The Spheres are three interconnected glass domes located at the base of the Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle. These structures, constructed of two thousand, six hundred and forty-three glass panes held together by a steel frame,…
Downtown Modern Architecture
Take a walking tour of Seattle's downtown core to examine the dramatic engineering and bold, futuristic designs that shape the city's modern skyline.
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1. The Spheres
2. Two Union Square
Two Union Square is a fifty-six-story office tower distinguished by a curved north facade that mimics the shape of an airfoil or a ship's sail. Dedicated on July twenty-ninth, nineteen eighty-nine, the skyscraper reaches seven hundred and…
3. Rainier Tower
The Rainier Tower is recognized by a distinctive eleven-story concrete pedestal that tapers sharply toward the ground. Designed by Seattle-born architect Minoru Yamasaki and completed in nineteen seventy-seven, the building sits on this…
4. 2+U
The thirty-eight-story tower at Second Avenue and University Street is defined by its massive, V-shaped steel columns that lift the main office structure eighty-five feet above the ground. This elevation clears a path for a multi-level,…
5. Seattle Public Library - Central Library
The Seattle Central Library is a striking, eleven-story structure defined by its faceted, diamond-shaped glass and steel skin. Occupying the entire city block at one thousand Fourth Avenue, the building appears to shift and tilt, with…
6. F5
The F5 Tower rises six hundred sixty feet above Fifth Avenue, its glass exterior composed of panels designed to regulate temperature and energy use by reflecting some solar rays while admitting others. This forty-four-story skyscraper,…
7. Columbia Center
The Columbia Center is recognizable for its dark, reflective glass exterior and a distinctive shape composed of three concave facades that make it appear as three separate towers standing side by side. Completed in nineteen eighty-five,…