May 29, 2002

Design Detailings: Mahlum hosts art show June 6

John Stamets John Stamets' photos of the Suzzalo Library, including this silver gelatin print, will be on display at Mahlum.

Celebrating its third year in Pioneer Square, Mahlum Architects will host a multi-disciplinary arts show, Genius Loci, in its offices at 71 Columbia St. from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, June 6.

The show includes photographs by John Stamets and Eduardo Calderon, paintings by Andrew Keating and Lanny DeVuonoi and sculptures by Michael Dennis. The show will also include a video and sound installation by Ford Gilbreath.

Stamets specializes in photographing buildings under construction. Several of his photos will be of the renovation of Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington, a Mahlum project. Keating's paintings are based on imaginary architecture, with strong ties to childhood play. Calderon's photos were taken on the streets of Prague, Havana, New York City, Seattle and Peru.

Swenson Say wins image award

Swenson Say Faget, a Seattle-based structural engineering firm, has received an Award of Excellence from American Corporate Identity for its corporate image design. The firm's new logo was designed by Gage Design of Seattle.

American Corporate Identity is the only annual national competition devoted specifically to corporate identity. Winners in previous competitions have included large and small companies -- ranging from work for such giants as AT&T and FedEx to small businesses that are literally "cottage" operations. The American Corporate Identity annual is distributed to more than 60 countries around the world.

Whitney curator speaks Thursday

Lawrence Rinder, curator of Contemporary Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art, will be 2002 School of Art Capstone Speaker Thursday at 7 p.m.

Rinder is the chief curator of the 2002 Whitney Biennial, which featured upcoming artists from across the U.S. Prior to finding a home at the Whitney, Rinder directed the California College of Arts and Crafts Center for Exhibitions and Public Programming, served as Matrix Curator at the University Art Museum at U.C. Berkeley, and held curatorial positions at the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Modern Art.

The event is sponsored by the U.W. School of Art, the Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media, the Henry Art Gallery, and the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities. For information, call (206) 543-6450 or e-mail access@u.washington.edu.

Bend project goes to Pinnacle

Pinnacle Architecture of Bend has been selected by the Central Oregon Regional Housing Authority to design a 14,400-square-foot transitional housing facility on the new Healing Health Campus in Bend.

The campus is designed to serve persons with mental illnesses. The transitional housing will fill a gap in the continuum of care for residents as they move to independent living.

The facility, known as the Horizon House, will offer 14, one-bedroom units designed for single adults with special needs, and a two-bedroom manager’s unit. Pinnacle Architecture has designed three community rooms to provide different levels of social interaction and skills training in an effort to help achieve self-sufficiency and to help residents move to permanent housing options.

ACSE backs early access bill

The American Society of Civil Engineers commended members of Congress in a recent hearing for introducing legislation that would minimize obstacles encountered during building performance studies, including the World Trade Center complex and the Murrah Building bombing.

The National Construction Safety Team Act, introduced May 9 in the House by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and in the Senate by senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), would improve the protocol for forming and operating teams to assess how buildings failed during a natural disaster or terrorist event. If enacted, the legislation would give future teams early site access, subpoena power and guaranteed funds up to $25 million per year over a three-year period.

"Building performance studies have had a long history of uncovering new information that has often led to the design and construction of safer buildings, however, the process has long been misunderstood by those outside of the engineering community, making it a challenge for the team to effectively conduct its work," said W. Gene Corley technical lead of the ASCE/FEMA World Trade Center Building Performance Study Team.

Data collection has also proven to be a challenge, especially during the study at the World Trade Center complex. While the team was able to retrieve enough data to complete its study, the lack of authority precluded it from immediate access to information. ASCE officials said resources are always an issue with building performance studies, particularly for one whose magnitude and scale is unprecedented.

The total amount of resources dedicated to support the World Trade Center building performance team’s activities was approximately $1 million, including volunteer time towards the research and draft of the final report, according to the ASCE.

The funds allowed the team to do the initial reconnaissance of the site and building materials, begin to set hypotheses and conduct limited testing.

However, experienced team members said $40 million would be needed to fully fund a comprehensive study of the World Trade Center tragedy.

Virtual Architect has online service

VirtualArchitect.com, an Internet-based architectural firm specializing in custom, online residential design services for homeowners, recently announced the unveiling of their newest service, Get-A-Sketch, which is the company's exclusive interactive feature to help homeowners plan and design their remodel, addition, or new house project.

"Every great design starts as a series of sketches," said Virtual Architect's president Bryan Welty. "Our Get-A-Sketch service has the potential to improve the quality of residential design by giving homeowners convenient access to the professional expertise of architects."

To use the Get-A-Sketch service, the client simply provides digital photos, written questions and a design program for their project. The staff at Virtual Architect then creates a design solution through a series of sketches, which integrate the ideas of the client with the skill of the architect. The sketches are e-mailed to the client, along with a written explanation and a cost estimate for construction.

The Get-A-Sketch service has allowed clients to visualize their project on paper, obtain cost estimates and use the sketches as a basis for construction drawings.

VirtualArchitect.com, which is affiliated with a traditional, brick-and-mortar firm in Dallas, provides a variety of other online services to meet the needs of any homeowner. In addition to the Get-A-Sketch service, other design services include permit-ready remodeling and addition plans custom-designed for the client's home, as well as custom house plans. Virtual Architect also provides free design advice through their Ask-the-Architect section.