| Historic Name: |
Gene Zema, Architect |
Common Name: |
R. David Adams Associates |
| Style: |
Modern - Northwest Regional |
Neighborhood: |
Eastlake |
| Built By: |
Gene Zema |
Year Built: |
1953 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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The first phase of this two-building complex, a small office structure, was built in 1953 by Gene Zema, who had recently received his degree in architecture from the University of Washington. In 1961 he added a three-story building to the west across the courtyard form the original structure. The large building contained an office, an art gallery and storage.
The buildings exhibit a strong Japanese influence in their wood detailing, craftsmanship, materials, modular design and the integrtion of the strcuutres into the landsapce. Zema;s interest in Japanese culture and design is shown by his establchement of a Japanese antiquities gallery in his office building. He used this building for his individual architectural practice from 1953 until his retirement in 1976. Mr. Zema still owns the complex, which is now the office of a landscape architecture firm.
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| Appearance |
| The two buildings are difficult to see from the street, as they are above the street hidden by foliage and retaining walls of concrete rubble. The 1953 building, toward the east side of the lot, is a small office measuring approximately 20 feet by 30 feet, with a vee-shaped roof and vertical tongue-and-groove cedar siding. The longer wall is mostly glazing, facing the central courtyard between the buildings; the ends have no windows.
The 1961 structure has an L-plan, with an office in the lowest level, a gallery on the first floor and an apartment on the partial second floor on the north wing of the ell. The building has shallow gable roofs, horizontal cedar siding and a band of windows on the upper floors. A small shed-roofed bay projects at the southwest comer. Small decks are sheltered by wood slats, which also cover some of the west windows for privacy and protecting from the sun. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Wood |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Professional |
Plan: |
L-Shape |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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DoCoMoMo.WeWa, Eastlake Modernism Tour, 2001.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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