Comments on: Long Live Paccar Tower

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:48:25 +0000

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.

By: matt wright

matt wright — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:43:30 +0000

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

By: Matt G

Matt G — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:08:40 +0000

(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.

By: Matt G

Matt G — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:06:26 +0000

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 -

By: Tropico

Tropico — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:10:24 +0000

Nuke it!

By: Cascadian

Cascadian — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:40:12 +0000

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.

By: Claystation

Claystation — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:47:29 +0000

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.

By: Brian Lutz

Brian Lutz — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:17:38 +0000

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.