(Image: Rock Box/Benjamin Benschneider)
Capitol Hill is so stylish even our karaoke bars win architecture awards. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Seattle chapter this week doled out a set of awards for 2011 recognizing projects “exhibiting design excellence in a broad array of building types.” Two projects in our neck of the woods got the nod including Nagle Place’s Rock Box karaoke bar:
Five projects received Merit Awards. They include Eagle Ridge by Gary Gladwish Architecture; PACCAR Hall, Foster School of Business by LMN Architects; Rock Box by mw|works; Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig Architects; and SCCA Patient House by Weinstein A|U Architects + Urban Designers.
Understandably proud of the nod, Rock Box sent out some more information about its design:
, designed by the architecture firm of mw|works, competed with more than 100 projects, such as libraries, single and multi-family residences, schools, Starbucks, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation campus, for the honor. More about the project from the architect.
“Designed within an existing early 20th century shell in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, this humble space was transformed into eleven Japanese-style private karaoke rooms, a small bar and a larger room for groups. Three inhabitable, weathered, blackened wood boxes delineate long corridors which lead you into private rooms saturated in color emanating from light washed walls and fabric seating. Slivers and fragments of colored light lead guests through the contrasting dark atmosphere of the public areas. Narrow windows reveal fragments of human activity from within. The new entrance was designed to activate a neighborhood alley, leaving the minimal Pine Street frontage to reveal the energy of a typical box interior in lieu of the entry. Switchable glazing capable of being transparent or translucent, and a user controlled exterior speaker give the singers inside this box the option of entertaining the late night pedestrians.”
2026 E Madison
Meanwhile, the other nod for a Capitol Hill-area project is of a more bittersweet variety. The Weinstein A|U designed Jim Mueller project at 2026 E Madison was recognized for its excellence — but is also sadly still in the “unbuilt” category after years of being bogged down waiting for an improvement environment for construction:
The following three unbuilt projects received Citations: 2026 E Madison Mixed-Use Building by Weinstein A|U Architects + Urban Designers LLC; Samsung International Hospital by NBBJ; and, submitted to the “Idea” category, The Battery Street Tunnel Project by Mona Johnston.
The project is planned to include 222 apartments and 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space organized around a central courtyard that will be open to the public, with a main covered entrance off of Madison that will also provide sheltered outdoor space for cafes. The project is one of a handful of Mueller efforts on hold in the area.
That is a great space. Congrats!
Can we get an update from Jim Mueller on his three projects on Madison and Union streets? Are any of the three closer to starting up? I’ve noticed continued environmental cleanup work happening at 2026 Madison — is that prep work for actual construction, or just finishing up the old contract?
Once again, we see that architectural awards are given to photographs, not to structures.
Rock Box is a nasty, claustrophobic, anti-social construct that’s ugly to observe and oppressive to experience. It’s a gray, incoherent, dreary addition to the neighborhood which seldom bears any resemblance to the staged photograph shown. It’s a precious mess, and when not tarted up as a magenta-spotted strip club cliché, looks like a suburban family room taken over by a carpenter-wannabe who can’t finish a project.
This award itself wins the WWTT award… What Were They Thinking?
I think Baffling should go back to the hospital and take his meds. The place is super cool, metro, great fusion of new and old. Go back to Bellevue if want to have a stepford wife life.
We will take the award on the hill smiling thank you very much.
(if you don’t like the rockbox bulidout, cannot wait to hear what you think about the new terra plate… be careful – it’s very brown in there).
So… you’re saying you don’t like private room karaoke? ;)
But I agree, that it has a bit of a dark and claustrophobic feel. The private rooms are ok, albeit a little tight. Had my birthday there, and the smallness of the rooms forces interaction. Worked out perfect for me, that was my goal. On beautiful sunny warm days and nights of the summer, I found it difficult wanting to be cooped up inside there though. Maybe winter won’t be such an issue. Wish they could architect some of the bad attitudes of the servers in there though. One of them is rude as shit. You’d think she doesn’t want to work there. Maybe because it’s dark and claustrophobic. I don’t know.