Gerald Williams, Noted Architect With Sense Of Civic Responsibility

In each of his buildings and structures are the community, the culture, the artist.

He helped create Seattle landmarks that forever will tell a story, that help interpret our environment. The Metro Bus Tunnel, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, downtown skyscrapers were all part of the contribution of Gerald "Jerry" Williams.

Mr. Williams, architect, designer and lifelong Seattle resident, used his considerable talent to remind us of some of the things that help define our community.

"He was one of the most creative and sensitive people we've ever had," said his longtime colleague and friend Allen Moses. "He started as an office boy while still in school and rose to the highest levels of creativity."

Mr. Williams died last Wednesday, Aug. 26, of a respiratory illness at the age of 59.

His entire 37-year career was with TRA, Ltd., the huge architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Seattle. His designs there brought his considerable training and experience, as architect and artist, to functional reality.

Each of the bus tunnel's stops, for example, reflects the community above: Westlake Center with its wrought-iron fixtures and murals of retail stores; Pioneer Square with its round windows, arches and a cable-car wheel; the International District with its origami-like sculpture.

At Sea-Tac, he designed the gently curving approaches to the terminal, reflecting movement, and was a key architect for the rest

of the terminal complex. His sense of the dramatic is in the bold One Union Square office building.

He also was principal designer and an award winner for many other projects, including: the Seattle ferry terminal; Washington Federal Savings and Loan; the Skyline Tower, Bellevue; Farmers New World Life Insurance Co., Mercer Island; Sheraton Tacoma Hotel; Unity Church of Truth, Seattle; McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas; and Baghdad International Airport.

A native of Seattle, Mr. Williams was a graduate of Roosevelt High School and the Rudolf Schaefer School of Design in San Francisco. He graduated magna cum laude in architecture from the University of Washington and earned a master's in fine arts from the University of Pennsylvania.

As a youth and throughout his career, he was an accomplished watercolorist, often painting historic buildings from his travels. He also was a talented clarinetist and played briefly for the Seattle Symphony before pursuing architecture full time.

He was a former president of the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Washington State Council of Architects. His civic activities included membership on the boards of the Henry Art Gallery, the Downtown Seattle Association, the Westlake Project and Seattle Housing Resources Group, a nonprofit group concerned with providing low-income housing.

"He was just a wonderful person," said Nancy Smith, executive director of the Housing Resources Group. "Whenever we needed him to look at a building we were considering, he'd come immediately to tell us what would make it a good place to live. He was always available to us, any time."

Mr. Williams also taught part time for several years at the University of Washington and enjoyed being a mentor to young architects at his firm.

"He had a very soft and subtle way of working with the students," said Phil Jacobson, another TRA colleague. "It was not, `You do it like this,' but he encouraged them to look in different directions, to open their eyes where they might not have seen."

Mr. Williams' own son Blake, now an intern architect himself in Philadelphia, spoke of the joy of working with him on a recent project for the Henry Gallery - building a model from an avant-garde design by a Russian architect.

The model later went on tour with other original art works and designs from Moscow. His other son, Colin, is now a professional classical guitarist in Seattle.

Mr. Williams also is survived by his wife, Karin; his father, Morley; and a brother, Roger, all of Seattle.

A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. Sept. 10 at Lakeside School's McKay Chapel.