The Seattle City Light utility is preparing installation of the . Â Why is this news? Â Because the new substation does not look like a substation. Â Behold!
(Courtesy .)
Normally, an electrical substation is somewhat of an urban embarrassment, a useful eyesore shuttered behind a chain-link fence. Â
However, the new substation is designed to be something of a community destination.  The structure will include an off-leash dog track, a 3,800-sq. ft. community space programmed by Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and a 2,900 sq. ft. learning center. Â
Aesthetically, the structure will be surrounded by a pedestrian walkway, fenced by inward-sloping walls (to lower its apparent profile), and feature metal and glass cladding that will glow at night. Â (Would that be a kind of advertisement for the product?)
In our Design & Society class, we talk about the prominence of honesty in modernism: Things are best designed when they do not disguise what they are. Â This station seems to have wrapped itself in the guise of a community center. Â Is that dishonest? Â A good idea? Â Or, have the architects innovated a new category of structure?