Every discussion of Seattle starchitecture begins with Frank Gehry's design for EMP. Built in 2000, Gehry decided to deconstruct several electric guitars and used the pieces as building components, thought it's the 21,000 metal shingles, each one unique, that gives the complex it's shape and look. Depending on the angle and time of day, you'll get a difference color and design.

Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Ramus in 2004, the design was conceived as five stacked boxes staggered to allow as much light as possible into the building. The triangular Fifth Avenue entrance is the best spot for photos. You'll find a curtain of windows reflecting diamond-shaped light onto the floor.

An example of neoclassical architecture. Its outer skin is granite on the first and second floors, and terracotta on the rest. Designed by Edwin H. and T. Walker Gaggin and built in 1914.

Architect Steven Holl chose "A Gathering of Different Lights" as the guiding concept for the design of the Chapel of St. Ignatius when it was built in 1997. This metaphor describes Seattle University's mission and it also refers to St. Ignatius vision of the spiritual life as comprising many interior lights and darknesses, which he called consolations and desolations.

Designed by Robert C. Reamer and built in 1926. The elaborate interior was inspired by Imperial China’s Forbidden City and other dynastic marvels. The craftsmanship of the theater’s ceiling is breathtaking, with vibrant, layered carvings and a chandelier that dangles from the mouth of a giant dragon.

The building was the third success for design architect Minoru Yamasaki and project architects The NBBJ Group. The building was designed as a unique inverted pyramid, in part to reduce its footprint and make more room for pedestrians. It may be even simpler to figure out how the structure’s shape inspired two nicknames: the Wine Glass and the Beaver Building (perhaps suggesting one nibbled at its base).

Built by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, the design grew out of the original, 1910 multi-story building that served as a social center and living quarters for Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants. Drawing inspiration from the building’s rich history, they saved as much of the original building as possible. In addition to building materials – such as timbers cut out between floors – the character and scale of the building were maintained. On the upper floors, original narrow doorways and corridors and small rooms preserve the intimacy of the original space, and are a venue for the museum’s immersion exhibits.

Built in 1929, this housed the ticket office for the Great Northern Railway. Architect R.C. Reamer designed a building that anticipates modernism, but it still incorporates classically inspired elements. Keep an eye out for the window mullions.