Seattle Design 100+
Culture of Risk-Taking

Love them or hate them, controversial buildings and art get people thinking about design. Some, such as 1962’s Space Needle, were risk-taking, future-forward projects that attracted global attention in their time. Recent additions include Frank Gehry’s Experience Music Project and the Rem Koolhas- and Joshua Ramus-designed Central Library.

The budding culture of risk taking that such ventures  represent impacts Seattle design. With the realities of time and money facing all design professionals, it’s impressive when designers and their clients take a leap of faith in an effort to engage the community and push toward greater heights. “You may not like it, it may challenge you a bit,” says architect Eric Cobb. “The expectations shouldn’t be that it needs to be perfect, that’s not what risk is about.”

When risks pay off, the rewards are great. Our library made it onto the AIA 150 list of America’s Favorite Architecture, while the Olympic Sculpture Park, designed by architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi and landscape architect Charles Anderson, won AIA and ASLA awards in 2007. Projects like these are role models, Cobb says, but adds: “There’s a spirit of invention and risk-taking that our city could benefit  from more.”