But with the opening of Willmott’s Ghost, a new Italian eatery, anyone can pop in for an hour or two, any day of the week. You won’t get to tour the famous greenery or the five levels of botanical workspaces, but you can dine on Roman-style pizzas, fried gnocchi, clams, and tiramisu in a small section of one of the domes.

The latest establishment from esteemed restauranteur Renee Erickson, Willmott’s Ghost offers about 50 seats in a jewel box of a space decked out in an appetizingly crisp palette of materials and colors, including palest pink, mint, deep marine blue-green, white Carrera marble, and metallic gold. Accessed through its own subtly marked entrance, the café is just as beautifully lit as you’d expect, especially given its unique location within the domes.

You’ll find no Italian stereotypes here, nor an overabundance of midcentury modern nostalgia. Vertical lines draw the eye up toward the glass, with crescent moon booths and globe-shaped lamps giving the space a little extra sparkle.

While the Spheres were created by architecture firm NBBJ, Willmott’s Ghost is the work of Seattle-based Heliotrope Architects, who liken the experience to “building a ship in a bottle.” They add: “The design team drew inspiration from the unique geometry of the [spheres] and the bright, airy environments of modern art museums and galleries.”

“Enclosed within a spherical envelope, the area housing the restaurant proved an incredible — and inspiring — challenge, as much of the architecture is dictated by curves. Curved leather banquettes and booths hug the glass perimeter. Curved walls clad in painted wood pickets define the dining room, and curved bars with Italian marble tops organize the space.”

“Avoiding the tropes of Italian restaurant aesthetics, the architecture and design evoke classical themes written in a contemporary language. Willmott’s Ghost takes its name from the thistle-like flower christened in honor of Victorian horticulturalist Ellen Ann Willmott.”

The menu celebrates Italian cuisine at its best: when it’s simple enough for its star ingredients to shine. Rustic rectangles of pizzas are adorned with seasonal toppings. Plates of thinly-sliced prosciutto and artisanal cheeses are drizzled in Sapori olive oil. Local specialities like Coho salmon are accented by aromatic herbs and citrus. Get a reservation if you want a table, or walk in and sit at the bar.

If you want to see more of the Spheres, just be sure to time your trip to coincide with the first or third Saturday of the month to enjoy a free “open house” tour. Make a reservation first, though, as slots are limited and fill up quickly.

The post Willmott’s Ghost: A Chic Café Inside the Amazon Spheres first appeared on Dornob.

Set among Seattle’s sprawl of office towers, these NBBJ-designed globes look like conjoined greenhouses from the outside, and that’s actually not far from the truth. Inside, more than 40,000 plants representing 400 species cover virtually every surface. Stone paths meander among waterfalls, taking visitors on a tour of the gardens. The domes boast two living walls, palm trees, tropical shrubs with enormous leaves, an 18-ton ficus named Rubi, and a 40-foot-tall fern.

The gardens are divided into two sections: the “New World,” which mostly houses plants from South and Central America, and the “Old World,” which features vegetation imported from Africa and Southeast Asia. A massive glass tank placed along the latter holds exotic living creatures and aquatic plants from the real Amazon rainforest. Horticulturists carefully curated the selection of plants to ensure that they could survive alongside the humans who would be working inside the domes every day. The spheres are kept at 72 degrees and 60 percent humidity during the day and 55 degrees and 85 percent humidity at night to mimic the rainforest’s natural conditions. A ventilation system provides the occasional breeze, gently swaying the branches of the trees.

Speaking of the spheres’ human occupants, check this out: among these five levels of botanical workspaces lies a treehouse meeting room with a bouncy bridge and a deck full of recliners like the ones you’d expect to find poolside at a resort. All of the workspaces are open and provide views of all the vegetation. That’s definitely a perk in a city that tends to be rainy and dreary for the bulk of the year.

As for the domes themselves, NBBJ lead architect John Savo says his firm took inspiration from the power of the sphere as it’s found in nature (i.e. the sun, the moon, and the human eye). While the repeating element in the average geodesic dome is usually easy to pick out, the one in The Spheres is slightly harder to distinguish. It’s shaped sort of like a stick figure with an elongated neck, holding out its arms and legs like Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” All in all, sixty of these modules come together to form a pentagonal hexecontahedron. The largest of the spheres is over 90 feet high and 130 feet in diameter.

“Our goal with the spheres was to create a unique gathering place where employees could collaborate and innovate together, and where the Seattle community could gather to experience biodiversity in the center of the city,” says John Schoettler, Amazon Vice President of Global Real Estate and Facilities. “I am very proud and thankful to the entire team who made the spheres a reality — they did a terrific job from the design all the way to the finishing touches. We are thrilled to officially open the doors.”

The post The Spheres: Amazon’s New Geodesic Offices Are a Rainforest Paradise first appeared on Dornob.

The post Floating Sauna to Give Stressed Seattleites Double Relaxation first appeared on Dornob.

After finding a parcel of cheap land in Seattle that had been deemed “impossible” to build on but too good to pass up, one family decided to live in that impossibility. The land is on an extremely steep slope, making any type of traditional construction unfeasible. SHED Architecture and Design came up with a plan for a home that is almost suspended among the surrounding trees, with environmentally-minded details inside and out.

A Unique Approach

The approach to the house is actually a bridge that goes from the street to the difficult-to-access site. Part of the home’s exterior is clad in asphalt roofing material, which may seem an unusual choice but makes sense for this home. It was inexpensive, it requires little maintenance, and it helps the home blend in with its natural surroundings.

The north side of the house faces the woods and is almost completely inaccessible for maintenance due to its elevation. On this side, the facade is covered in an easy-care metal siding and lots of windows. The materials both reflect the beautiful trees surrounding the structure and, again, help this home blend into its wooded environment.

A Home in the Trees

Some of the family’s requirements for the home were to make it seem protected in the trees, like a bird’s nest, and to make a cost-efficient and eco-friendly structure. Inside, recycled and salvaged materials were used where possible. This bespoke sofa was made by SHED Architecture and Design out of plywood and features a unique bookshelf base.

The mezzanine overlooking the entrance has been fashioned into a work area and crafting space, complete with its own sink and plenty of hidden storage spots for art supplies. The open-tread staircase leading up to the mezzanine helps distribute light throughout the home while maintaining an open and visually-connected interior.

IKEA fixtures were used in the kitchen to keep costs down, but some simple custom touches were added to make the home feel more personalized. A central skylight helps to pull warm air up and out of the house while the windows pull cool air in – a smart energy-saving feature that works perfectly in this home with its many large windows.

The post Grown-Up Seattle Treehouse Makes the Most of a Steep Slope first appeared on Dornob.

It took an engineer occupant with serious vision to see how an old closet in Seattle could be turned into a livable micro apartment with only 182 square feet to work with. Here are some new photos and video footage of this amazing space we covered previously here.

Steve Sauer has had to be inventive over the course of this decade-long incremental remodel, hiding a bathtub, for instance, below the floor. But the results are incredible – not only does it fit its owner, it can accommodate five guests as well … and even has a guest bed lofted above.

Hacked IKEA furniture and other custom built-ins help utilize every square inch of available space, making the most of of an awkward and semi-underground starting point. More details on the numbers below at SeattleMet, and more photos in general at SeattleTimes.

“IN 2003, STEVE SAUER, an airplane interiors engineer, purchased a century-old basement storage space in Queen Anne. Seven years later, he’s created an intimate party spot and work den that soon, if he can sort out the zoning legalities, will be his home. The tight quarters here are just right for Sauer’s little-big thinking: When space is at a premium, every detail must be function-forward. Sauer, who holds a degree in whole systems design from Antioch University, aspires to one day outfit an entire building with these meticulously crafted mini pads. Making such a tight spot work, he says, is about “simplifying the right things, making everything better quality and better designed and more intentional.”

From its creator and dweller: “It is designed for full-featured living for two people in a space that is 11’3″ x 16’2″ x 10’4″ tall. The total area is approximately 182 square feet, and inside 1900 cubic feet. The space it occupies in a cooperative apartment building was formerly used by an accountant as a storage room. The final space will have all the necessary accommodations for luxury living, except a clothes washer/dryer (that is down the hall in the building’s shared laundry room).”

The post Seattle Engineer Builds a Micro Apartment in a Former Closet first appeared on Dornob.

This bungalow in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood was reputedly built in a wacky wedge shape out of spite, but its odd proportions didn’t stop it from selling for nearly half a million dollars recently. The Montlake Spite House measures just 55 inches across its narrowest point, requiring inhabitants to step to one side to open the oven door when cooking.

The historic home was built in 1925 on a small, pie slice-shaped plot of land. According to the local legend, a neighbor approached the owner of the land to purchase this plot, but with an insultingly low offer. So the property owner built the ‘Spite House’ in retaliation.

The longest side of the triangular home, at fifteen feet across, faces the street, so passersby might not even notice that there’s anything unusual about it. As narrow as it might be, it’s surprisingly spacious at 830 square feet, comparable to other bungalows in the neighborhood – but keep in mind that these photos were taken with a wide angle lens! A buyer snapped it up for $397,000 in October 2013.

Update: The house entered the market again in 2016 for $599,900, and sold again in 2018 for $630,000. Prices in Seattle are definitely high and getting higher, but the price tag of this particular house can probably be chalked up to its curiosity factor. Maybe that’s why people want to move so often, too.

In any case, the most recent sale gave us some more info. From Curbed:

“The 860-square-foot home’s layout is not unlike that of a houseboat: It’s thin, at just 55 inches wide at its narrowest point and 15 feet wide at the thickest, and it contains some strangely-shaped spaces to get around those constraints. But it patches in period details that go beyond just working with a small space, from the arched front door to thick moulding.”

“The home’s main entrance is at the midpoint, leading to the roughly nine-by-fourteen-foot living room on the upper floor—enough room for some plush seating and even a small dining nook. The kitchen sits on the narrower end of the house. This room has been redone since the last purchase, with new appliances and what appears to be a little more wiggle room between the counters. The narrowest point of the house is beyond the kitchen: a small mudroom.”

The post Skinny ‘Spite House’ Sells for Nearly $400K first appeared on Dornob.

This stunning home on Seattle’s Lake Union from Vandeventer + Carlander Architects is an unconventional take on the well-loved Seattle floating home. Offering spectacular views on all sides – downtown to the south, Gas Works Park to the north, Queen Anne Hill to the west and the lovely Lake Union all around – the home is in an indisputably desirable location.

But what really makes the houseboat stand out is its upside-down floor plan. The private spaces – that is, those usually reserved only for the residents – are on the first floor and encased in huge, glittering windows.

The public spaces – those normally shared with guests – are located on the second floor. This unusual layout offers incredible views from the living room, dining room and open kitchen.

Outdoor living spaces are incorporated into the home’s design to further strengthen its connection to the beautiful location. Dual terraces and a rooftop deck let residents and visitors enjoy the spectacular views at any time.

The modern architecture of this floating home is perfectly offset by its luxurious setting and a few elaborate appointments, such as the spiral staircase leading to the rooftop deck. It is a home that is uniquely Seattle, through and through.

More from the architects

“The massing of the house is an exercise in carving; the challenge was to meet the clients’ needs for space yet develop an envelope that is visually interesting and coherent. Various decks are recessed into the volume and changes in materials and surfaces provide accents that speak to differentiated interior uses. A translucent stair tower “knits” the two floors together and becomes a central visual element.”

“Large sliding doors on the upper level open the interior to the exterior thereby enhancing the connection of living spaces to the surrounding lake. In bedrooms, the placement of glazed doors and windows was carefully considered to maximize views, to accentuate visual connections to the neighboring floating home community, and to provide natural light.”

The post Luxury Floats: Lovely Modern Home on Seattle’s Lake Union first appeared on Dornob.

Like something out of a classic storybook – or modern zombie movie, perhaps – the stairs leading up too this treehouse retreat can be pulled up mechanically to isolate the home and upper deck (both a full floor above the ground), in turn letting residents sleep tight inside and worry less when away.

Located along the Hood Canal in western Washington state, this towering vacation cabin by Castanes Architects is only eight hundred square feet, but feels massive thanks to its tall multi-story interior and huge waterfront-facing windows.

The exterior is comprised clear-sealed cedar and fiber cement panels while the interior features light birch plywood, raw spiral concrete-and-metal stairs and stainless steel details.

From within, the sharp-angled front seems to carve a clearing through the trees to create space for forward views, drawing inside eyes ever outward, while two-story architectural elements tie the first and second stories together, visually connecting the entire space.

More from the architects

“This angular vacation cabin, all 800 sf of it, serves as an accessible weekend retreat for an active professional couple who jet off to Japan professionally, and race bicycles in velodromes in their spare time. Nestled deep in a ravine within steps of the Hood Canal waterfront, the cabin is perched on four massive concrete columns and accessed by a motorized stair that can be lifted like a drawbridge for security when the owners are away. Light floods into the living spaces through a Mondrian-inspired corner window yielding 16′ high views of forest tree trunks and the placid waters of the Canal.”

“The escapist yearnings of the clients are reflected in the unusual material choices – clear-sealed cedar siding abuts eggplant-hued fiber cement panels on the exterior. Brought inside, the same eggplant paint contrasts elegantly with clear-sealed birch plywood panels. These panels are fixed to the walls with stainless steel finish screws and washers, yielding a subtle sparkling pattern in geometric counterpart to the figured grain of the plywood. A galvanized steel stair wraps around a monolithic concrete column, giving access to the two sleeping lofts. The repetitive lines of the eastern maple railings are integrated into the two-story bookcase and the kitchen casework. The compact kitchen features an expanse of copper counter flowing smoothly into integrally formed sink bowls; the work counter can be lowered by screw jack to dining height.”

The post Drawbridge-Style Stairs Lift Up to Secure Treehouse Retreat first appeared on Dornob.

A series of fought-for conversions, happy accidents and perfect timings led to this amazing two-story apartment that occupies the pyramidal pinnacle of a well-known Seattle skyscraper, the Smith Tower. Once the tallest building on the West Coast of the United States, this building is encircled with much misinformation about who lives at its top and why. Now, we get to see inside that hidden living space.

Atop this mysterious dwelling is great glass globe with unparalleled 360-degree views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier and essentially every other sight the city has to offer, urban or otherwise. (Images via Castanes Architects &  Stuart Isett for The New York Times)

The building owners did not want to change much, but fortunately neither did the the aspiring tenant: a few steel staircases and platforms were all that was needed to infill the gaps but preserve the remarkable and layered history of the space (including carved-bronze doors and crisscrossing wooden beams details).

Entrepreneur and choreographer Petra Franklin Lahaie occupies this much-discussed, mystery-shrouded space atop floors of offices and banquet halls, with her young daughter. The live in a kind of ad hoc wonderland combining children’s toys with vintage architectural elements never meant to make a home.

The furnishings have histories as fascinating as the abode itself – centuries-old chairs and huge slaps of marble were found rummaging through lower floors during renovations. And speaking of: just imagine being the worker who had to slice and refit windows on the ancient angled roof exteriors, suspended thirty-eight floors in the sky.

In the late 1990s, when the (now current) new client came on the scene, the apartment above was in shambles – leaks were everywhere, concrete and dust littered the half-destroyed residence, and ladders rather than stairs spanned from floor to floor.

The designers working on the refurbishment scoured the building for old materials they could reuse for the new apartment, The New York Times writes. The result? Incredible, and infused with historic charm.

“One 9-by-7-foot gray slab became a kitchen counter; another heap of marble now skirts the tub that provides a postcard view of Mount Rainier, some 50 miles away. The black wood scrim work that decorates the doors came from the Chinese Room; Ms. Franklin found the panels stacked in the building’s basement. Nearby, she discovered a set of carved Chinese chairs that might be 300 years old. According to local lore, these furnishings were a gift from the last empress of China. (Mr. Willis doesn’t buy it.) However they came to Seattle, they belong in the apartment now.”

The post Secret Penthouse Hidden On Top of a Seattle Skyscraper first appeared on Dornob.

The destruction of a lesser-known Seattle pseudo-suburb is underway. This series of a dozen square blocks was lofted forty feet in the air but, despite looking picture-perfect from above with its series of pristine streets, homes, yards and trees, it was never actually intended for human habitation. Take a closer look to see why.

Yes, those trees and shrubs are all fake, made of camouflage netting and astroturf. The houses are much too small to occupy. If it all seems a little eerie and quiet, that’s because it’s not a real town at all, but rather a decoy built on the roof of a Boeing factory south of downtown Seattle. Built during World War II, Boeing’s fake town hides the aircraft manufacturer’s production facility below, which is the cumulative size of eight football fields.

“Houses, streets and plants were assembled like stage props out of plywood, clapboard, chicken wire and burlap, covering the plant’s roof during World War II. If any Japanese bombers made it this far east, the hope was that their pilots would mistake this for a quiet residential neighborhood.”

Despite the proximity of faux overhead homes, workers from the plane plant took an entirely opposite route to get out, heading down instead of up. Secret underground tunnels to reach nearby and likewise-camouflaged cafeterias, classrooms and restrooms — images of people on top were merely staged for a post-construction photo and film shoot.

But these would-have-been houses will not go to waste — the reclamation of remaining materials is in progress. The Duluth Timber Company is salvaging scraps as well as heavy timber beams from the site before it is leveled.

As for the plant itself: it became increasingly outdated (and structurally dangerous) as decades passed despite being the original home of many famous Boeing aircraft including the original B-52 bomber and 737 jetliner. (Via Inhabitat, Wavy & more at Wikipedia)

The post Boeing’s Fake World War II Town first appeared on Dornob.

The post Picture This: 16 Seattle Houseboat & Floating Home Photos first appeared on Dornob.