Slog
News & ArtsFriday, May 4, 2012
Architecture I Do Not See Anything Amazing About Amazon's New Towers
Posted by Jen Graves on Fri, May 4, 2012 at 4:12 PM
Except their enormity. (Am I missing the amazing?) And it is not apparent to me that these objects will change the Seattle skyline, except to bulk it up some.
But they do look nice in wood.
1
More dead space off the street. These are city-killers. No surprise. The effect on the skyline is an incredibly uninteresting topic.
4
I not a fan of the way states have provided an illegal advantage to Amazon versus small business, but these buildings would not be city killers. They'd replace a Toyota dealership, and continue to increase the vibrance and ridership on the SLUT.
6
How are office buildings city killers, Fnarf? The only "dreaded" public spaces are between a couple of buildings and seem more intended for the employees than anyone else. It's not Seattle Commons II.
Meanwhile, several thousand more people will work downtown, go out for lunch downtown, attend happy hour downtown, etc. Office workers bring life to a city. Wouldn't it be worse for Seattle if they built this in Eastgate?
Meanwhile, several thousand more people will work downtown, go out for lunch downtown, attend happy hour downtown, etc. Office workers bring life to a city. Wouldn't it be worse for Seattle if they built this in Eastgate?
7
Design-wise the towers are not amazing, but what is amazing is that a large company has decided to stay invested and located in the center of a large city instead of sprawling out in the 'burbs.
8
JESUS CHRIST THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG!
Seriously, this is not fucking brain surgery. Why aren't there design standards for this kind of shit? We know what this does to a city! It kills the street. Kills it. Fucking glass walls? Are you shitting me? An overhang? What the fuck?!
The architects should be tarred, feathered, and run out of town. Jesus fucking christ. Unemployment for architects is incredibly high. How is it possible these are the yokels who got the job?
Oh. And what the fuck is up with the top? I know these cheap motherfucking cockmonkeys want to maximize floor space in the high rent zone of the building, BUT WHY ARE THEY BEING ALLOWED TO?! WHY AREN'T THEY REQUIRED TO TAPER THAT FUCKING BLOCK MONSTROSITY SO THAT IT MEETS THE SKY WITH A MODICUM OF ELEGANCE?!?!?!
This isn't hard, people. JESUS FUCK.
Seriously, this is not fucking brain surgery. Why aren't there design standards for this kind of shit? We know what this does to a city! It kills the street. Kills it. Fucking glass walls? Are you shitting me? An overhang? What the fuck?!
The architects should be tarred, feathered, and run out of town. Jesus fucking christ. Unemployment for architects is incredibly high. How is it possible these are the yokels who got the job?
Oh. And what the fuck is up with the top? I know these cheap motherfucking cockmonkeys want to maximize floor space in the high rent zone of the building, BUT WHY ARE THEY BEING ALLOWED TO?! WHY AREN'T THEY REQUIRED TO TAPER THAT FUCKING BLOCK MONSTROSITY SO THAT IT MEETS THE SKY WITH A MODICUM OF ELEGANCE?!?!?!
This isn't hard, people. JESUS FUCK.
9
Given how Amazon is all about minimizing costs at all cost I'm surprised how dedicated they've been to Seattle.
I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
11
Whilst NBBJ aren't the WORST architects in the world -- more or less the Pb 04 of the big building set -- it would have been so much more interesting if Amazon had chosen something truly great. Or even clever...like choosing the architect whose writings they sell the most of. Or something. But I guess Vitruvius isn't taking new clients. Anyway, I have to cautiously agree with Fnarf Lloyd Wright...these structures, by their unambitious whiz-bang attributes, are one more soft erection in a city that could really use a hard-on.
12
1) Jen I really hope you meant "enormousness"--super bigness--rather than "enormity" -- malevolent evil. Your opinion of architecture notwithstanding, the effect of the buildings on the neighborhood will hardly be lethal to human life.
2) Everyone please note, these images are not the "design", they are massing studies, meant to analyze the possibilities within the zoning and streetscape and views, etc. Design is yet to come.
3) @11, why does it seem that whenever a hard-on building makes it to this town (EMP, the Library) so many people explode with disgust?
4) @1 I generally appreciate your commentary, but lose it when you deign to be an architect/engineer/urban planner.
2) Everyone please note, these images are not the "design", they are massing studies, meant to analyze the possibilities within the zoning and streetscape and views, etc. Design is yet to come.
3) @11, why does it seem that whenever a hard-on building makes it to this town (EMP, the Library) so many people explode with disgust?
4) @1 I generally appreciate your commentary, but lose it when you deign to be an architect/engineer/urban planner.
13
They'll probably end up half finished and vacant like all the the other high rises once Amazon flops.
14
Nice to see a big investment by Amazon in Seattle. They seem to be an invisible entity for being headquartered here.
15
@12 - I take your point, to a point. The EMP is execrable. There's no reason to celebrate it. It's like a Picasso sketch on a napkin. Imbued with a brilliance never fully realized. The library is a jewel, and the local media fell over itself getting the adulations right. But yes, I hear some benighted fools complaining about it. Fuck 'em...I still hope to commit suicide from the dead end balcony way up toward the top.
16
I know you folks at The Stranger love to hate on Amazon cause it's what local hipsters do and all I guess, but you know what? You haters can eat a hot bowl of dicks. I don't care about the architecture, I get to live in Seattle proper and walk to work instead of commuting or moving out to east bumblefuck (no offense, eastsiders). Do they even read The Stranger in Redmond?
Amazon the corporation may not contribute toward the Seattle Symphony, but they pay my check which goes into quite a few coffers around town- many of them even independents. Someone's gotta do it cause it's not like The Stranger is contributing much to the city's bottom line, unless you count advertising for escorts and cannabis clinics (not that there's anything wrong with that!)..
I'm sorry Amazon's success and love of the downtown location has transformed your city and specifically your much beloved warehouse- and drug-addled South Lake Union neighborhood. But how about some appreciation where it's due? I love Seattle and I love living and working here and if you don't like what the company's putting in place of some car dealership (and not even a SMART car dealership), you can either go create your own tech empire and build whatever you want, or you can go fuck your sanctimonious selves (not that there's anything wrong with that).
On a different topic, the central library looks awesome from the outside, and like a tribute to Gilliam's Brazil on the inside (note: that's not a compliment). Never have I seen such a fantastic waste of space in a house of knowledge. I mean, I love the library and all, but I hate looking for books in an airplane hangar.
That is all. Carry on.
Amazon the corporation may not contribute toward the Seattle Symphony, but they pay my check which goes into quite a few coffers around town- many of them even independents. Someone's gotta do it cause it's not like The Stranger is contributing much to the city's bottom line, unless you count advertising for escorts and cannabis clinics (not that there's anything wrong with that!)..
I'm sorry Amazon's success and love of the downtown location has transformed your city and specifically your much beloved warehouse- and drug-addled South Lake Union neighborhood. But how about some appreciation where it's due? I love Seattle and I love living and working here and if you don't like what the company's putting in place of some car dealership (and not even a SMART car dealership), you can either go create your own tech empire and build whatever you want, or you can go fuck your sanctimonious selves (not that there's anything wrong with that).
On a different topic, the central library looks awesome from the outside, and like a tribute to Gilliam's Brazil on the inside (note: that's not a compliment). Never have I seen such a fantastic waste of space in a house of knowledge. I mean, I love the library and all, but I hate looking for books in an airplane hangar.
That is all. Carry on.
20
"You haters can eat a hot bowl of dicks"
Unfortunately they'd probably ask for seconds.
Anyone else notice how houses north of the Ship Canal and south of 85th, a 15-20 minute drive from SLU, are selling like hot cakes? Thanks Amazon, you are the future of Seattle.
Unfortunately they'd probably ask for seconds.
Anyone else notice how houses north of the Ship Canal and south of 85th, a 15-20 minute drive from SLU, are selling like hot cakes? Thanks Amazon, you are the future of Seattle.
21
The buildings are ugly, yes, but it's not exactly like they're going to be surrounded by works of art anyway.
22
Those blocks are already dead. I'm guessing they have been since the city hauled the hills that used to be there into Elliot Bay back in the 1920s. At least now they'll be thousands of people milling about, right? Maybe that will provide an impetus for more interesting construction elsewhere in the neighborhood.
23
Amazon is a douchebag corporation, but still, Seattle is NOT a city, it is a large-ish town pretending to be a city. Big buildings like this definitely build city-cred. Me, when I'm actually in TSA/FreedomLand, usually remain in Ballardia.
25
@22 not to mention the tremendous benefit and growth to related businesses in the area that will spring from another, what, 5000 workers? That's a LOT of extra business for every cafe and shop within a city block of this place.
The lines at the Top Pot on 5th are going to be bonkers. All the little shops especially on 5th just scored.
The lines at the Top Pot on 5th are going to be bonkers. All the little shops especially on 5th just scored.
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