Shaping Seattle Architecture
This is the fourth of an eight-part series on our blog, highlighting Historic Seattle’s 2015 Preservation Award recipients. The awards were presented at our 7th Annual Preservation Awards Ceremony on May 12, 2015, at the Good Shepherd Center.
Architectural Heritage Publication Award
Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects, Second Edition
The Architectural Heritage Publication Award went to the second edition of Shaping Seattle Architecture (University of Washington Press) for its invaluable contribution to a deeper understanding of architects who helped shape Seattle’s built environment.
Shaping Seattle Architecture was published in 1994 to document the lives and work of designers instrumental in creating the region’s built environment. Twenty years later, the second edition revises and expands upon this seminal work through updated information and illustrations, additional architects, and broader historical perspective on the second half of the 20th century.
Both editions were edited by Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, University of Washington professor of architecture. Ochsner worked with a five-person editorial board (as noted below), who established guidelines, reviewed submissions, and scrutinized for accuracy and completeness. University of Washington Press supported and guided this project throughout its long history.
In the second edition, the revised introduction brings the story of Seattle architecture into the 21st century. It updates the 48 essays in the first edition, and includes new essays on Edwin J. Ivey, Fred Bassetti, L. Jane Hastings, and Richard Haag, and on architects and speculative housing.
The revised sources appendix includes new research and the “Additional Significant Seattle Architects” appendix has been expanded from 85 to more than 250 brief sketches of important individuals and firms not addressed in the main essays. Finally, the appendix “Researching Seattle’s Architectural Past” has also been expanded and updated.
For the second edition, the Press provided a completely new design with larger pages, allowing larger photographs. Like the original book, the second edition conveys the broad range of “architectural achievement and the extraordinary diversity of those who contributed to making Seattle’s built environment.”
Supporting Partners: University of Washington Press; Jeffrey Karl Ochsner; Dennis A. Andersen; Duane A. Dietz; Katheryn Hills Krafft; David A. Rash; and Thomas Veith.