Creativity is at the forefront of the 140,000-square-foot Seattle Experience Music Project museum. Located at the Seattle Center, the red, silver, purple and blue stainless-steel and aluminum building houses 84,000 artifacts, including Hendrix's handwritten song lyrics and Bob Dylan's guitar. The interior design is as radical as the exterior, featuring exposed steel ribs, plywood and glass. And the 3000-square-foot museum gift shop reflects the edgy, rebellious aesthetics found throughout the museum's three public floors.
A highlight of the interactivity-filled museum, SkyChurch is the first area visitors encounter when they walk in the museum doors. The incarnation of Hendrix's ideal world, SkyChurch features the world's largest video wall, measuring 40 by 70 feet. A 24-channel sound system places sound anywhere in the room, which opens to an 85-foot ceiling.
Client Team: EMP, Seattle — Paul Allen, founder; Jody Allen Patton, co-founder and executive director Design Team: EMP, Seattle — Paul Zumwalt, design and construction director; VanSickle and Rolleri, Medford, N.J. (exhibits); Quatrefoil, Balitimore (Sound Lab); The Floating Co., San Francisco (SkyChurch); Lester Creative Inc., Los Angeles (Artist's Journey) Architects/Engineers: Frank O. Gehry and Associates, Santa Monica, Calif., and LMN Architects, Seattle (associate architects/exhibits); Cuningham Group Inc., Minneapolis (Artist's Journey); BOORA Architects, Portland, Ore. (Blue Lounge); Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire Inc., Seattle (structural and civil engineering); Notkin Engineering, Seattle (mechanical); Sparling Inc., Seattle (electrical); Young Dring, Kansas City, Mo. (landscape); Jaffe Holden Scarbrough Acoustics Inc., New York, and Cerami Associates, New York (acoustical engineering); Hoffman Construction, Seattle (general contractor) Suppliers/Fabricators: Willie Williams, San Francisco (SkyChurch lighting); eMotion Studios, San Francisco (SkyChurch video production); Soundelux Showorks/Candela, Orlando (show audio/video/lighting); Skidmore Owings and Merrill, San Francisco (signage and graphics); Harrah's Theatre Equipment, Los Angeles (theater projection equipment design); A. Zahner Co., Kansas City, Mo., and Rimex Metals (USA) Inc., Edison, N.J. (exterior metal); Columbia Wire and Iron, Portland, Ore. (structural steel); Holmes Electric, Seattle, and Evergreen Electric, Seattle (electrical contractor); McKinstry Inc., Seattle (mechanical contractor); Maltbie Associates, Medford, N.J. (exhibit fabrication and installation); Clayton Coatings, Seattle (fireproofing, paint and acoustics); Benson, Los Angeles, and Herzog, Seattle (glazing); Permasteelisa, Santa Monica, Calif. (roof sculpture); J.S. Perrott, Portland, Ore., and Nicolai, Vancouver (carpentry and casework); TubeArt Sign and Sports, Portland, Ore. (signage/graphics) Photography: Lara Swimmer, Seattle, and Stan Smith, Seattle