Of the three blocks which will ultimately be transformed into Amazon's new HQ, One is above ground, one is dug out for the foundation, and the third still has a functioning car lot on it.
Photos taken July 14:
^ It should be noted that the high rise in the above image is across the street from and not, to my knowledge, a part of the Amazon complex.
Photos taken August 13:
^ As I understand it, that triangle (above) is going to remain as it is... or at least, it won't be a part of the Amazon campus.
I will continue to post periodic photos of the Amazon complex as it is built. If possible, I'd like to find a parking garage or other nearby public building that I can take photos out of for better angle.
I agree with Robert. This was a huge opportunity for this city. Imagine those 3 towers stacked on top of each other. Could have ended up being a new iconic tower for Seattle!
Mabybe it's just because I'm from ultra-conservative Vancouver, but I think that with just a bit more height (5 to 10 floors), this would have been
great infill for the big empty spaces that downtown Seattle seems to have here and there.
I would not make one huge iconic tower. I think if the three buildings, perhaps
redesigned somewhat taller, parhaps even a little mores slender, with a bit more angle and originality, this could have made a great office place, AND a great sort of inner-city greenspace.
Sheer height for height isn't everything.
I imagine these have progressed quite a bit since August?
One is above ground. The second one is trying to reach the surface. Two cranes at each site. The third one hasn't started at all. The auto dealership that occupies the site hasn't finished its new place south of downtown.
I would love for the buildings to have been taller and more shapely as well. But at least they will be very colorful and have annexes that liven up the street.
Here's to hoping tower two doesn't include those tacky colored fins sticking out between the windows.... I bet they regret that in a few years, if not already.
Standing at a height of 160 metres (524 feet), the NBBJ-designed Amazon Tower I officially topped out in February 2015. Following months of cladding work and interior fitting, the completed office tower finally opened its doors yesterday. Less than two weeks prior to the first phase tower's opening, construction of the 37-storey second phase tower reached its final height of 159 metres (521 feet), and is expected to be completed in mid-2016.
I think we'll have to wait until we see all of them together, as brightly colored compositions like this often don't work until you see them all as a complete body of work. But my initial reaction to the pictures is not a very good one.
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"Then each time Fleetwood would be not so much overcome by remorse as bedazzled at having been shown the secret backlands of wealth, and how sooner or later it depended on some act of murder, seldom limited to once."
These aren't static pieces of art. The first tower made sure to nix that by its smash-up of colors and textures. The current two towers share some references but each one stands on its own. More than that, while confined by right angles, they smashed the limits that Seattle architecture was confined by and have created a "there" in this section of town.