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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Visual Art So Much Historic Preservation Going On Out Here!

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 10:13 AM

Posted by visual art intern Jen Kagan

The corner of 11th and Pine

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Comments (21) RSS

Newest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

We've seen better, @20.

We've also seen much, much, much worse.

Posted by d.p. on February 20, 2013 at 4:27 PM

can't say that i think that facade merits preservation. or that the upper stories mesh well. charles would say it lacks boldness.

Posted by Max Solomon on February 20, 2013 at 2:29 PM

Unpaid Intern ftw!

Posted by Will in Seattle

on February 20, 2013 at 2:27 PM

Thank you, 15/16

Posted by annettefunicello on February 20, 2013 at 2:08 PM

I agree with you, Unpaid Intern; historic preservation in Seattle is a complete joke!

Posted by pinksoda on February 20, 2013 at 1:14 PM

P.S. @12, the same Bellevue family that owns Value Village (the chain) also owns the Value Village building and the building the Stranger's in.

Posted by gloomy gus on February 20, 2013 at 1:10 PM

@12, the rumor is Metropolitan Market but not in that space, in the Value Village space.

Posted by gloomy gus on February 20, 2013 at 1:03 PM

@12 Or until the building falls down.

Posted by care bear on February 20, 2013 at 11:41 AM

If you've going to rebuild then do so...come up with something really new using the materials of the age. Put in a stationary fuel cell for power. Use nanotubes. Anything to kick this lethargic city into the 21st century.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on February 20, 2013 at 11:26 AM

Is this building going to have a Metropolitan Market in it? I heard that but not sure if it was true.

I wonder how long before the building the Stranger is in gets redeveloped? Who owns that one?

Posted by annettefunicello on February 20, 2013 at 11:20 AM

@10 Keeping a fascade doesn't exempt a builder from bringing the entire building up to code, which includes structural and energy efficiency.

An argument can be made that reusing existing materials (like a fascade's bricks) can save quite a bit of embodied energy. But that's only true if you also retrofit to match the alternative's energy efficiency (which you have to, thanks to our building codes).

Posted by Matt the Engineer on February 20, 2013 at 11:12 AM

There's also the matter of energy efficiency, and earthquake survivability of buildings. If only a shell facade crumbles and kills a few pedestrians that's not so bad.

But global warming is NOW, kidlings. You're already soaking in it.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on February 20, 2013 at 11:04 AM

@5, self-righteous indignation and stuffing your nose in others' business uninformed is also great for the hips.

Posted by biffp on February 20, 2013 at 11:03 AM

@3's renderings are not bad, though.

Posted by d.p. on February 20, 2013 at 11:02 AM

Thanks Slog, for doing such a great job of sniffing out all the exciting things that are happening all over Seattle!

Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

on February 20, 2013 at 11:02 AM

Reusing old buildings (with tastefully complementary, rather than falsely retro, additional floors) is definitely the ideal. See Trace Lofts for a pretty good nearby example.

Façadism can be interesting or awful, and is rarely anything in between. I'd definitely prefer an interesting, brand new, permeable-frontage-conscious building to a lazy exercise in façadist appeasement.

Posted by d.p. on February 20, 2013 at 10:56 AM

Because lead paint and asbestos are what help fat hipsters squeeze into skinny jeans apparently....

Posted by Tobias W. on February 20, 2013 at 10:55 AM

It's such a shame that they didn't save the interior. I mean, look how awesome it was.

Treacle @3, you can see renderings here.

Posted by kitschnsync on February 20, 2013 at 10:54 AM

I agree with that. It forces the architects to come up with something creative using the existing façade's style, a worthy constraint. And it's far, far better than the alternative... good lord.

Does our Unpaid Intern know what the proposed structure will look like? Can you post the architect sketches?

Posted by treacle on February 20, 2013 at 10:49 AM

I don't think there was much to save from the inside of that building anyway.

Posted by care bear on February 20, 2013 at 10:44 AM

I'm ok with fascadeism. Reusing entire old buildings is best, but sometimes it just doesn't make sense. Saving at least an old fascade keeps a neighborhood looking interesting.

Posted by Matt the Engineer on February 20, 2013 at 10:26 AM