Kingdome History Month: Who did it?

Jack Christiansen, the chief structural engineer of the Kingdome, is a crowned member in the court of the Dome of Kings. The architects, however, definitely are not. What was up with the AC units on the exterior of the building? C'mon. Six years ago this month, as the city prepared to say goodbye to its beloved multi-purpose stadium, the architects deflected responsibility. The architects of record, NBBJ, pointed fingers at LMN, whose principals were the lead designers at NBBJ in the early 70's before breaking off to start their own firm. LMN shied away from taking credit. In more recent years, LMN has brought Seattle plenty of wanna-be-world-class neo-conservative architecture, most notably the Convention Center arch over Pike St. and, AND! -- Seahawks Stadium. For shame.

The image above from the DoK archives is a rendering of the newly completed Kingdome in 1976, signed by the design team, including the partners of LMN, and at the bottom, engineer Jack Christiansen.