Architects should have a voice

I have been delighted to see The Seattle Times focusing on recent architectural projects in Seattle, particularly the proposed basketball and hockey stadium [“Latest Sodo arena plan is an eco-friendly design,” NWWednesday, Jan. 23], and the Bullitt Foundation building [“Finding a balance,” PacificNW, Jan. 27]. I have been disappointed, however, to see an almost complete lack of acknowledgment of the architects of these buildings in your coverage.

In the stadium article, I was able to determine the firm behind the project from the photo credit, but the Bullitt Foundation architect cannot be identified because all of the photos are by Tom Reese. From the latter article one might infer that the entire building was designed by Denis Hayes, in consultation with E.O. Wilson. But couldn’t an architect have been involved somewhere in the process?

I am not an architect, but I find architects to be fascinating professionals. They have the challenge of taking abstract ambitions and practical desires and turning them into a combination of functionality and art. The challenges that they face and the thinking that they do can make for a great interview. But Lynn Thompson’s article on the stadium is much more eager to interview developers and attorneys. I would find it odd if the architects were minimized in the paper’s coverage, but to eliminate them altogether strikes me as strange indeed, as if architecture is something that comes into being without any need of architects.

--Paul Kidder, Seattle