What is the 'Seattle style' in architecture? Wood, steel, and a whole lot of environmental influences.

Seattle's changing a lot these days (pictured above: A two-bedroom house built in 1900 next to a modern three-bedroom built in 2015 on NW 61st Street in Ballard). But the quintessential "Seattle style" has had some mainstays over the years. (Genna Martin, seattlepi.com) less Seattle's changing a lot these days (pictured above: A two-bedroom house built in 1900 next to a modern three-bedroom built in 2015 on NW 61st Street in Ballard). But the quintessential "Seattle style" has had ... more Photo: GENNA MARTIN/SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN/SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close What is the 'Seattle style' in architecture? 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

This might not surprise you but over the years the Seattle style has not fallen all that far from the architectural tree.

Or maybe it will surprise you; Seattle has been inhabited, in one form or another, for millennia, and has seen an abundance of architectural styles come and go. But though the conditions, style and growth rate may have changed Seattle, the city's version of "Northwest Style" has remained consistent.

So what are the fundamentals of Seattle style?

According to local architect and University of Washington professor David Miller, it's not so much a uniform look as it is a school of thought, or a consistent design style that is unique to a place and finds ways to express itself no matter what style wields the most influence at the time.

For Seattle that means two materials over most others: Wood and steel.

"Wood is an obvious one; it's low carbon, very sustainable material," Miller, a founding partner of Miller | Hull, said. "But with a lot of ship building, the airplane industry, Boeing, Paccar – there's an industrial heritage, and steel is something you see here."

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Those are fundamental building blocks for the Seattle-area's architectural style, allowing us to flex other Northwest details Miller credits for the regional style: Building in a simple form, exposed posts and beams, lifted off the land, open to the outdoors, and bringing in natural light.

It's a philosophy that has presented itself a lot throughout our city's history.

Seattle's architecture, like any city, was influenced by the times and the trends en vogue at the time. As Seattle grew, the new money (Your Yeslers, Dennys, Borens and Blaines) flaunted their wealth with complicatedly lavish Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne style homes. The popularity of these homes atop the hill is what gave the Queen Anne neighborhood its name.

But they didn't define the city: Seattle expanded rapidly – after taking 34 years to create the first 168 subdivisions in King County, 500 subdivisions popped up between 1888 and 1891 – but architects were still rare. Plan and pattern books were used to acquire homes, giving rise to the "Seattle-Box" and Craftsman styles.

RELATED: What's up with all the Craftsman-style homes in Seattle?

Both of those modified the existing styles in order to include more windows or extend the house for an uneven plot of land.

According to Miller, a lot of it has to do with our climate.

"There aren't many flat sites, so dealing with topography, different elevation of the ground," Miller said. "We've had a run of fabulous weather here for the last few months ... but we are light challenged; we have these long, gray days. So capturing natural light is another thing that would be something you'd see in the best Northwest architecture."

Because it's so tied into our climate, it explains why you see more similar patterns between Seattle and Vancouver, rather than Portland.

"Portland is still within the Cascadia region, but barely," Miller said. "Certainly Tacoma, Seatle, Bellingham, Vancouver – we're in a unique climate zone. Our climate need for natural light is very influential in the architecture."

Of course some of these standards have lasted longer than the cities who have been here: Miller points out that standards found in the modern movements for which Seattle gained prominence – open floor plans, exposed beams – were also in the makings of a longhouse, commonly found in coastal Native American tribes in Washington.

They also provided the blueprint for using the materials we had at our disposal (like a lot of wood), and using it efficiently. That was what architects from the region became prominent for.

"Few architects have engendered greater local affection," architectural historian Grant Hildebrand said of local designer Ellsworth Storey.

RELATED: A brief history of modern homes in Seattle

"In his most original and best-known designs, he drew chalet, Arts and Crafts, and Prairie School predilections into the milieu of the region, and found in that metamorphosis a restrained but original style which still seems marvelously appropriate to the genius of the place he loved."

Though Seattleites might love those old Craftsman homes, the designs that really turned the city on to the national architectural voice was modern design. It was during the height of modernism (1950s and 1960s) that the area was getting recognition internationally, and cemented our final legacy: Simple.

"I think we're all influenced by style as designers — it's not a bad thing; style tends to reflect culture," Miller said.

"But I think the Northwest style, in each of those particular phases, is more authentic and doesn't get as wrapped up in too much decoration or over expression of style. There's a kind of restraint that I think maybe goes with our heritage."