Keeping History

Growing up in Boston means I'm used to lots of historical buildings making up a city. Living in Seattle means the city has to take what it can get. After all, when cities back East were building subway systems, Seattle in parts still had dirt roads. Urban renewal takes shape in many forms.

That said, there's still history in certain neighborhoods. Some younger than others, such as in Capitol Hill. A lot of the buildings that haven't been torn down for new construction stand about four stories tall, and are usually made of cmu and wood timber. There's a new development happening down the street from our offices, The Packard Building, and in a nice turn they are keeping the facade of the building. This is common when dealing with much older buildings, though not ones as young as this project... take a look below:


The old building beyond the face has been removed, and currently there's a large pit waiting to be shored and made into below grade parking. The new building will sit within the old building's facade, and rise above another few levels. I really like the look of the new building, and it fits in well with other recently completed projects in the neighborhood. I'm also a huge fan of setbacks, such as with the entrance courtyard shown in the photo to the right. You can currently see right through the large openings where the windows used to be, and see the clouds beyond. Hopefully we won't have an earthquake anytime soon!