Googie resurrected in Ballard?
The group Sustainable Ballard is sponsoring a bike rack design contest. The winners will have their racks made and installed at key neighborhood locations. Sustainable Ballard says there is a "dearth" of bike racks in Square Head City. Winners of the competition will be announced at the Ballard SeafoodFest July 26-27.
One of the possible entrants is from Seattle's Grace Architects and was sent to me by architect Ralph Allen, who was one of the activists who worked so hard to save the landmark Manning's/Denny's and come up with an alternative development design that would have preserved the diner and allowed for dense development — a win-win solution that was rejected by property owner Benaroya. Benaroya also reportedly rejected entreaties to either move the building or save its famous swoopy roof and instead opted for a hurried demolition of the structure.
However, this rack design serves to enshrine the memory of an old Googie icon in the new Ballard. Suggested location: 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street.
Comments:
Posted Fri, Jul 11, 10:11 a.m. inappropriate
Nice: And hopefully cheaper than the $500,000 bike locker under I-5 - mostly due legal fees between Metro/Seattle and various freeway 'authorities', as 'fostered' by former Seattle Councilmember Sue Donaldson.
BTW, a design thought, perhaps a bit smart ass - put a Bumber on that baby and you'd get a mini-me space needle, and rain cover!
Posted Fri, Jul 11, 11:16 a.m. inappropriate
Get your entries in soon!: Just a quick reminder that there is less than a week to go to submit your entries. Remember, your submissions can be as simple as a sketch on a piece of paper (or as involved as you like). Drop them off at the Ballard Neighborhood Service Center, e-mail them to birdie@sustainableballard.org, or mail them to Sustainable Ballard, 2442 NW Market St, PMB 286, Seattle, WA 98107. A quick word of advice on the submissions---make sure that you carefully follow the "design criteria" section of the design guidelines. And most importantly have fun!
Good luck from the entire Sustainable Ballard BiRDIE Team