Latest news with #SpaceNeedle
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Space Needle Official Addresses Crack in Glass Floor with Wild Football Analogy to Prove the Strength of the Glass
A Space Needle official told PEOPLE that the Seattle attraction is 'absolutely safe to visit' after a video circulated showing a crack in the observation deck's glass floor 'Our glass floor is so strong, you could invite the entire Seattle Seahawks' defense — and all of the offenses they would face in the course of a season — to take a group photo on the glass floor without breaking a sweat,' the official explains The deck's glass floor is about 500 feet above the groundThe 605-foot-tall Space Needle is still 'absolutely safe to visit' despite a video revealing a crack in the Seattle attraction's glass floor. Addressing a visitor's July 1 Instagram video showing the crack on the observation deck, a Space Needle official told PEOPLE that the crack is on a top layer similar to a screen protector on a phone. 'The viral video circulating is old footage that shows a crack in the scuff plate on our glass floor, The Loupe. Scuff plate is like a screen protector on your cellphone,' says Genny Boots, Space Needle's PR manager. 'It's a non-load-bearing, aesthetic protective layer that is meant to scuff, scratch, and even sometimes crack, all while keeping the 10 layers of structural glass clear for a breathtaking view 500-feet down,' Boots adds. 'We replace the scuff plate about twice a year.' The official compared the strength of the glass to the city's football team. 'Our glass floor is so strong, you could invite the entire Seattle Seahawks' defense — and all of the offenses they would face in the course of a season — to take a group photo on the glass floor without breaking a sweat,' Boots explains of the Space Needle, which opened in 1962. The Space Needle was built in 400 days and cost $4.5 billion to build. Safety of the structure is paramount. 'Our technicians and engineers check the building every day for safety, and our team of glasskeepers maintain all 176 tons of glass at the Space Needle so our guests enjoy the 360-degree views of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier and the Puget Sound,' she explains. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The red aircraft warning beacon at the top is 605 feet off the ground, and there are 848 stairs from the ground to the observation deck. In May, as part of a years-long modernization project, the Space Needle launched Skyliner, a new floor-to-ceiling glass, double-deck outdoor elevator. Two more elevators will be modernized in 2027 and 2028. 'Construction like this at the Space Needle is like assembling a rocket in the sky,' Karen Olson, Space Needle's chief operating officer, said in a statement at the time. 'We are doing work on the Space Needle that has never been done before, at 500 feet in the air.' Read the original article on People
Axios
26-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Sky-high observation tower pitched for downtown Denver
A spiraling 673-foot observation tower could soon twist its way into Denver's skyline — if the city gives it the green light. Why it matters: The structure would be unlike anything else in Denver or the state, rivaling iconic landmarks like Seattle's Space Needle (605 feet) and Dallas' Reunion Tower (561 feet). Zoom in: Plans submitted this week — first reported by the Denver Business Journal — outline a sculptural, lattice-wrapped spire with an orb at the top. It would be located at 1546 California St., less than a block from 16th Street. Developer Ephraim LLC is behind the project, per city records reviewed by Axios Denver. The parcel is currently a parking lot. What they're saying: The applicant, Barry Gilbert with Denver-based construction real estate firm NAI Shames Makovsky, declined Axios Denver's request for comment. By the numbers: At 673 feet, the tower would become Denver's fourth-tallest building, trailing only: Republic Plaza (714 feet) 1801 California St. (709 feet) Wells Fargo Center, known as the Cash Register Building (698 feet) The fine print: Because the site is within a designated historic district, or possibly a landmark itself, records show the city's Landmark Preservation office must sign off on the design before any permits are issued — meaning it will face extra scrutiny.
CNN
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
He drove a bulldozer at Asia's first World Expo. Now, he's one of the event's star architects
In 1970, when the World Fair came to Asia for the first time, Shin Takamatsu was just a student. The aspiring architect was studying at Japan's Kyoto University while supporting a wife and young child, but he desperately wanted to be involved. This was, after all, one of the foremost architectural showcases in the world: over its history, iconic landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Space Needle were first displayed at the event. So when he heard that the event's construction site in nearby Osaka needed bulldozer drivers, he jumped at the chance, quickly getting his license and taking up a lucrative part-time job that gave him a front-row seat to watch the expo come to life. 'It was an exhilarating feeling to be in the middle of a tremendous creative phase,' Takamatsu recalled. 'Many dazzling, futuristic buildings were being constructed. But as I watched them, I felt that something was missing.' As a student, he didn't know exactly what that was. But the experience stayed with him, and over the years, it shaped his approach to architecture. 'I came to realize that the future cannot be envisioned solely by looking forward. By looking toward the past and interpreting and understanding it, we can develop a perspective on the future,' he said. In his latest project, his architectural philosophy and personal story come full circle: at Expo 2025 Osaka, Takamatsu returns to the event as the architect behind one of its most striking buildings. The pavilion — run jointly by housing company Iida Group and Osaka Metropolitan University — is modeled after a Möbius strip, which 'continues endlessly in a single loop,' and reflects 'reincarnation or sustainability,' explained Takamatsu. The pavilion looks like a delicately wrapped gift box, covered in a vibrant red, cherry blossom-adorned Nishijin brocade — a traditional textile that has been woven in Kyoto for 1,500 years and is typically used for luxury goods, like kimonos and obis, a kind of belt sash. Over 3,500 square meters (37,600 square feet) — the equivalent area of more than eight basketball courts — of the handmade silk material covers the pavilion's exterior, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest building wrapped in Jacquard fabric — a material with the design woven directly into the textile — and another for the largest roof in the shape of a fan. For Takamatsu, the historic textile represented the perfect way to bridge the past and future. 'It is the culmination of techniques that have been continuously refined over those 1,500 years,' he said, adding that architecture like this 'cherishes history and traditions, while proposing a future based on them.' While the use of fabric in architecture is uncommon, textiles have been used in manmade structures for tens of thousands of years. Bedouin tents in the Middle East, Native American teepees, and yurts in the Steppes of Central Asia and Mongolia are all examples of nomadic, semi-permanent structures where fabric provides warmth and protection from the elements, while being lightweight and flexible enough to carry. But modern architects have been reluctant to use fabric in construction, said Sukhvir Singh, a design professor and textiles expert at Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, in India, which he attributes to a lack of familiarity with the materials and their technical properties. It wasn't until the 1960s that architects began experimenting with fabrics: German architect Frei Otto was one of the pioneers of lightweight architecture, and at Expo 1967, hosted in Montreal, his design for the German Pavilion used a tensile steel structure to support a lightweight polyester canopy, leading to its nickname, 'the floating tent.' Since then, textiles have been used frequently in temporary structures for major events, such as the Olympics or World Expos. 'During these mega gatherings, we have less time, and we have to erect many buildings as soon as possible,' explained Singh, adding that textiles, which are lightweight and are largely prefabricated off-site, are often the obvious solution because of their low cost, flexibility, and ease of installation. And there's been a lot of development in the strength and durability of fabrics in recent decades, with carbon fiber-enhanced fabrics that 'are stronger than steel,' as well as 'high-performance textiles' that can provide added functionality to building facades, such as self-cleaning or energy harvesting, said Singh. But using handmade silk brocade is quite different from using synthetic polyesters, and there were many technical challenges to overcome for Takamatsu's pavilion. For example, the textile is 'weak against rain, typhoons, and wind,' so it had to be given a special coating and insulating layers to make it fire and climate-resistant, explained Takamatsu. The fabric was made by HOSOO, a company that's been weaving Nishijin brocade since 1688. Takamatsu approached Masataka Hosoo, the 46-year-old, 12th-generation president of the family business, about four years ago — who was eager to take on the 'unprecedented challenge' of transforming a heritage textile into an architectural structure. 'In fact, I had been nurturing the idea of architectural textiles for over a decade,' explained Hosoo. Nishijin brocade had been declining in demand for decades: in 2008, sales of the fabric had fallen by 80% from 1990. Hosoo saw the need to adapt his family business to modern consumers' needs. So in 2010, the company developed 'the world's first loom' capable of weaving Nishijin textile with a width of 150 centimeters (58 inches), nearly five times the typical width, according to Hosoo. 'Expanding this technique to a much wider format was a significant challenge, requiring extensive innovation and technical precision,' he added. The larger loom enabled the company to apply its fabric beyond kimonos, into products such as cars, camera accessories, and furniture, and has led to collaborations with luxury brands like Gucci and Four Seasons. When it came to weaving the brocade for the pavilion, the larger loom was essential — and even then, it still took a team of multiple artisans and engineers two years to produce the required volume of fabric. 'The shape itself isn't that difficult, but because it's a form that writhes like a dragon, each part has to be bent, and no piece is identical,' said Takamatsu. To help with this process, HOSOO developed proprietary 3D software that could map out the textile, aligning the pattern precisely across the complex curves of the building. 'The possibilities for textiles are limitless. We're excited to further explore how textiles can transform architecture and expand into entirely new domains,' said Hosoo. The Expo in Osaka will run for six months, through to October 13 — at which point, the future of the kimono fabric-covered pavilion is unknown. Historically, Expo pavilions are 'momentary' pieces of architecture that are often dismantled. Some architects lean into that, with eco-friendly construction materials that can be recycled or biodegrade quickly, or modular designs that are easy to disassemble and rebuild. On the other hand, some structures have become so iconic, they've outlived their intended six-month lifespan by decades: the Crystal Palace, which housed the inaugural World Expo in London in 1851, was relocated after the exhibition and remained standing for more than 80 years; and the 'Atomium,' the flagship structure of the 1958 expo in Brussels, Belgium, was so popular that the city decided to keep it, renovating the monument in 2006. In terms of engineering, 'creating architecture that only lasts six months is the same as creating one that lasts 100 years,' said Takamatsu. So while the future of the brocade-covered pavilion is uncertain, Takamatsu hopes it will be relocated to a permanent location, such as the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Looking around the Expo site, Takamatsu is heartened by the varying responses to the event's theme, 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives.' Whether the buildings live on or not, the ideas behind them will — which Takamatsu hopes will inspire a generation of architects, just as they did him in 1970. 'It's not just one design, but rather, various designs resonating with each other, creating a future that sounds like a symphony. I believe this is the greatest message of this pavilion, as well as the many other pavilions at the Expo.' Additional reporting by Yumi Asada and Hazel Pfeifer, CNN.
The Verge
02-06-2025
- General
- The Verge
Moving sucks, but decluttering helps
Moving sucks. Ever since leaving college more than a decade ago, I've only lived in apartments, so I've had to get good at living small and managing my inventory of belongings before, during, and after a move. A lot of what makes that possible is that I really like decluttering. But it didn't come naturally — it's a skill I've had to practice, learn, and occasionally fail at. So I thought I might share my experiences here in case you find it helpful for a current or future move. I got good at decluttering when my wife (then girlfriend) and I decided to downsize from a one-bedroom apartment to a studio. We loved the one-bedroom for a lot of reasons, including its view of Seattle's Space Needle. But eventually, we realized we could afford to live in a more walkable part of the city if we could squeeze into a studio. That meant reckoning with the volume of stuff we had each brought into the apartment. Our move into the one-bedroom apartment was two people stuffing their separate lives into one. Our move into a studio meant we had to really decide what would make the jump to the next phase of our lives. It was an emotional thing. We made the decision to downsize a while before we actually packed things up. This was right around when Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was blowing up, and while I know that book (and the discourse around it) has become something of a meme, it had a lot of advice that we found very useful at the time and have used for all of our moves after. Yes, Kondo's concept of keeping things that 'spark joy' is vague, unscientific, and inexact. But if you're facing a mountain of clothes or a pile of books that you know you have to sort through in order to make space in your new place, it's a great framework you can use to begin to chip away at those piles. With every declutter I've done, I've found that starting is the hardest part, but once you get the ball rolling, it becomes much easier. I've found that I'm most successful when I start with things that I don't really care about. Moving is already stressful, so diving first into an overflowing but beloved collection of gadgets isn't the best tactic for me. Usually, sorting through clothes is where I begin — I keep my wardrobe pretty basic and I don't buy a lot of clothes, so I'm not super precious about them. I save gadgets and games for later (I work at The Verge, after all). One other thing I've learned: once you've decided what to remove from your home, you still have to find a place for that stuff. That can be its own source of frustration, especially if you're short on time ahead of a big move. We have an article all about how to responsibly get rid of the stuff you've decluttered, if you want some ideas. But once you get rolling on decluttering, it can feel great. I find great satisfaction in sorting through stuff, finding what I don't need, and getting it out of the house to free up space. I like it so much that I've actually learned — the hard way — that you can take things too far. My biggest regret is that, ahead of that move, I tossed many books that, while they didn't actively 'spark joy' in me, had sentimental value. I do pretty much all of my reading on an e-reader, so I figured that, to save space (and my back), I could get rid of just about every book that I owned. That included my high school yearbooks, which I justified because I never actually looked at them and because they just sat in the bottom of a box in my closet. But now that I have a baby, I wish I had those yearbooks stashed somewhere so that I could show them to my kid when they get older. I also shouldn't have decluttered my old, tattered copies of the Harry Potter series I grew up with. Similarly, they took up space and I wasn't actively reading them, and while it was a difficult choice to toss them, I figured it was time for me to move on. But in spite of what we now know about J.K. Rowling, I still have good memories of those books, like getting sucked into the Quidditch World Cup for the thousandth time or waiting at a midnight book release with friends. I wish I could pick them up and flip through them again. I've even been overzealous about decluttering old hardware and game consoles. Sure, I wasn't playing my Nintendo 3DS very much anymore, but now I really wish I had it so that I could play some of the games I had collected. I've found that, in general, I don't miss the vast majority of things that I've gotten rid of Even if I have a few regrets, I've found that, in general, I don't miss the vast majority of things that I've gotten rid of. And building those decluttering muscles the first time helped us tremendously with later moves, too. When we moved from Seattle to Portland, we picked a studio again to get cheaper rent, and we were able to do that because we didn't have a bunch of stuff. It also meant we could put everything we owned into one of the smaller U-Hauls, which made a cross-state move less painful than it could have been. We're not in a studio anymore. We eventually moved to a two-bedroom condo because we knew we wanted to start a family, and we realized that a studio might be a bit tight for two adults and a growing kid. (If you are parents who raise a family in a studio, I salute you.) In many ways, though, we still try to treat our larger place as if it's a studio, even with our new 'roommate,' who needs a lot of gear. We've gotten quite good at keeping our possessions under control, an especially valuable skill when you're dealing with the chaos of a toddler. If we ever have to move again — and presumably, someday we will — we will hopefully be able to do the required declutter with as little stress as possible. Decluttering sometimes gets a bad rap, and I would never say it's easy. But it's a skill that I'm glad that I've had to learn through many moves. I know that because I can do it, my eventual next move will be just a little bit easier.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Seattle Space Needle 'Skyliner' double-decker elevator lifts off
The Brief The first Space Needle Skyliner elevator was unveiled on May 23. It is a double-decker elevator and features floor-to-ceiling glass for improved city views. It is the first of its kind to exist in North America. SEATTLE - The Space Needle debuted its first double-decker elevator on Friday, the first of its kind in North America. Seattle Space Needle visitors now have the opportunity to make their way to the top of the tower in the 'Skyliner,' a floor-to-ceiling glass, double-decker elevator. The backstory A $100 million private investment has propelled the modernization of the Space Needle's Century Project, and the new elevator marks the beginning of the last phase of renovations. The Space Needle has focused its remodel on the preservation of the popular attraction, ensuring the 56-year-old landmark keeps its long-term relevancy. "The new elevator is more than a way up, it's a symbol of where we're headed," said Space Needle President & CEO, Ron Sevart, in a statement. "This reinvestment reflects our commitment—to our Guests, our Team Members, and our community—to ensure the Space Needle remains a symbol of Seattle's innovative spirit for generations to come." The Needle has modernized 'The Loupe,' the world's first and only revolving glass floor as well as parts of the interior, 'Skyriser' glass benches, and now the new elevators. This Skyliner elevator is the first of multiple elevators to go through this transition and modernization and was inspired by some of the original sketches and ideas of the early Space Needle plans. What we know Each of the double-decker elevator cabs features floor-to-ceiling glass and has been built to withstand the strong winds coming from the Puget Sound and the famous Seattle rain. Additionally, a designated glasskeeper team coats several glass panels each week with a special glass cleaning solution and water-repellent to keep views clear. The glass provides a wider view of the city, views of the double helix core stairway, and the ability to see the inside of the Space Needle through a large backside panel that is made entirely of glass. The double-decker feature of the elevator will allow the needle to transport more visitors up and down through two loading levels at the top and bottom of the tower. The remaining two elevators are scheduled to be modernized into Skyliners by 2028. Keep reading for more information about visiting the Space Needle in Seattle. General Admission (ages 13-64): Prices typically range from $35-$45. Discounts are available for youth ages 5-12 and seniors 65 and over. Children 4 and under: Free. Variations: Prices can vary by time of day and season. Booking tickets online is recommended, and discounts are often available for groups, military, King County residents, and tribal members (these discounts are typically only available at the admissions office with ID). Combo Tickets/CityPASS: Visitors can save by bundling their Space Needle visit with other Seattle attractions like Chihuly Garden and Glass. The Seattle CityPASS offers significant savings for multiple attractions. The Space Needle is generally open daily. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday: 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM Timed Tickets: Arrival times are scheduled in 15-minute increments. It's advisable to check the official Space Needle website for the most up-to-date hours as they can fluctuate. Most people spend 1 to 2 hours at the Space Needle. It's recommended to take the Seattle Center Monorial, the nation's first full-scale commercial monorail system which provides a quick link between downtown Seattle and the Space Needle. Parking Near the Space Needle: Seattle Center 5th Ave. N. Garage: Located at 516 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109, it's about a mile from the Space Needle. It's open 24/7. Seattle Center 5th Ave. N. Garage KOMO Plaza Garage: Located at 451 John St, Seattle, WA 98109, approximately 1.1 miles away. KOMO Plaza Garage Republic Parking (Memorial Stadium Parking): Located at 401 5th Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, it's about 0.9 miles from the Space Needle and open 24/7. Republic Parking (Memorial Stadium Parking) Republic Parking: Located at 130 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98109, approximately 1.1 miles away. Republic Parking U-Park Lot #90: Located at 551 Denny Wy, Seattle, WA 98109, about 1.2 miles away and open 24/7. U-Park Lot #90 The Source Information in this article is from a Space Needle press release and the Space Needle website. 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