Comments on The Brutal Beauty of Concrete

wow. this story explains so much!

One note of correction - pretty sure it's all cast in place concrete, not pre-cast.

yeah, it's definitely not precast. in situ slipforming. might be one of callison's better projects.

charles-if you love concrete so much, you should check into the phaeno zentrum by hadid, sverre fehn's nordic pavilion, and the crematorium in berlin by axel schultes. projects like the freeway park have done much to damage the reputation of concrete as a finish. it is rather unfortunate.

18,000 sq. ft / 1283 rooms =
9.9 sq. ft./room.

Perhaps this can fill our low-income housing deficit.

Actually, 18,000 sq. ft / 1283 rooms =
14.03 sq. ft./room. Unless you were adjusting for hallways, ice machines, and all that nonsense. 14 square feet is what, 2 feet wide by 7 feet long? Maybe they're making it like those Tokyo hotels where all you get is enough room to lie down.

Yeah, the world (or, ok, the Slog) makes a little more sense now. :-D

I actually love your architectural (

In modern Hebrew slang, the equivalent of the American English "what, are you nuts?" is "Nafalta al ha-rosh?" "Did you fall on your head?"

Chuck,
Concrete is not the story here. It's how the expansion of the Sheraton does even more violence to the steetscape and the pedestrian experience. Giant, flat walls that come crashing to the sidewalk--and yes, they are hard, and soul-less.

How can the Stranger advocate for alternatives to the car when that building is so awful for the pedestrian?

outside of the area around pike market, what building in the highrise area downtown has soul?
westlake center? century square? us bank center? the westin?

and there's a lot more than 18,000 sf in that there soul-less shell.
@ $130 mil, that works out to a whopping $7200 /sf.
typical hotel room is upwards of 180sf. plus suites, hallways, storage, ballrooms, etc.

We need to learn from Portland and Vancouver about building that are friendly to the pedestrian. Street level is the place to mingle and celebrate the city's vitality.

Celebrating slabs of concrete for their "hardness" and brutal honesty and all that other pretentious Dadist crap is non-democratic.

C'mon Stranger! Lose the berets and advocate for the people! Feet first, remember?

Concrete is fascinating, and beauitful in the hands of talented craftsman.

I recommend Ruben Gallo's wonderful book, "Mexican Modernity," for its excellent chapter about concrete and the way that material was used to express Mexico's poltical culture in the 20th century.

Also, fans of great concrete should visit Portland's Weiden + Kennedy building (12th & Everett, in The Pearl) which was a rehab by Allied (Brad Cloepfil's firm) and features beautiful, huge concrete tiles, poured (I'm told) by the same people who used to pour most of Donald Judd's concrete work.

Charles, That was beautiful. Usually your work goes over my alleged mind, but I really enjoyed your poem on the building, and more importantly, concrete.
Thank you.

Darlings, the 1283 number equals the total number of rooms in BOTH towers when the new tower is configured. If I remember correctly, the existing tower has something in the neighborhood of 830 guest rooms.

and I believe the 18,000 square feet is referencing the meeting space.

Callison is so overrated! THE most annoying group of people working in Seattle. Elitist assholes.

let's see how much you like it after it is painted.

"It is unforgiving and never stops getting harder." A skyscraper or every man's dream.

"so dense, so brutal, so raw"

...and so ugly!

Concrete... is a great support for statues.

the sheraton has always been a dump - and makes a lot of money for someone

crappy and over priced food too