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The architecture of Seattle has many different influences --
tradition, available technology and materials, climate,
economics and changing aesthetic considerations.
You will find almost every style in the Pacific Northwest,
from the A-Frame cabin to the Yurt, but my favorite styles
are from early in the 20th Century.
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 In 2007, the Members of The American Institute of Architects will mark the AIA's 150 years of service to the profession and the nation by working with their communities to create a better future by design. www.AIASeattle.org
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Last year, AIA and Northwest Home+ Garden Magazine announced a partnership where the magazine will showcase an architect-designed home in their magazine selected by a committee from the AIA Seattle and Northwest Home + Garden Magazine, which will also be open for a public open house on a Sunday afternoon. www.NWHomeandGarden.com |
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From the book Shaping Seattle Architecture - A Historical Guide to the Architects |
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Seattle's earliest settlement coincides with the appearance of
architectural plan and pattern books in the American popular press.
The typical "Seattle Box" style can be traced to these early plans.
Architects were usually not credited, and many contractors and
builders copied exactly or borrowed heavily from these plans.
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Here are two great examples of the typical "Seattle Box".
The one on the left is on Capitol Hill, the one on the right is a
great example in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle.
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Shaping Seattle Architecture - A Historical Guide to the Architects |
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Shaping Seattle Architecture -
A Historical Guide to the Architects, edited by Jeffrey Karl Ochsner
It contains 45 profiles of architects and firms, over 500 photographs and over 80 thumbnail sketches of additional significant architects and the works for which they are most noted. This is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in Seattle architecture. | |
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DynamikSpace.com |
If you need your home restored or remodeled and are looking
for a conscientious, reliable builder who is sensitive to your
needs and requirements and who understands the restoration
process while bringing a home up to current code, consider
Seattle Design Build. They also build gorgeous sunrooms
which are a great asset in our part of the country. I have had
them design and build two sunrooms for me over the last
7 years, and I could not be happier! (See the sunrooms
they built for me on page 4 & 5 of their portfolio section.)
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The English Arts & Crafts movement came to the Northwest
via Canada, where it made a great impression.
Visually, these predominantly half-timbered houses also derive from
the English Domestic Revival movement in the 1860's and 1870's.
Here are two homes, the one on the left is located on
Federal Avenue East on Capitol Hill.
The one on the right is located in Madrona
and designed by Ellsworth Storey.
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I get a kick out of Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes
in the Pacific Northwest. They are a form of vernacular architecture
imported directly up from California, and are popular here --
even though no Spanish missions had ever figured in this area's past.
The usually light-colored stuccoed buildings with arches or facades,
a curved false gable, tile roofs, and occasional towers are fabulous.
They are romantic and picturesque in the rainy Northwest climate.
Luckily, windmill palms do very well here, and I suggest anyone with
this kind of house immediately purchase one and plant it in
the front yard. Along with a few plastic pink flamingo's.!
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These two homes look to me to be of the International Style.
That style (light tones, stuccoed forms with rounded corners, strong
horizontal emphasis, considerable use of glass walls & windows)
was named after a book by Henry Russell-Hitchcock and Philip
Johnson called The International Style: Architecture since 1922
and derived from an exhibition of European Architecture held at
the New York Musuem of Modern Art in 1932.
The style of these two homes, located in Laurelhurst,
are not that popular in the Northwest, but fit in here very well.
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The classic and Gothic Revival style is rare in this state, but there
are a few examples. Most are not pure, but an eclectic mix of Gothic
and Victorian. I've heard that one of the reasons is that the jigsawn
ornamentation just can't stand up to the rainy and wet weather here.
The home on the left is located on Capitol Hill, the right is in Ballard.
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This is a wonderful example of the Second Empire style in a
home located in First Hill, near Downtown Seattle. The style
was borrowed from France and is named for the reign of
Napoleon III, who transformed Paris into a city of grand
boulevards and similar-styled buildings and palaces.
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The mansard roof -- a double-pitched roof with a steep
lower slope -- was a hallmark of the Second Empire style.
This is a beautiful, and seemingly original, example, and
the home appears to be used as a single-family dwelling.
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National Trust Guide Seattle : America's Guide for Architecture and History Travelers (National Trust Guide to Seattle) by Walt Crowley
National Trust guides are the most in-depth guides to the history and architecture of U.S. cities ever published. From famous landmarks to little-known places, this fascinating guide takes you on an exciting journey through Seattle's cultural, historical, and architectural treasures.
Walking tours and nearby trips in and around Seattle
- Easy-to-follow maps for each area of the city
- 200 vintage and contemporary photographs
- Listings of national, state, and city landmarks
- Index of museums, calendar of annual events, and more.
The most comprehensive guide to Seattle's architectural legacies and historic neighborhoods. This book charts the fascinating story of Seattle--from its origins as a trading outpost to its present-day incarnation as a Mecca for young professionals worldwide.
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This is a great example of an Asian-influenced Craftsman home.
There were several plans circulated at the turn-of-the-century in
Bungalow magazine, and many that were built still survive.
The Japanese Pagoda look on the rafters and other exterior
details look charming today and have aged beautifully.
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This is a fabulous sort of Gothic/Normandy style stucco home
overlooking Lake Washington in the Madrona neighborhood.
It was used as a rooming house for many years and was
gradually restored to a single-family home again.
What a beauty!
Unusual Homes. Amazing Architecture. Strange Places.
www.UnusualLife.com
100% cool stuff delivered to your in-box.
Subscribe to Unusual Life
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 The Rise of the Creative Class and its Impact on Urban Architecture
Richard Florida's book, "The Rise of the Creative Class," has received considerable press in the last few months. Florida's "creativity index" is based on his theory that the presence of creative people leads to urban economic development, and he has brought visibility to the idea that the presence of artists is linked to a larger economic vitality and job growth. This is an important insight, but there also should be a greater recognition of some related issues: that access to art is pervasive: one simply needs to be educated to see, feel, hear, smell and/or taste "art," that millions of Americans are informal artists, creating art every day and that artistic contributions to society at large are not limited to the "creative class." .....
www.CreativeClass.org |
PAGE THREE
As part of a fund-raiser to benefit the Center on Contemporary Art, I organized an
Architectural/Art Walking tour of Capitol Hill,
in conjunction with their BLURRED Architecture/Art Exhibit.
To see this online architectural tour, click here for PAGE THREE:
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All photos were taken by Marlow Harris, unless otherwise indicated
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More photos and information
are being added to this section.
Please visit again soon.
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For more information about anything you see here or questions or comments about the website or about real estate in general, please give me a call!
To go back to my website, please click here:
www.SeattleDreamHomes.com
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