design Commission and the Landmark Preservation Board have unveiled a draft compromise agreement on a proposed mixed-used development at 15th Ave NW and NW Market St that would require the demolition of a building recently nominated for landmark status. The artist’s rendering above illustrates the bold vision of the […]
Grok the intersection above. Classic suburbia, no? Six lanes meets seven lanes, a gas station next door to a Burger King with a drive-through, a chain drug store set well back from the street for convenient access by car, a grocery store lost somewhere behind a sea of parking. This is the intersection of 15th […]
 In today’s PI… The Landmark Preservation Board voted 8-1 Wednesday to move forward with the nomination of the former Denny’s at 15th Ave NW and NW Market St (in Ballard) and, if the board affirms the decision at its Feb. 6 meeting, demolition would be blocked, preventing Rhapsody Partners from constructing an 8-story 261 […]
The Feds just approved $88 million for the “U-Link” section of Sound Transit light rail, which will connect downtown with the U-district, via one station on Capitol Hill at Broadway and John. Word: It will be a three-minute subway ride from Capitol Hill to the U-district. More details over at Seattle Transit Blog here and […]
Kind of old news, but worth noting…NYC is first city in country to replace on-street parking with bicycle racks http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/trading-car-parking-for-bike-racks/
What Essex Broadway, LLC, and Driscoll Architects have in mind for the site formerly occupied by QFC on Broadway, between Republican and Mercer. The complete design proposal is available here, project number 3004668. So are we inspired yet? If nothing else, it’s going to make Brix, currently under construction across the street, look that much […]
The City of Issaquah recently selected David Vandervort Architects for their net zero energy home demonstration project in Issaquah Highlands. Noland Homes plans to begin construction in Summer 2008. The goal for these homes is that over the course of a year, their net energy use will be zero. The expectation is that energy consumption […]
The forecasts above, published by the Puget Sound Regional Council for the four-county Puget Sound Region, show that by 2040 we can expect about 40% more people and 50% more jobs than we have today. Perhaps this explains our skyline of construction cranes.
For years folks in Seattle have been talking about how we ought to be doing tall-skinny residential towers, like the so-called “point towers” common in Vancouver, BC. Depending on your point of view — literally — we now have our first: the 5th and Madison Condos: [ Photo: Dan Bertolet ] The building is way […]
SkyscraperPage Forum has the goods on Seattle’s titillating competition over on the other side of the lake:
This is a parking garage door that doesn’t wreck the streetscape: And this,* below, is a parking garage door that leaves an unpleasant gaping hole in the streetscape: But hey, cars are only about six or seven feet wide, so why are these 20-foot wide caverns the norm? In short, it’s building code for dumb […]
It’s day-after-Christmas-deadly-slow news day at the Seattle PI, and the question of whether or not cyclists should be licensed makes the front page, top of the fold. A total non-issue. The impact that bicycles have on traffic flow, safety, and street construction and maintenance in Seattle is infinitesimal. Not to mention that by using bikes […]
Like Northgate’s Thornton Place, but twice as tall and probably about twice as expensive: Nouvelle at Natick. This is the mall I grew up with, in Natick, Massachusetts, a town of 32,000 people, located 15 miles west of Boston. When I say town, I mean town: it is still governed by representative town meeting. Three […]
My favorite mixed-use infill building in Seattle: 1310 East Union Street, developed by Liz Dunn, designed by Miller/Hull. What makes this building exceptional is its modest size and scale. The lot is only 40 feet wide. It’s a 65-foot tall building but is not at all imposing from the street. This building is a living […]
