Three glass orbs rise from the concrete of the Denny Triangle, held together by a steel frame that mimics the geometry of a pentagonal hexecontahedron. Amazon built these structures to serve as a workspace for employees, filling the…
Downtown Modern Architecture
Take a walking tour of Seattle's downtown core to examine the dramatic engineering and bold, futuristic designs that shape the city's modern skyline.
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1. The Spheres
2. Two Union Square
Two Union Square stands out for the distinct, sweeping curve of its facade, which slices through the Seattle skyline like a blade. Completed in nineteen eighty-nine, the skyscraper occupies an entire city block and holds the title of the…
3. Rainier Tower
Rainier Tower balances on a narrow, fifteen-story concrete pedestal that flares outward like an inverted pyramid. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect who later created the original World Trade Center, the structure forces…
4. 2+U
Two plus U rises as a thirty-eight story office tower featuring a distinct cantilevered section that hangs eighty-five feet above the street. Beneath this elevated mass, the developers created an open-air public plaza called the Urban…
5. Seattle Public Library - Central Library
The Seattle Central Library wears a jagged skin of glass and steel that leans precariously over the sidewalk. Rem Koolhaas designed this eleven-story grid to replace a claustrophobic concrete predecessor, wrapping the structure in a…
6. F5
The F5 Tower rises above the intersection of Fifth and Columbia with a distinctive, sharply angled silhouette that cuts into the Seattle skyline. While the glass facade reflects the gray clouds, the building occupies the historic site of…
7. Columbia Center
The Columbia Center holds the title of the tallest building in Seattle, defined by its three distinct curved segments that rise seventy-six stories into the skyline. When it opened in nineteen eighty-five, developers insisted on a design…