SEATTLE CENTER ARMORY
FOOD & EVENT HALL

Studio Matthews / 2021

Team / Principal: Kristine Matthews / Art Direction + Design: Jeffrey Underwood + Cassie Klingler / Photography: Sam Cook + Doug Walker Photography

Deliverables / wayfinding programming / exterior signage

Since its construction in 1939 as a National Guard Armory, this Art Moderne civic landmark has served a remarkable range of purposes, most notably as an exhibit hall for the 1962 World's Fair. Over the decades, layers of outdated signage, oversized canopies, and tired graphics had obscured the building's original character. Phase 1, in collaboration with Graham Baba Architects, stripped it back and reinstated the Armory name. Phase 2, executed by BuildingWork, extended that renewed identity to the exterior.

My contribution was in the early design direction, with facade studies that helped define an aesthetic rooted in Art Moderne: refined and crisp, honoring the building's original character while giving it a timeless, contemporary presence.

That thinking carried into initial concept work for the signage, wayfinding, and branding for Armory Food & Event Hall. Drawing on the great food halls and markets found throughout the world, the approach was intentionally understated, letting the place and its activity do the talking, and restoring the Armory to its place as the center of Seattle Center.