kids encyclopedia robot

IBM Building (Seattle) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
IBM Building
IBM Tower 3.JPG
General information
Type Commercial offices
Location 1200 Fifth Avenue
Seattle, Washington, 98101
Coordinates 47°36′30″N 122°19′59″W / 47.608398°N 122.332935°W / 47.608398; -122.332935
Construction started May 1963
Completed October 1964
Owner Unico Properties
Height
Roof 84.13 m (276.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 20
Floor area 225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2)
Design and construction
Architect Minoru Yamasaki
NBBJ
Structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Main contractor Howard S. Wright Companies

The IBM Building is a 20-story office building in the Metropolitan Tract at 1200 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington. The building was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who also was architect of Rainier Tower on the corner diagonally opposite, and the World Trade Center in New York City. Construction on the building began in May 1963 and it was completed in October 1964.

Nard Jones wrote in 1972 that "There is an architectural poetry about [the building] that is at variance with the endless jibes at computerization and the alleged sober pragmatism of IBM personnel." The building's crown has a series of 191 "fins" that measure 23 feet (7.0 m) tall and house machinery floors.

The corner of the complex at 5th Avenue and University Street was the site of the Seattle Ice Arena from 1915 to 1963.

kids search engine
IBM Building (Seattle) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.