Vertebrae has long done for Seattle what, it seems, the ambitions of many community leaders could not: put Seattle "on the map" artistically. Gracing the public plaza directly across from the Rem Koolhaas' designed Seattle Public Library, it is a quiet element of what, these days, can only be called "old" Seattle.
And let's get this straight, I am NO fan of that library building - to me it is evocative of Leni Riefenstahl on a bad acid trip. Its Hippie-Nazi styling cues almost perfectly sum up the state of affairs in Seattle today.
And that's why Vertrebrae, just across the street, is important. It reminds us all what the modernist perspective can be when an element of good taste is involved. The Hines real estate group, though Texas-based, is not a stranger to these parts. They have been landlord to properties in Bellevue and Kirkland. We will be looking forward to their assurance that Vertebrae stays in place along Fourth Avenue.
Urbane Update: The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) now owns Vertebrae - and apparently has a long-term deal to keep it on Fourth Avenue. SAM, ever the transparent and easily scrutable organization (not!) owns dem bones...
1 comment:
Scott, thanks for pointing this out. I hope the buyer decides to keep it in place.
And I like the Koolhaus library building. Though, I admit, I haven't taken it seriously - I have just walked around and enjoyed the spaces, not tried to accomplish anything. My big complaint is that building the monument took so much money that they had to (surprise) reduce services in the neighborhood libraries (credit to Stefan for this analysis).
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