5/29/2023 0 Comments Space needle song olliolli![]() The Space Needle’s new enhanced sense of transparency continues Olson Kundig’s longstanding interest in breaking down lines that demarcate inside and outside, bringing emphasis back to the Needle’s original guiding principle: providing unparalleled views of the city. The design includes the world’s first rotating glass floor on the lowest level, floor-to-ceiling glass barriers with integral glass benches on the observation deck, a new steel and glass stairway with a glass-floored oculus connecting all three floors, and revised interiors throughout the “top house” of the Needle. Led by Design Principal Alan Maskin, Olson Kundig’s design of the Space Needle’s new “core and shell” builds on the same conceptual premise that originally informed the Space Needle – a place devoted to observation. In its 55th year, the Space Needle again looked to the future with the Century Project, a significant redesign that preserves the Space Needle’s legacy by creating a new visitor experience for the next 50 years. Constructed in just over a year, the Space Needle pointed the way toward the future with a sense of optimism and possibility. A few months after the Seattle fair closed, The Jetsons premiered on TV, and an animator later said George Jetson's apartment house in the sky had been directly inspired by the Space Needle.Originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space Needle has become an international icon of the Pacific Northwest and a symbol of Seattle. ![]() He says he's disappointed that hasn't happened.īerger wasn't the only one who thought we'd all be living in Space Needles by now. This is, you know, the thing of the future, and you'll be able to fly to your friend's house," Berger says. "I actually thought we're all going to be living in these things. You still have hope."Īnd yes, a rotating restaurant may be the very definition of kitsch - but that's not how he saw it as a kid. You still kind of believe in that future. "There was one architecture critic for The Washington Post who said, 'You know, it's almost kitsch, but not quite,' " Berger says. The new color is the original color, dubbed "galaxy gold."įor him, the real charm of the Space Needle is the way it embodies what he considers Seattle's "futuristic utopianism." Jeff Wright (center), whose family owns the Space Needle, starts the repainting of the iconic structure on Tuesday with his 15-year-old daughter, Mauren, and Space Needle board member Stuart Rolfe. The needle is being repainted for its birthday - it'll be galaxy gold for six months. He walked on the saucer's roof Tuesday, more than 500 feet up, ceremonially brushing on the old color. The flying saucer at the top used to be orange, though that's not the color's official name. And we shut it down."Īnother thing people tend to forget is that the Space Needle wasn't always white. It could heat a small town, the amount of gas that went through it. "It was a huge deal, but unfortunately it wasn't very environmentally sensitive. "You could see it from probably 50 miles away," Wright says. Jeff Wright, whose family now owns the Space Needle, recalls the giant gas flame that used to shoot out the top. ![]() Conceived as a rotating restaurant and tourist attraction, it was born a little garish. Of course, the Needle was never architecturally pure. Victor was proud of how it looked, and his son says he thought the owners ruined the Needle's lines with an extra observation deck in the 1980s. But his son says he also deserves credit for the Needle. Victor Steinbrueck later became known for saving Seattle's iconic Pike Place Market from urban renewal. Victor Steinbrueck did the original drawing in August 1960. Preliminary design of the Seattle Space Needle for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair Exhibition.
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