by Clair Enlow

For twelve days in November, Seattle enjoyed its annual opportunity to reach out to other design disciplines, construction groups, and children, to bring them together under the umbrella of architecture.

The celebration called Architecture Week, (no relation to ArchitectureWeek, the magazine) was a cluster of events leading up to the AIA Seattle Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, held at Benaroya Hall.

The last decade has seen a remarkable number of important projects built in and around the city. It gave us the downtown Seattle Art Museum, Bell Street Pier, Pacific Place, the Frye Art Museum, Safeco Field, the Chapel of St. Ignatius, Benaroya Hall, the Boeing IMAX Theater, and the Experience Music Project.

During the same period, the architectural community has been well knitted together through AIA Seattle, the primary sponsor of Architecture Week.

A Better City through Action

Through the varied events of the week, and the awards program, it is possible read the story of a young global city with concerned parents, refining its values and coming to terms with a decade of rapid development. The influx of money and out-of-town architects has forced local architects to reexamine regional values in light of new possibilities.

One of the first events was "Lunch with Fred & Friends." Fred Bassetti, that is. Bassetti has earned credentials over the last 40 years as that most revered figure in Seattle—the activist architect.

Seattle Central Public Library by OMA/LMN, a joint venture. The design awards jury called it "a deliberate and skillful provocation, successfully outrageous to us today." Photo: Lara Swimmer, Swimmer Photography Bainbridge Island (Washington) City Hall, by The Miller/Hull Partnership, "reflecting the rural farmlands character of this urbanizing area..." Photo: Art Grice   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.