Fred Bassetti

Fred Bassetti FAIA, (b. 1917) is a celebrated Pacific Northwest architect, teacher, and a prime contributor to the regional approach to Modern architecture during the 1940s-1990’s. Now retired, his architectural legacy includes some of the region's noteworthy buildings and spaces. The Architectural Institute of America described his role as a regional architect and activist as having made significant contributions to “the shape of Seattle and the Northwest, and on the profession of architecture.”

Early Life, Education, and Career

Born in Seattle to Norwegian and Italian immigrants, Bassetti grew up south of Seattle and spent several years with his paternal family in Turin, Italy. After graduating from Seattle’s Garfield High School he studied engineering for a year before switching to architecture, earning a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Washington in 1942 and a Masters of Architecture from Harvard University in 1946. At Harvard he studied under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and was in the same class as I.M. Pei.

After graduation he worked for Alvar Aalto in Boston, then in Seattle for Naramore Bain Brady Johanson (NBBJ) 1946-1947. Within his first year in Seattle a Bassetti-designed house won an award sponsored by The Seattle Times and the local AIA office. In 1947 he established his first firm by renting space in the office of friend Jack Morse. Together they established the architectural firms of Bassetti & Morse, Architects (1947-1962), with Wendell Lovett as one early employee, and later Honolulu-based Bassetti, Morse and Tatom, Architects. In 1962 Bassetti and Morse separated, with Bassetti first practicing as Fred Bassetti & Company, Architects, later as Bassetti Norton Metler Architects with partners Skip Norton and Richard Metler, then also with Karlis Rekevics as Bassetti/Norton/Metler/Rekeviks Architects. In 1990 Lorne McConachie became a partner. By 1994 Bassetti and all other titled principals had retired. The firm has since operated as Bassetti Architects under McConachie and new partners.

Bassetti's teaching career included positions as a guest critic at Columbia University, lecturing at Columbia University, MIT, Rice University, and the Universities of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia.

Architectural Legacy

Fred Bassetti hails from the “Northwest School”, the collective drivers behind the new regional identity that began to emerge in the late 1940’s, that included Arne Bystrom, Wendell Lovett, Gene Zema, and Ralph Anderson. All were graduates of the University of Washington School of Architecture and were subjects of the 2010 documentary Modern Views - A Conversation on Northwest Modern Architecture. Key features of the Northwest School's work are the influence of the Pacific Northwest climate and landscape on modern design, materials selection, and a legacy of environmental responsibility. This approach to design became known as Critical Regionalism.

Concrete and steel are hallmarks of modernism, but in the Pacific Northwest there was also a passion for natural materials. Wood shingles were used extensively in many of Bassetti’s early projects. An easily recognizable feature of many Bassetti designs is a softening of edges, from the chamfered corners of the Federal Building and Key Tower (now Seattle Municipal Tower), to rounded corners that to Bassetti feel "good to the human hand."

When asked in 2009 which of his projects he takes greatest pride, Bassetti cited “the Forrest and Martin Residences, the Lisbon Embassy (“the building, on a great site, draws together Portuguese and American characteristics, using local materials”) and the award-winning East Pine Receiving Station (for Seattle City Light).

Selected Projects

(Award-winning projects and associations with other firms):

Major Projects (1947-1994):

• Seattle Aquarium; *Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, Seattle; *Seattle Municipal Tower (formerly AT&T Gateway Tower, then Key Tower), Seattle; *U.S. Embassy, Lisbon, Portugal; *Inglemoor High School, Kenmore, WA; *Children's Zoo at Woodland Park, Seattle; *Lakeside School, Seattle; *University of Washington Engineering Library and Loew Hall, Seattle; *Ellensburg Dormitories ("the Bassetti Dorms") at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA; *Central WA State College Library; *Library, Ridgeway Dormitories and related buildings at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA; *WWU College of Education Student Union Building, Bellingham WA; *PACCAR Technical Facility, Mount Vernon, WA; *Franklin High School renovation, Seattle, WA; *Seattle City Light East Pine Receiving Station, Seattle; *Benton County PUD Administration Bldg., Kennewick, WA; *East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue WA; *Island Park School, Mercer Island WA; *KIRO-TV Broadcast House, Seattle; *Architect's Office, 2027 Fifth Avenue, Seattle; *Seattle Mental Health Institute; *Sanitary Public Market Building, Seattle;

Residential Projects (1947-1994):

• G. J. Armbruster Residence (Lake Stevens), *Gamma Rho Apartments (North 44th & Fremont, Seattle), *Marshall Forrest Residence (Chuckanut Drive, Bellingham), *Walter F. Isaacs Residence (Hilltop Community, Bellevue), *Gerald Martin Residence (Seattle), *John O'Brien Residence (Seattle), *Gerald Martin Residence, *Theo. Caldwell Residence (Bellevue), Schlosser Residence (Star Route #1, Union), *Georgia-Pacific Idea House (Seattle).

Seattle Legacy

As a leader in the architectural community and as an activist, Bassetti made major contributions towards many of Seattle's most noteworthy buildings and people places:

• Gasworks Park (activist)
• Woodland Park Zoo (developed the master plan)
• Pike Place Market area (restoration of several buildings, including Sanitary Public Market)
• Westlake Center (early conceptualization)
• Seattle Commons (unrealized downtown park on South Lake Union)
• Seattle Aquarium (architect)
• Henry M. Jackson Federal Building (architect)
• Seattle Municipal Tower (formerly AT&T Gateway Tower) (architect)

Professional Leadership

• AIA Seattle, President 1967
• Allied Arts Seattle, President
• Seattle Landmarks Commission
• Seattle Design Commission
• Action: Better City

Awards

Prior to his retirement, Fred Bassetti and his firms received nearly 100 awards, including: AIA Fellowship (1968); AIA Seattle Medallist (1988); Academician of the National Institute of Design; "Best Local Architect" by readers of Seattle Weekly (1988); Pritzker Prize nominee (1989); Inductee, University of Washington, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Roll of Honor, (2007), and 27 Awards of Merit or Honor Awards from AIA Seattle.

Activism - Action: Better City

Fred Bassetti has over the last 50 years earned credentials as an activist architect. Throughout his architectural career, he worked with colleagues to advance urban themes for the community and the profession, notably his creation and leadership of Action: Better City (ABC). A design discussion initiative Bassetti started during his tenure as chairman of the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects, ABC started during the post-1962 Worlds Fair push for progress in response to the stagnation of Seattle's urban core.

“The question that Bassetti has been answering, in his own way, for these four decades: how does an architect serve his home town?” “They can look to their own circle for mutual support and guidance, with Bassetti as a lifetime example. “

External Links & Bibliography

• AIA Seattle honors awards 1988
• AIA Seattle honors awards 1950 to present
• AIA Seattle memories - Bassetti, 10/18/1993
• Architecture Week
• Bassetti Architects corporate webpage
• Bizjournals.com 11/01/1999 column
• History Link
• Mid-Century Modern Neighborhoods - Hilltop Community
• Modern Views - A Conversation on Northwest Modern Architecture
• Drawing a New Strategy, Joe Nabbefeld in Design Intelligence, October 20, 1999.
• Pacific Coast Architecure Database
• Pacific Northwest Architecture
• Architects at home | On the bay, openness makes room to breathe, Dean Stahl in Seattle Times, April 13, 2008
• WWU oral histories - Fred Bassetti