Seattle Design 100+
Ralph Anderson
Work by this pioneer of the Northwest style of architecture includes this Seattle house

Soon after Ralph Anderson graduated from the University of Washington’s School of Architecture in 1951, he designed a glass “box” in which to live. Though boxy glass structures were all the rage nationally, the coldness of the structure never felt right to Anderson. “I realized I had to change my approach to Northwest architecture,” he recalls. “So I created my designs to take in the variety of contours and the forested or marine outlooks, to complement the environment.” 

Anderson crafted his future designs to meld with—not oppose—the Northwest landscape. Homes blending native woods with broad windows and hovering, protective rooflines became his signature.

During the 1960s, while many of his residential designs were being constructed on Mercer Island and throughout Seattle, Anderson turned his native eye to derelict Pioneer Square, large segments of which were slated at the time for parking lots. “The Pioneer Square ownership was more interested in cheap land than the buildings,” he explains, “so when I had the opportunity to buy the old Capitol Hotel building, I mortgaged my house to do so.”

The hotel was his first of several key restoration projects that include the Union Trust and Grand Central buildings, both flagships of today’s vibrant urban district. The residential architect who rehabilitated this urban core 20 years ago still envisions future embellishments. “I would like to see Pioneer Square become an even more versatile environment with residential properties,” he says.

Though retired, Ralph Anderson consults with
Anderson/Collier Architects
3835 West Marginal Way S.W.
(206) 937-1002