What’s all this then, Seattle’s first Euro-modern mid-rise housing? One way to check is if you can take major sections of the building, flip them upside down in your mind’s eye, and it all still looks about the same. As in, vertical symmetry. Apparently the designers think we don’t need a cornice or some other […]
[ Aerial photo of Thornton Place, as of March 13, 2009 ] Cruising by Northgate Mall on I-5, the nearly completed Thornton Place evokes images of sci-fi outposts rising from the barren landscapes of distant planets. In reality, Thornton Place is, in fact, a daring pioneer in a built environment that is likewise hostile to […]
I’m doing some research on the relationship between density and energy use in buildings. Can any of you big-brained readers point me to sources of the best available science? The EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey and Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey are good sources, but do not provide quantitative data on density. In general, energy […]
[ Rainier Beach Light Link Station, at the corner of MLK and Henderson: no TOD happening here any time soon ] According to this Seattle Times piece, the recession ate it. But that’s too convenient a scapegoat — no doubt partially to blame, but there’s more to the story. When Sound Transit Light Link Rail […]
This is what Alaska Junction in West Seattle looks like today, looking southeast. The building in the background is a nearly completed seven-story residential building known as Mural, developed by Harbor Properties, and designed by Hewitt Architects. Shown below is a rendering of the proposed building for that money corner site.  The project just […]
On California Ave, just north of Fauntleroy, this is West Seattle’s tallest building: the 73-unit, eight-story Cal-Mor Circle, low-income housing owned by Seattle Housing Authority. UPDATE: Tracy from WSB corrected me: “We actually have a NINE-story building in West Seattle … Alaska House in The Junction, 42nd SW just north of Alaska.”
Hey, what’s that Boart Longyear drilling rig doing down at 1st and University? Even though my late-night couchbound googling could produce no confirmation, I’ll take a stab at it: borehole testing for the deep-bore tunnel. Meanwhile the bill that would fund the tunnel was approved by the Senate last week, and passed out of the […]
“Nobody can be satisfied with the form of the city today. Neither as a working mechanism, as a social medium, nor as a work of art does the city fulfill the high hopes that modern civilization has called forth–or even meet our reasonable demands. Yet the mechanical processes of fabricating urban structures have never before […]
Q:Â Did you hear what the WA State House of Representatives has proposed to help reduce the $9 billion budget deficit? A:Â The opening of 15 new new State Liquor Stores. Q:Â Did you hear what the WA State House of Representatives has proposed to help reduce the $9 billion budget deficit? A:Â A ten […]
Last week Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed legislation that would allow backyard cottages in single-family zones city-wide. It’s a good policy move, potentially bringing the benefits of both density and affordable housing to single-family zones, with minimal negative impact. Ah, but then there’s the caveat: a maximum of 50 permits will be issued per year. […]
The WA State legislature, led by Representative Judy Clibborn (41st, Mercer Island), chair of the House Transportation Committee, has proposed eliminating funding for the reconfiguration of HOV lanes on the I90 floating bridge — which just so happens to be a prerequisite for running Sound Transit East Link across the bridge. The STB crew is […]
Time passes. This is the recently completed Squire Park Plaza at the corner of 17th and Jackson in the Central District. Developed by the Central Area Development Association and designed by Streeter Archtitects, the $15.5 million project features 59 apartments, 11,000 square feet of retail/office space (including 3,000 sf in live-work units), and 62 underground […]
Other than a far too prosaic word to describe our aspirations in city building, that is. Well, the DJC solicited 50-word answers to that question, and they were published today. Here’s mine: We thrive when we are connected — to people and place; to work and play; to past, present and future. A good city fosters connections. […]
When mayoral candidate Michael McGinn showed up at the King County Municipal League Awards ceremony last Wednesday night at the Seattle Art Museum, he strolled in lugging two big, bright yellow bike panniers. The fact that he was slated to address a room packed with Seattle’s most prominent players and politicos did not stop McGinn from riding his […]
Remember this post? Well, we hadn’t seen nothin’ yet. The nightmare has become fully realized with the design review board’s acceptance of the development at the former Denny’s site in Ballard. Even compared to earlier posts on this blog about this project which only showed (or mocked) the beginnings of what was obviously going to be a […]
Back at ya, Sightline. There are obvious conclusions to be drawn from the bar chart above, but when the interplay of land use patterns is also considered, the case for transit over cars becomes even stronger. Since transit typically serves areas with higher levels of density and land use mix, transit trips tend to be […]
Yesterday I learned from Facebook that our next Mayor* was attending the grand reopening of the Crocodile Cafe. That in itself is densely layered with cultural implications, but all I want to say is this: the Croc had a great run, and it should have been laid to rest.  The space is a great site for a music venue, but let […]
Witness two writers from opposite ends of the stylistic spectrum striking a similar chord: Alex Steffan: The single biggest delusion in North America today is that the interconnected planetary problems bearing down on us can be faced with slight alterations to the current order; that a model of delivery prosperity based on suburbs and big […]
All of the above charts courtesy of Jonathan Rose Companies. The original source of the GHG data is: Journal of Urban Planning and Development © ASCE / March 2006.
