Bassetti, Fred F.
(1917 – 2013)
University of Washington Years
On Walter Gropius and Louis Kahn
Flat Roofs No More
Humane Architecture
East Pine Street Substation
Great Works of Architecture
More on Great Works of Architecture and Education
The son of Norwegian and Italian immigrant parents, Frederick Forde Bassetti was born on January 31, 1917. He grew up in Seattle and earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Washington in 1942 and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University in 1946.
Following several apprenticeships with a variety of Seattle firms, including Paul Thiry and NBBJ, Bassetti took a job as draftsman for Alvar Aalto in Cambridge, MA (1945-46) while he was attending school at Harvard. In 1947, Bassetti and fellow Harvard graduate, John Morse, formed their own partnership. The practice was initially devoted to residential designs from individual custom houses, to larger developments and public-housing projects.
Together, Bassetti & Morse received several local and national awards, and their projects were featured in a variety of local, regional and national publications. Among their more notable residential projects are the G. J. Armbruster House in Lake Stevens which received a Seattle Honor Award (1951); the Gamma Rho Apartments (1952, a National Grand Honor award winner); the Gerald Martin House, also a National AIA Honor Award winner (1954), and the Marshall Forrest Residence (1953) in Bellingham and the Walter F. Isaacs House (1953) in Hilltop which both received individual National Merit Awards.
Their public, commercial, and civic projects include the Lakeview Elementary School (1954) and the Mercer Island High School (1958) both on Mercer Island; the East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue (1957); and the Bouillion Building & Library (1961) at Central Washington University.
For reasons unknown, in 1962 the partnership dissolved and Bassetti & Morse and each formed their own independent firms. Now on his own, Bassetti continued to receive large commissions. These included the Children’s Zoo at Woodland Park (1967); Ridgeway Dormitories at Western Washington State University (1965); the East Pine Street Substation (1966); a variety of buildings at the University of Washington and Washington State University; the 37-story Seattle Federal Courthouse Building (1974, with John Graham & Co.); the Seattle Aquarium (1976); the US Embassy in Portugal (1979-1983); the PACCAR Technical Facility in Mount Vernon (1982); and the 62-story AT&T Gateway Tower (1981-1990).
Outside of his architectural practice Bassetti was involved in a variety of activities including serving on the Board of Allied Arts of Seattle (1970-71), the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board (1974-75), and the Seattle Design Commission (1977-81). He also served as President of the Seattle Chapter of the AIA (1967-1968).
Well respected by his colleagues he was awarded into the College of Fellows in 1968. He wa also a recipient of the AIA Seattle Medal, received recognition as an Academician of the National Institute of Design, and was nominated for the Pritzker Prize in 1989.
Bassetti passed away in Seattle on December 5, 2013.
-Michael C. Houser
Oral History Project: Fred Bassetti participated in Docomomo US/WEWA’s oral history project. He was interviewed in January 2008. A complete transcript of the interview can be downloaded on the left sidebar. Segments from the interview can be heard by clicking the audio files on the left sidebar.