July 16th, 2008 @ 1:27 am by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings
I point you to the Downtown Bellevue Network Blog, not because I want to, but because I have to.
This post in particular. Writing about Bellevue’s first tall Skyscraper,
Paccar Tower built in 1970, the author states:
“I’d suggest that they bulldoze the current building to make way for a new tower on one of their many properties that they hold. A new building would help improve people’s current perception, that they are a very traditional (old and set in their ways) and aging company. [...] They continue to contribute to the community in many ways, but it is time to upgrade. They ‘call home’ the ugliest building in Bellevue, and there is no way around that. It’s time to move.” End quote. Bulldoze this lonely representative of modern 1970’s near Brutalist architecture because of the general perception of The Paccar Company as old and crusty? Seriously? The Paccar Company builds trucks. Trucks. I work in downtown Bellevue and look out of our office window every day to see the Paccar as welcome concrete relief, awash in a sea of glass and cranes. I’ve said my piece. What do you think? Modernist marvel that should be preserved, 1970’s blight that should be razed, or somewhere in between?
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| King County Central Blood Bank Building, Southcenter Branch, Tukwila. Built 1970, designed by Seattle architect Benjamin McAdoo (the first African American architect to own and operate an extended practice in Washington), another example of early 70’s modern architecture similar to the Paccar Building. The building was based on pre-cast concrete panels to control the sun and allow a modular interior. Click here for the modern day map view. |
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July 16th, 2008 @ 2:17 am
Keep in mind we’re talking about a company which deals very little with the general public (due to the fact that the vast majority of their products are intended for commercial and industrial use) and tends to fly under the radar even in their hometown. That said, I don’t think that they should bulldoze the Paccar building because of the corporate image it projects. I think they should bulldoze it because it is generic, utilitarian, and contributes nothing but a big hunk of concrete to the landscape in downtown Bellevue. If a three year old can effortlessly replicate the design on an etch-a-sketch, I seriously doubt we’re talking about any anything irreplacable here.
July 16th, 2008 @ 7:47 am
Generally I’m not one to agree that buildings need to be demolished, but in this case… this building looks like a prison. True the concrete facade is a nice contrast to the Vancouver-like skyline of Bellevue, but the building is kinda gross.
July 16th, 2008 @ 8:40 am
I would not be sad to see it razed, but I generally hate Brutalist architecture. Just about anything built in the 1960s and 1970s should not have been built.
July 16th, 2008 @ 9:10 am
Nuke it!
July 16th, 2008 @ 1:06 pm
I land in the middle. Most of these concrete buildings are ugly as hell, and I wouldn’t mind them being replaced. But I’m not a fan of actively destroying anything tall. Density is good, and if they build another tall building next door, then that’s two buildings worth of workers that will support street-level retail, public transit, and all of the other wonders that density brings.
As these buildings age they become perfect locations for low-rent businesses that otherwise would have had to rent space in sprawling suburbs. At the residential level this becomes low-rent housing -
July 16th, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
(oops, pressed tab and return)
- at the retail level they become interesting non-chain tea shops and pizza places - and at the business level they become start-up companies that are struggling to survive.
I say a little ugly is ok in a city.
July 16th, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
I say keep it. Let it piss Kemper off a bit - right downtown in the Kemper Sprawl, making his area look far less than his Bellevue vision intended I am sure!
But seriously, I don’t see any reason to knock down a building because it is ugly. Course, I think Bellevue is a complete shallow, based on image joke - so I might not be the best person to judge
July 17th, 2008 @ 12:48 am
I’m really not a fan of this building, I agree with the point of view of this author that it’s the ugliest building in Bellevue.
Something must be done about this building…What that is, I’m not sure.