The "Trophy Building"

Source: Slog
Link: http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/the_trophy_building
Title: "The Trophy Building", by Dominic Holden
Date: February 29, 2008

The essential story:

The proposed building:

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The building will contain nineteen residential units ranging in price from $2-18 million.

The issue raised:

On the one hand, it sounds like a technical challenge. To the other, what if the designers fail that challenge? I mean, it looks pretty, but it also looks like it will fall over in a breeze.

 

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geeese thats like kind of dangerous

 

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There are similar dimensions of such high-rises in Hong Kong.

But yes, the designs should undergo intense scrutiny to withstand wind and seismic forces.

 

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i cant belive it doesnt have to get building aproval, hell a GARAGE requires building aproval here, i think even some hen houses do. NO development is exsempt

 

Repackaging the neighborhood

That whole part of town is being redeveloped. It's sort of a bizarre saga involving Paul Allen, any number of developers, overpriced condominiums, and the SLUT—a one-car trolley system also known as "The Train to Nowhere".

As Holden's article notes, "it will be 40' taller than surrounding proposed skyscrapers, such as 1200 Stewart and the Stewart Minor Tower, which are subject to extensive design guidance".

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Clockwise: 1200 Stewart, Stewart-Minor, Kinects Apartments.​

Clicking the second or third image above will lead to The Seattle Condo Blog, which includes a map showing the location of all three buildings.

Right now, the general attitude of city leaders is that the more highrises they can pack into this part of the city, the better. The higher they can push the cost of real estate, the better. It's part of Seattle's transition into a "world-class city", or something like that.

 

There's no way the building would be built if it weren't structurally sound. If an engineer puts his stamp on a building that, "will fall over in a breeze," he's not going to be in the business any longer. The city's design guidance would be on an aesthetic only basis. As far as that goes, I really don't think its too bad, and I don't really think a city should get to veto an architects design, just because some committee doesn't like it.