It’s impossible to miss Urbana. It’s a gigantic apartment complex (nearly 300 units), and, because of its prime location, Northwest Market Street and 15th Avenue Northwest, it introduces the world to Ballard.
But, my god, the building has no aesthetic appeal to speak of; nothing in all of it could suggest it to a region of dwelling we call architecture. Urbana doesn’t even look like a mind was behind its construction: it was, by all appearances, just built, just raised, and now it can only be just there. Huge, ugly, and functional (it keeps a roof over your head). But this is my impression of the complex, which was completed in 2014.
In this episode, I turned to the local and always insightful architecture critic Keith Cote (of Instagram’s @buildings_of_seattle) for his opinion of this Ballard monstrosity.