After years of quick visits to Seattle for girls trips with one of my best friends that lives there, I got to spend an entire month in Seattle this summer and had time to explore more deeply. As an architect, I am always interested in historic buildings and neighborhoods, interesting architecture, public art, and adaptive reuse. Seattle has so many of these moments. I revisited some favorites and took time to discover new favorites. After many visits, this is my list of the best architecture in Seattle. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a curated list of my favorites after years of visiting.
How Did I Choose What Makes the Seattle Architecture List?
I think of architecture as not just buildings, but also including urban design, the way a person experiences a city on foot, and the unique integration of public art and natural views. I love the juxtaposition of historic and modern architecture, adaptive reuse, and walkable cities. Also, I appreciate a dog-friendly urban park. After many visits, these are my favorite Seattle architecture highlights.
Free Map of Architecture in Seattle
There is a free map included below with layers to different aspects of Seattle. The Seattle Architecture layer has everything included in this post.
Seattle Architecture: Buildings, Public Spaces, Parks, Public Art, and Historic Districts of Seattle
Seattle Central Library
The Seattle Central Library is this architect’s absolute favorite building in Seattle. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas/OMA and LMN Architects and opened in 2004. The exterior itself is a futuristic skin that is a diamond shaped glass and metal curtainwall.
Even though the exterior is impressive, the best way to experience the Seattle Library is to explore inside. The circulation within the library is a system of neon yellow escalators, elevators with visible mechanisms, stairs, and ramps that wind down the book “spirals”.
The ground floor features a large living room with a mezzanine level above where you get a good view over the space. Level 10 has an open reading room with views of the Seattle skyline above.
I recommend taking the escalators to the top, then slowly meandering your way down. I especially liked walking the ramps through the book spiral. Wandering through the enclosed halls of the red floor is also a fun experience.
If you are an architect nerd like me, you may even enjoy pondering how they were able to coordinate the fire suppression system. Seriously, if you’ve ever coordinated a building with atriums, mezzanines, and open space, you might recognize the way fire sprinklers are concealed along glass walls, peek into spaces to see sprinkler curtains and hidden fire doors. LMN’s website has a particularly interesting article about the details of the exterior curtain wall design if you love getting into the weeds of design and technical details.
I spent an hour alone just wandering around and admiring the space and coordination it took to construct this. And if you just want a nice quiet space, there are plenty of seating areas throughout the library as well.
Seattle Center: Space Needle, MoPop, Chihuly Gardens, Pacific Science Center
The Seattle Center is a must-see for architects and anyone that loves architecture. Even if you don’t have time to go inside any of the buildings, walking around the Seattle Center and admiring the exterior of the contemporary architecture and public parks here is worth a visit.
The contrast of the futuristic Space Needle next to the Frank Gehry designed MoPop makes for some great photos. It is difficult to see much of the Chihuly Gardens from the outside, but if you have time to go in, the gardens and the glass art here are incredible.
The adjacent Pacific Science Center was originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair and features interesting open, ribbed Gothic Arches that you can admire from the park.
The Spheres
It is rare in America to find a building that feels like it was built just for enjoyment, but that’s what the Spheres feel like. The Spheres are intersecting glass and steel domes sitting in a public park like gigantic bubbles. It was designed by NBBJ and opened in 2018.
Inside, there is a series of stairs and open levels that are all open to the sky. There are living plant walls and an entire cloud-forest ecosystem inside.
The experience is like walking through a futuristic greenhouse with Amazon employees working on laptops at the tables and work areas throughout. Make sure to check out the wood walkway and giant bird’s nest!
To go inside, make sure to make a reservation ahead of time. If you are lucky enough to have a friend that works at Amazon, they can bring you in anytime as a guest.
Seattle Waterfront Park
The Seattle Waterfront Park was completed in 2025 and has some of the best views in Downtown Seattle. It was a master-planned project that took several years to complete. The park connects Pike Place Market to the waterfront with a series of walkways, stairs, and gardens. There is a good map on the Waterfront Park website.
Waterfront Park spans several piers, but my favorite part is near the Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion. The building was designed by LMN Architects and the curved façade is clad in local cedar planks. You can walk up the stairs and enjoy views over the waterfront from the public park on the roof. It is an incredible example of incorporating a building into a public park.
Other favorite moments along the waterfront park are the views along the piers out to the Puget Sound and the way it connects the city to the waterfront.
Olympic Sculpture Park
Olympic Sculpture Park is a free park located along the waterfront at the Puget Sound and is operated by the Seattle Art Museum. I love that the sculpture park is completely free and features some incredible views.
One of my favorite sculptures in the park is the Richard Serra installation “Wake”. I love that you can walk through the weathered steel sculptures.
If you love public art, gardens, and waterfront views, you will love a visit to Olympic Sculpture Park. Dogs are even allowed on leash, which I appreciate being able to enjoy the artwork and views with Pepper.
Gas Works Park and Fremont Troll
I love seeing adaptive reuse projects and appreciate seeing an old industrial property being re-envisioned as a public amenity. Gas Works Park is one of the best examples of this I’ve seen anywhere, and is a must see in Seattle.
One of the biggest draws for the park are the gorgeous skyline views since it is located at the north side of Lake Union and oriented directly towards Downtown Seattle, giving you a perfect skyline view over the water.
Make sure to walk up to the top of Kite Hill to check out the sundial.
Another bonus of Gas Works Park is that dogs are allowed on leash. I appreciated being able to walk through the park with Pepper to enjoy the views, and she enjoyed stalking the geese.
If you have more time to explore, check out the Play Barn. There is a large covered structure that was the old air compressor building with the old equipment painted in multiple colors.
Also adjacent to Gas Works Park is the Burke-Gillman Trail that runs along the waterfront.
Only a 15-minute walk away is the famous Fremont Troll. The community successfully turned a blighted underpass into a quirky tourist moment under a bridge. It’s a perfect reminder of how public art truly can transform a neighborhood and celebrate an undesirable space like a bridge underpass.
Ballard Historic District and Ballard Library
I traded homes with a woman in Ballard for a month and was able to have the luxury of walking to Ballard Avenue and the nearby breweries for four weeks and truly appreciated the neighborhood (and all the dog-friendly brewery patios).
Ballard has Scandinavian roots and the four blocks along Ballard Avenue feature well preserved commercial buildings from the 1890s-1940s and are featured on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also Seattle’s first historic district outside of Pioneer Square.
I was able to join an architectural walking tour with the Seattle Architecture Foundation and highly recommend their tours if you can join. Highlights of the Ballard Historic District include a relocated house that is now an Italian Restaurant, San Fermo, and several brick commercials buildings. Even if you can’t join a tour, there are plaques with historic images on buildings along Ballard Avenue.
The tour ended at the Ballard Library, which was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and opened in 2005. The architecture features metal cladding and a soaring timber roof, honoring the Scandinavian and maritime history of the neighborhood.
If you want to dive deeper into this neighborhood, I am working on a guide about my favorite places in Ballard.
Exploring Seattle Architecture Through an Architect’s Lens
What I love the most about Seattle architecture isn’t necessarily iconic buildings, although the library certainly could be the star of that show. I love the parks that reimage industrial spaces, creative ways to use public art to strengthen a community, and ways Seattle has slowly focused on one of its unique amenities, the water views. This architecture list might not be the most conventional, but these are my favorite architectural and design moments from my month in Seattle and years of visiting.
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