Dear People Who Make Buildings

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What I lovingly call "Northwest Warehouse Architecture". It doesn't seem to have an actual name already, but it's freaking everywhere.

K on March 20, 2012 at 11:11 AM

In 20 years or so, when we're all living in repurposed shipping containers, you'll eat these words..

COMTE on March 20, 2012 at 11:15 AM

make housing affordable but use only the finest building materials!

meanie on March 20, 2012 at 11:16 AM

I think it looks cool.

giffy on March 20, 2012 at 11:17 AM

I kind of like the corrugated-metal look. It's better than the WTF stucco look, anyway.

MLM on March 20, 2012 at 11:18 AM

I'm sure it's all part of these buildings' planned obsolescence, intended to help the next generation by providing one more reason to tear it down and replace it with their own, not yet conceived ugly shit.

Matt from Denver on March 20, 2012 at 11:20 AM

It has to be really, really cheap, right? There can be no other reason why this hideous shit gets erected everywhere.

Mattini on March 20, 2012 at 11:27 AM

I like it.

pfffter on March 20, 2012 at 11:29 AM

I like it a lot. Better than stucco, and I would think, cheaper to replace if shit goes wrong.

TheMisanthrope on March 20, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Peter Keating detected.

on March 20, 2012 at 11:32 AM

Eh, I think it looks fine. At any rate, if I had to choose between this or the fake stucco, monolithic facade stuff I also see all over the place, I'll take this in a second. At least there's a lot of glazing going on in that picture. I hate buildings with too small/too few windows.

Hernandez on March 20, 2012 at 11:38 AM

It doesn't have to be stucco or this. Basically, I'm saying that this is the next stucco.

Grant Brissey, Emeritus on March 20, 2012 at 11:42 AM

@7: It's super low-maintenance. Same reason you see cement board siding on lots of the same types of buildings. It's not incredibly expensive, and it'll last forever.

doceb on March 20, 2012 at 11:49 AM

Every building, or style of building, goes through an awkward adolescence. We'll probably all be laughing at it in 20 years, but our grandkids will adore it.

MyNameIsNobody on March 20, 2012 at 11:52 AM

@12 Dude, I'm just happy something is there besides an empty lot finally. It could be covered in poop and I wouldn't care.

pfffter on March 20, 2012 at 11:53 AM

@0 years from now you won't even see these, they'll be part of the background like everything else before them.

Fnarf on March 20, 2012 at 11:53 AM

Most developers are so cheap/lazy, I'm pretty sure five years from now, new finished apartment buildings are going to look like this:

http://static.flickr.com/81/210729467_bb…

raku on March 20, 2012 at 11:55 AM

@16, Er, 20 years, that was meant to read.

Fnarf on March 20, 2012 at 11:55 AM

Its ugly, yeah, but people want it both ways. Give me an awesome building to look at/live in, but don't charge me a lot of rent. I want the best and I want it for free.

dry dock on March 20, 2012 at 12:04 PM

@19: That's absurd. There's surely a cost-effective material/look that doesn't look that horrible. No one said it has to be the best, just that it doesn't look like shit.

Grant Brissey, Emeritus on March 20, 2012 at 12:08 PM

Like Modernism from the 70's, it looks ok new but ages horribly.

Mike Force on March 20, 2012 at 12:08 PM

Put me in with the 'it looks great' crowd. Although it's a hair's breadth away from being overused out here.
Core-10, now that stuff is the shit. Someday imma have a house sided with it.

Dr_Awesome on March 20, 2012 at 12:10 PM

Barf.

Sided like a quonset hut, only square.

Do. Not. Like.

Reverse Polarity on March 20, 2012 at 12:16 PM

I like it. Clients like it. Contractors like it. Critics don't like it, but critics can suck it.

Nate Dogg on March 20, 2012 at 12:23 PM

I have prepared two jokes.

1. Goes great with tipped over shopping carts.
2. Seems like just yesterday that was the Funhouse.

gloomy gus on March 20, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Brick, siding (wood, plastic, metal), sheet metal siding (corrugated, otherwise), shingles, cement, stucco ... Are there many other choices?

internet_jen on March 20, 2012 at 12:25 PM

@20. You're wrong. "Its ugly, yeah, but people want it both ways. Give me an awesome building to look at/live in, but don't charge me a lot of rent. I want the best and I want it for free" is a solid, well thought out argument against the original post. It clearly comes from someone who has an encyclopedic knowledge of architecture and real estate rates. The dude knows what's what. Bow before him.

FannyFoonan on March 20, 2012 at 12:28 PM

@25. We have no prepared laughs.

FannyFoonan on March 20, 2012 at 12:29 PM

Hey, I grew up in a residence that looked like that. It had wheels, and cinder blocks kept it from being blown by high winds out of the trailer park.

--MC on March 20, 2012 at 12:32 PM

@20 Re-purposed shipping containers, like Comte points out @2.

Hernandez on March 20, 2012 at 12:35 PM

The problem with this material in Seattle is that is an imported fad with no history in the architectural or cultural vernacular. In Australia and New Zealand there is a deep history of corrugated iron as a purely functional building material with almost every house roofed by it, and most farm buildings using it as a major component. The drawing in of that utilitarian history into contemporary residential architecture in the Southern Hemisphere therefore resonated with the people who would live in those new buildings much more than it ever will for a Seattleite.

boyd main on March 20, 2012 at 12:39 PM

drive down 19th Ave E and you’ll see a new house on an expensive block covered in black corrugated .. hopefully it looks better when it done.

olive oyl on March 20, 2012 at 12:53 PM

sure thing. which would you prefer: brick, marble, or granite?

one would think you'd have complained about the cheap white vinyl windows, too. i'll have them upgraded to wood or aluminum.

Max Solomon on March 20, 2012 at 12:59 PM

31: Every architectural style begins as a new fad with no history. While there might incremental precedents, new styles are new style. Since when did something being "new" become a bad thing?

on March 20, 2012 at 1:06 PM

@34 Since Grant had nothing better to do than air the narrow view of his likes and dislikes. I preferred abandoned grocery cart pics -- they were more eloquent and inspiring.

pfffter on March 20, 2012 at 1:12 PM

shitty window frames. shitty window 'patterns'. shitty color specs. shitty material specs. shitty massing/modulation. shitty design - but hey, driscoll architects or whoever got to add another 'gem' to some shitty developer's shitty portfolio! this developer schlock needs to get better soon...

on March 20, 2012 at 1:14 PM

Once they sided the renovated Opera-Shed in it, its spread was inevitable.

on March 20, 2012 at 1:18 PM

It's the white, vinyl windows that are the Shame of the Late-20th Century.

on March 20, 2012 at 1:18 PM

Corrugated metal is exponentially better than fake woodgrain vinyl clapboards. Why not complain about that? It is far more ubiquitous.

Rhizome on March 20, 2012 at 1:19 PM

I don't mind the corrugated metal as much as the awful windows. Can't stand windows without lintels or ledges.

sikandro on March 20, 2012 at 1:20 PM

It's recyclable.

Matt the Engineer on March 20, 2012 at 1:20 PM

Maybe its where I came from, but aluminum siding is a huge sign of cheap/trashy- very mobile home seemed to be covered with it. So yeah, maybe it's desirable in a hipster "it's cool because I'm being ironic!" sort of way, but I just find it incredibly gross.

UNPAID COMMENTER on March 20, 2012 at 1:32 PM

The joke will be on them in a few years when that stuff rusts.

suddenlyorcas on March 20, 2012 at 1:33 PM

The one I really hate is the "dial-a-siding" building at 15th and Pine. It's like they emptied out a warehouse of leftover siding material and slapped it on that building wherever they could. It's got brick, stucco, tile, vinyl, and glass block.

WFM on March 20, 2012 at 1:33 PM

@44 WFM,

If you think that's bad, the new QFC building on stone way dialed 15th & pine's facade all the way up to 11. it's a garish piece of shit. whoever that architect is deserves to be castrated.

on March 20, 2012 at 1:36 PM

@39 nails it. The new "apodments" at 13th and John are simply hideous. This building looks spectacular by comparison.

bleedingheartlibertarian on March 20, 2012 at 1:44 PM

Grant, weren't you the one complaing about housing being too unaffordable last week? What a joke. This materials choice is a direct response to the need to deliver a more affordable product.

iviola on March 20, 2012 at 1:59 PM

Affordable, sturdy. Looks great to me. First let's get everyone affordably housed, then we can argue the fine points of style.

tiktok on March 20, 2012 at 2:13 PM

@47: I don't remember complaining about housing being unaffordable last week or ever. Again, no one said it had to be the best, or even expensive, just that it not look like shit. It doesn't have to be one or the other (unless you're thick).

Grant Brissey, Emeritus on March 20, 2012 at 2:17 PM

Half of Mexico City and Sao Paulo lives in stuff like that.

Will in Seattle on March 20, 2012 at 2:20 PM

I think of this as Scandinavian modular minimalism. I'm not sure why -- maybe because the first stories I saw about repurposed shipping containers was from some place nordic? And had similar colors? Anyway, it will not age well, but like others have said, it could definitely be worse. I mean, just go to the San Fernando Valley and experience the stucco hell that whole area is in.

And it's not just Seattle -- this style is going up all over the country for new, 'hip' apartment buildings.

hereiswheremynamegoes on March 20, 2012 at 2:21 PM

@42: its' not aluminum. it's painted steel.
@43: if it is detailed correctly, it won't rust.

Max Solomon on March 20, 2012 at 2:34 PM

I like the red colour side and dislike the dark colour side. Seattle could use more bright coloured buildings. Get rid of the gray/concrete silver/forest brown/forest greet/tan/beige/etc colours.

Simone on March 20, 2012 at 2:43 PM

@52 Whoops, sorry- Now that I now it's steel it's completely different! ...oh wait, no. It looks exactly the same. Cheap and shitty.

UNPAID COMMENTER on March 20, 2012 at 2:48 PM

@49 So what would you suggest? I agree, it's not the most attractive but it's better than it is worse. Do you think there's this siding material that's out there and not being used? This magically cheap, magically attractive, magically durable, magically maintenance free alternative? Get. Real. If you want top shelf, you need to pay top shelf prices. To me, the real problem is the size of the goddamn thing. Maybe if we did more urban infill instead of razing an entire block this cheaper than most but still durable and not entirely ugly facade wouldn't be such an issue.

dry dock on March 20, 2012 at 3:04 PM

@55: I'm no builder, so can't offer specifics, but I'm sure there are cost-effective alternatives to this look, which I think is horrible. Oh, and anyone who's claiming that this cheap siding will make these units affordable—you're kidding yourselves. Unless this is subsidized housing, tenants/buyers will pay through the roof.

Grant Brissey, Emeritus on March 20, 2012 at 3:26 PM

@23 Core-Ten is a truly beautiful building material that just gets better as it ages. I've also seen copper sheathing that ages in beautifully. Both cost a bloody fortune though.

Westside forever on March 20, 2012 at 3:45 PM

Affordable building materials /= cheap rent. It just means more ticky-tacky slapdash buildings meant to fall down in 10 years at 1200/month.

I'm currently apartment hunting, and this trailer park looking shit is really starting to piss me off.

zobot on March 20, 2012 at 3:58 PM

@56 If you're no builder, then maybe you should stick to things you know.

With the crash of the housing market a few years ago and the flood of condo conversions, renters got spoiled with granite, stainless, and condo finishes. Now that the bar has been raised and renters are expecting these CONDO upgrades in new RENTAL units, developers need to make choices. They can either cough up money for an upgraded kitchen, or they can spend it on Grant Brissey approved siding.

Developers are not charity workers. They buy property, develop it, and then sell it or rent it for a profit. The property owner will charge the most amount of rent that current conditions will allow. This is the current market rate, hence, market rate apartments. For prime real estate like this, in the densest neighborhood in the state, you bet your ass they're going to ask for as much as they can get. Affordable? That depends on who's renting. But I bet they will have absolutely no trouble finding enough people to fill the building.

I don't know why this pisses me off so much but it does. People bitching without a solution to their problem. Next time, why don't you take a picture of a building you like? Try talking that building up rather than taking a picture of a building you hate, and tearing that building down. That approach goes for anything really. Promote what you like, ignore what you don't.

dry dock on March 20, 2012 at 4:00 PM

Any housing with a life expectancy of a few decades is expensive but Grant is right, it even looks terrible when mostly new.

anon1256 on March 20, 2012 at 4:37 PM

59 for the fucking win. Everyone can go home now.

on March 20, 2012 at 4:40 PM

Right. That look has got to be the only cheap siding out there. Again, it doesn't have to be corrugated metal or expensive. That argument assumes there are no other cost effective alternatives. Also, you're criticizing my post, but you say "Promote what you like, and ignore what you don't." Don't make no sense!

Grant Brissey, Emeritus on March 20, 2012 at 4:51 PM

I've been watching this thing go up for months now right around the corner from the new-to-me apartment I rented last summer... Ugly is not even the word. And yeah, these things are gonna go for an arm and a leg - they've got fancy kitchens with swirly light fixtures (ooo, swirly!).

Hell, I still miss Squid Row. I R OLDSKOOL. :(

merry on March 20, 2012 at 6:34 PM

@34: since Seattle

boyd main on March 20, 2012 at 7:17 PM

I don't mind corrogated panals because when I grew up everyone's barn was roofed in it. It doesn't seem strange or ugly if it's what you're familiar with.

yucca flower on March 20, 2012 at 7:53 PM

Though I'm way too late to be read, I have to log in to agree with #59 above and also to pose the question to Grant Brissey: so what would you do? What's the alternative siding that looks better,is less expensive, and you will find attractive? Yeah, you're not a builder, but if you're sure this thing exists, find it for us. Or better yet, take a picture of a building somewhere that has the perfect siding.
Thanks.

crone on March 20, 2012 at 8:42 PM

Do you guys like creamed corn?

Grant Brissey, Emeritus on March 20, 2012 at 10:57 PM

Look, Alex Rosenast took his money from RCKNDY and the Garage and bought up all the buildings on that block of Pine, then found a buyer to flip them before the property market crashed. Rosenast set this in stone by choosing not a developer who might conceivably give a fuck but to Bellevue cookie-cutter developer Murray Franklyn, whose website proudly trumpets that they "design and build extraordinary new homes and communities tailored for suburban Seattle lifestyles."

This is what Murray Franklyn does - mediocre stuff at best. You might hate what they do, but it's all they do. Rosenast knew that when he took their check.

gloomy gus on March 20, 2012 at 11:16 PM

A fabulous flashback ...
http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/you_…

ac6752 on March 21, 2012 at 3:28 AM

What a fucking waste of time this thread was. I want the last 5 minutes of my life back.

"Things made out of expensive materials cost more, fussy twits." -- Dominic Holden

pfffter on March 21, 2012 at 9:59 AM

@67 Only when my Gran makes it.

GlamB0t on March 21, 2012 at 10:16 AM

I don't mind the siding choice, what I'm seeing are the supports for every unit to have a *real* patio. Sure, I'm not in Seattle or the PNW, so maybe this siding choice is overdone, but what really annoys the shit out of me is when developers put "Juliet Balconies" on their projects. Really? So you put a gate over a big window? That's not a balcony, it's a large window that opens and prevents your drunk ass from falling out of it. THAT is the true travesty in modern development, and if you're interested in seeing 400 million examples of it, join me in DC some day.

Ms. D on March 21, 2012 at 5:46 PM

Looks a hell of a lot better than the cinder-block shit they have all over LA County.

Greg on March 21, 2012 at 10:03 PM

I love this AND 1970s concrete. Anything but the "pomo" dial-a-siding approach mentioned by @44.

Prettybetsy on March 23, 2012 at 11:11 PM

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