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Seattle, Washington
Out there running just to be on the run
No stranger to regular viewers of the slideshows, Frank Gehry is (arguably) the most famous architect alive. Fame alone doesn't guarantee a good building, but it does guarantee at least some extra attention.
Everyone agrees that the Experience Music Project (EMP) is not his strongest work. The truth is that it suffers horribly from comparison to all those other similar buildings. The museum inside doesn't help either- the EMP is a horrible waste of time and money, it is a Planet Hollywood with an admission price. I can't imagine anyone who would be happy paying $19.95 (US) to see an ugly jacket worn by Avril Lavigne to a third tier awards ceremony in a glass case and not thinking that they weren't just ripped off. The other exhibits have a similar fabricated feel, with the exception of a few posters and a looping video of Nirvana from 1988. Also in the building is the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, a similar experience without the saving grace of those few interesting Nirvana artifacts.
The big art museum in Seattle is the logically named Seattle Art Museum, designed by Robert Venturi and unique among his buildings, it is a decorated shed with an actually interesting interior space (I realize I'm the only one who cares about such things). The museum itself is about to be completely worked over by Portland boy Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works Architects, their design includes a metal and glass tower next door that has nothing to do with the current museum (I realize I'm the only one who cares about such things).
Even if you could care less about Robert Venturi, there's still a big cool silhouette sculpture outside of a man with a hammer ("Hammering Man" by Jonathon Borofsky).
Downtown the coolest building is probably still Minouri Yamasaki's Rainier Tower, a building that still feels somewhat reckless in an earthquake zone. Yamasaki's greatest building(s) were demolished in New York a few years ago in an unfortunate, well publicized terrorist incident. Rainier Square has some similar characteristics- beveled corners, a strong verticality, innovative structure, just enough to remind you once again of everything that downtown once was.
The Space Needle is removed from downtown at Seattle Center, an old World's Fair site that hosts a few rides and attractions, as well as the Experience Music Project. The distance fights the view, everything feels a little too far away to justify such great heights.
The distance doesn’t fight the view at the Smith Tower, on the south side of all of the skyscrapers in Pioneer Square, although even at that height, the Space Needle on the north side of all of the skyscrapers still seems a little too far away.
