![]() ![]() Thiry knew that the Expo site needed a showcase project that would symbolise the event, the city’s aspirations, and embody futuristic thinking. He has been described as “among Washington’s most illustrious architects of his generation exerted a major influence in the emergence of the ‘Northwest style’ of architecture as an early proponent of modernist design, while also advancing urban ideals.” The Northwest style included combining mid-century modern design with Pacific Rim and Indigenous influences and connecting the inside of structures with the outdoors. ![]() He was experienced with advising on the layout of both the state of Washington’s Capitol Campus in Olympia and advising on the U.S. He was already known in the northwest for his designs of modern residences, churches, libraries, and other public structures. Thiry, born of French parents in Nome, Alaska in 1904, was trained at the University of Washington and Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleau. Thiry said that he planned to make the Expo’s architecture as modern as possible and that “When we know a little more about the exact fair plans, I’d like to consider a modern theme building that would stand out from the remaining construction.” In 1958, Paul Thiry, the Pacific Northwest region’s leading modern architect, was selected to oversee the planning of the Expo site, located in a relatively undeveloped 74-acre (30 ha) section of the city a mile from the downtown retail and business core. ![]() "The Expo site needed a showcase project that would symbolise the event and embody futuristic thinking" Modern architecture would be key to the Expo’s messaging and legacy. It was understood that the architecture of the Expo should reflect its theme and that some of the Expo’s structures would become permanent additions to the city and anchor a long-awaited civic center that had been first planned shortly after the 1909 exhibition. ![]() Thus, Expo organisers adopted a science orientation and sought to put on an Expo featuring “Man in the 21st Century” to showcase positive, peaceful technological innovation related to space, communications, computers, and consumer products. This fit with the city’s aerospace industry, led by Boeing. Seattle was assured that if it hosted a future-oriented, science Expo, it could get federal financial support for the project. government sought to promote science and technology. The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 started a Cold War “space race” and the U.S. Just as then, Southern California is at the forefront of that development.Originally, the city sought to put on an Expo on the 50th anniversary of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, which Seattle hosted in 1909. She points out that Silicon Beach is now located in Playa Vista, on the footprint of Hughes Aircraft, one of the Southland’s signature aerospace company. While the space program may not inspire the same levels of excitement it once did, Karafantis says the modern-day equivalent of exciting technological innovation may lie in things like tech and its forays into transportation, as well as AI, gaming and virtual reality. at that time such as struggles over civil rights and the Vietnam War,” Karafantis said. And this was a bit of a contentious topic due to things that were happening domestically in the U.S. “At the time leading up to the moon landing, citizens were increasingly excited about the amount of money that was being poured into the Apollo program. In this file photo taken on Jastronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, walks on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. ![]()
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