This duo of odd looking buildings in Seattle is the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. The EMP (named in homage to Jimi Hendrix) is the work of Paul Allen (a rich bloke from Microsoft) who paid for the whole whack out of his own substantial stash. There is not one flat surface on the thing and the colour you can see in the picture is just one of many to daub the structure.
The needle was the first of quite a few tall buildings I would go up in the States. The view from the top was quite impressive and it was a relatively clear day so I could see both Mt Baker and Mt Rainier, something which the megaphone mouthed guide said was quite a rare thing.