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Seattle Facts

Population 2,615,060 (2011)
Area 630 km² • 243 mi²
150m+ Buildings 18 Completed • 4 Under Constr.
Tallest Building Columbia Center (284 m)
Global Ranking #54 in the world by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
Regional Ranking #11 in North America by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
Country Ranking #9 in USA by no. of 150m+ completed buildings
First 150m+ Building Safeco Plaza (1969)
Average Building Age 24 years
Most Common Function Office, 77%
Most Common Material Steel, 53%

All building-related facts are for 150m+ buildings.

Buildings See All Buildings in City

1   Columbia Center 1984 284 m
2   Rainier Square Tower 2020 259 m
3   1201 Third Avenue Tower 1988 235 m
4   Two Union Square 1989 226 m
5   Seattle Municipal Tower 1990 220 m
6   F5 Tower 2017 201 m
7   Safeco Plaza 1969 192 m
8   City Centre 1989 185 m
9   Russell Investments Center 2006 182 m
10   Wells Fargo Center 1983 175 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Completed   Arch. Topped Out   Struct. Topped Out   Under Constr.
1   4/C - 314 m
2   888 2nd Avenue - 271 m
3   Third & Cherry - 192 m
4   802 Pine - 164 m
5   Altitude Hotel & Residences 2021 163 m
6   5th & Virginia - 160 m
7   3rd and Virginia - 152 m
8   1916 Boren Avenue - 148 m
9   2005 5th Ave - 146 m
10   5th and Lenora - 146 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Proposed
1   4/C - 314 m
2   Columbia Center 1984 284 m
3   888 2nd Avenue - 271 m
4   Rainier Square Tower 2020 259 m
5   1201 Third Avenue Tower 1988 235 m
6   Two Union Square 1989 226 m
7   Seattle Municipal Tower 1990 220 m
8   F5 Tower 2017 201 m
9   Safeco Plaza 1969 192 m
10   Third & Cherry - 192 m
See full building list
CTBUH Height Criteria
  Completed   Under Constr.   Proposed

Building Function More Charts

Based on 22 Buildings Over 150m Height

 

Structural Material More Charts

Based on 19 Buildings Over 150m Height

 

Building Completions Timeline (Last 50 Years, 100 m+) Create Your Own Timeline

 
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CTBUH Initiatives

2018 Global Walking Tour: Walking on Water
20 Jul-7 Oct 2018 – Event Invite

2018 Global Walking Tour: Walking on Water Reports
2 Aug 2018 – Tour Report

Tour of 8th & Howell
12 Jul 2018 – Event Invite

More Initiatives

CTBUH Initiatives Related to Seattle

2018 Global Walking Tour: Walking on Water Reports
2 Aug 2018 – Tour Report
This year's 2018 Global Walking Tour explored the role of tall buildings along waterfronts and other natural settings.
CTBUH Seattle Tours Kiara
31 May 2018, Seattle – Tour Report
The CTBUH Seattle Chapter recently toured Kiara, previously known as 970 Denny Way, a mixed-use, high-rise development in Seattle.
CTBUH Seattle Hosts Tour of West Edge Tower
22 Feb 2018, Seattle – Tour Report
CTBUH Seattle hosted a site tour of West Edge Tower in downtown Seattle on Thursday, 22 February, featuring a blend of completed and in-progress spaces throughout the tower.
CTBUH Seattle Fall Forum
10 Oct 2017, Seattle – Event Report
CTBUH Seattle held its 2017 Fall Forum, kindly hosted by CallisonRTKL, on the topic of Building Resiliency & Design Optimization.
CTBUH Seattle YPC & Katerra Presentation: Cross-Laminated Timber
30 Aug 2017, Seattle – Event Report
CTBUH's Seattle Young Professionals Committee (YPC) hosted a Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) 101 presentation series at Katerra's Seattle offices.
CTBUH Seattle Hosts a Tall Timber Seminar
22 Jun 2017, Seattle – Event Report
The CTBUH Seattle YPC heard from industry experts at a tall timber presentation, followed then by a networking event.
Seattle YPC: Optimism Brewery Tour & Happy Hour
24 May 2017, Seattle – Tour Report
The CTBUH YPC of Seattle met to tour the Olson Kundig-designed Optimism Brewery building, formally an abandoned warehouse in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
CTBUH Seattle Debates HALA’s Impact on Downtown Development
18 Apr 2017, Seattle – Event Report
The annual CTBUH Seattle Spring Forum featured a panel discussion examining and interpreting the impact of Seattle’s "HALA" on future downtown development.
CTBUH Seattle YPC Holds Inaugural Meeting
10 Apr 2017, Seattle – Event Report
The CTBUH Seattle Young Professionals Committee (YPC) held their first board meeting at the office of Magnusson Klemencic Associates.
CTBUH Seattle Tours Tower 12
23 Mar 2017, Seattle – Tour Report
CTBUH Seattle's Young Professionals Committee (YPC) organized a tour of Tower 12, a 35-story, 386 foot tall residential tower in downtown Seattle.
Seattle YPC Tours Troy Block
1 Dec 2016, Seattle – Tour Report
The Seattle Chapter of the Young Professionals Committee hosted a site tour of Troy Block, providing significant insight into the relationship of the historical and new.
CTBUH Seattle Fall Forum
8 Nov 2016, Seattle – Event Report
CTBUH Seattle organized and held their annual Fall Forum, this year on “Digital Technology in the Built Environment.”
CTBUH Seattle Hosts Spring Forum
14 Apr 2016, Seattle – Event Report
The CTBUH Seattle Chapter Spring Forum was hosted by CallisonRTKL and featured a panel discussion that examined opportunities to "Transform Downtown Seattle for Kids."
Seattle Regional Tour
29-30 Oct 2015, Seattle – Tour Report
CTBUH 2015 delegates toured Seattle, gateway to Asia and icon of the Pacific Northwest, where they witnessed a showcase of tall building and technological innovation.
CTBUH Releases Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Dec 2014 – CTBUH Journal Paper
An All-Time Record 97 Buildings of 200 Meters or Higher Completed in 2014 and 2014 showed further shifts towards Asia, and also surprising developments in building functions and structural materials.
The Sustainability of Going Tall
28 Jul 2014, Seattle – Event
Bill Browning of Terrapin Bright Green lectures on “The Sustainability of Going Tall” as the first event in a series focusing on Seattle neighborhoods.
CTBUH Seattle Holds Launch Event
25 Mar 2014, Seattle – Event Report
A new committee of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has been established in Seattle, and held its first public event at the Seattle offices of Gensler.

Global News

Seattle’s Space Needle Debuts Rotating Glass Floor
6 Aug 2018 – A revolving glass floor has debuted at the 152-…

Construction Has Begun on a High-Rise Condominium Scheme in Seattle
25 Jun 2018 – A residential tower under construction in Downtown…

Tech Giant Pausing Seattle Tower Construction Because of Business Tax Proposal
4 May 2018 – A tech giant is halting construction on a 17-story…

More News

News Related to Seattle

News Image
Seattle’s Space Needle Debuts Rotating Glass Floor
6 Aug 2018
A revolving glass floor has debuted at the 152-meter level of Seattle’s Space Needle. Renovations of the 184-meter tower, which was first constructed for the 1962 World’s…
News Image
Construction Has Begun on a High-Rise Condominium Scheme in Seattle
25 Jun 2018
A residential tower under construction in Downtown Seattle will be delivered as condominiums for sale, rather than apartments for rent as originally planned. The 41-story…
News Image
Tech Giant Pausing Seattle Tower Construction Because of Business Tax Proposal
4 May 2018
A tech giant is halting construction on a 17-story office tower currently being built on its Seattle campus, and is considering sub-leasing a second high-rise while the…
News Image
Tech Giant’s Seattle Headquarters Opens Rainforest Spheres
31 Jan 2018
The world’s largest online retailer has opened The Spheres complex on its high-rise campus in Seattle. The Spheres’ three glass domes house some 40,000 plants and contain…
News Image
Site Acquired, Permit Issued for Third Avenue Tower
8 Jan 2014
British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has purchased a site at 2000 Third Ave. in Seattle, and plans to build a 43-story building containing 431 apartments and 40…
News Image
600 Wall Street Resurrected Near Space Needle
31 Oct 2013
A California development company is updating plans for a stalled residential high-rise project, designed by Kwan Henmi Architecture and Planning, located close to Seattle…
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“Living Building” Attracts Tenants with Zero Net-Energy Goals
9 Sep 2013
Construction company Hammer & Hand, which builds commercial and residential projects in the Pacific Northwest, will move to Seattle's first Passive House building. The…
News Image
Wells Fargo Center Sale is Seattle's Largest
12 Jun 2013
Ivanhoé Cambridge has acquired the Wells Fargo Center at 999 3rd Ave. in Seattle, WA from Beacon Capital Partners for $390 million, about $396 per square foot. The 47-…
News Image
Stalled Skyscraper Back On a Schedule
23 Jan 2013
Construction of a stalled 660-foot (200-meter) tower in downtown Seattle will begin this fall, according to developers. The project, which has been on hold for five years…

Videos

Life Cycle Analysis: Are We There Yet?
16 Sep 2014 – Donald Davies, Magnusson Klemencic Associates

Tall, Gray, and Green: Reinforced Concrete Construction in the Pacific Northwest
5 Mar 2008 – Martin Maingot, Cary Kopczynski & Company

Research Papers

Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Dec 2014 – CTBUH Journal, 2015 Issue I

The Vertical Campus
16 Sep 2014 – CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference Proceedings

One of the Architecture World’s Fast Rising Stars has BIG Plans for Designing Tall Buildings
Dec 2012 – CTBUH Journal, 2012 Issue IV

More Papers

Papers Related to Seattle

Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Dec 2014 – CTBUH Journal, 2015 Issue I; Daniel Safarik, Antony Wood, Marty Carver & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
An All-Time Record 97 Buildings of 200 Meters or Higher Completed in 2014 and 2014 showed further shifts towards Asia, and also surprising developments in building…
The Vertical Campus
16 Sep 2014 – CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference Proceedings; Jason Haase, LMN Architects
Tech companies of all sizes are leaving the loft and heading to the high-rise. As small startups grow larger and set their sights on attracting the best talent available…
One of the Architecture World’s Fast Rising Stars has BIG Plans for Designing Tall Buildings
Dec 2012 – CTBUH Journal, 2012 Issue IV; Bjarke Ingels, Bjarke Ingels Group
OMA alumnus Bjarke Ingels has made a name for his Bjarke Ingels Group with innovative, paradigm-busting projects that blend nature and functionality with new twists on…
Shoring Wall and Subsurface Structural Systems: IDX Tower, Seattle, Washington
May 2003 – CTBUH Journal, Spring 2003; David G. Winter, Shannon & Wilson; Douglas E. Loesch, MKA; Robert Hollister, Hines
This paper reports on the performance of the excavation shoring. The new building is supported on a mat footing that varies in thickness from 6 to 14 feet. This paper…

Browse hundreds of other papers published by CTBUH members on a range of multi-disciplinary subjects in the Research Papers Library