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Hough Beck & BairdColie Hough-Beck, President of Hough Beck & Baird Inc. (HB&B) said her firm has maintained eight staff members during the past few years. However, this year she is planning to add two more landscape architects to meet project demands."As we move into 1997, we find our clients pushed to complete their projects on time and within budget," said Hough-Beck. In order to meet the ever increasing expectations of clients, HB&B has become more aggressive with project management and new office resources to increase staff productivity. "HB&B is not in a year to year survival mode, we are in an aggressive program to maintain existing clients as well as pursuing new project opportunities" said Hough-Beck. Landscape architectural services continue to play an important role in project development. However, HB&B has added Design Guidelines, Grant Funding and Permit Processing services to support landscape projects. In 1996, HB&B had a number of recreation, community design, educational campus and streetscape projects. One of the largest projects that HB&B has ever had was the Port of Seattle's Southwest Harbor Public Access to Elliott Bay. This project is out-to-bid at the present time. Current projects include: SeaTac International Airport, Grand Ridge/Issaquah, Tukwila Community Center Phase Two, The Park At Bothell Landing and a residence in Sun Valley. This year HB&B shared an APA/PAW Honor Award with Cascade Design Collaborative for the City of Bainbridge Island Development Standards & Design Guidelines. HNTBFor the past two years HNTB has been assembling a team of Landscape Architects to form a new department of Urban Design and Planning within the multidisciplinary firm."HNTB has been traditionally associated with large scale architecture and engineering projects such as bridges, highways, airports and convention centers. Our formation of a department to provide Landscape Architectural and Urban Design services is relatively recent here in the Northwest. Previously we have worked with many local Landscape Architectural firms teamed on large projects. We will of course continue to do so depending on the project opportunities. However, we now also have in-house capability to provide our clients with landscape architectural services" said Fred Glick, ASLA, Landscape Architect and department director. As owner of his own Portland firm, Glick won awards for his designs for many of Portland's Light Rail project streetscapes. In his new department at HNTB, Glick is joined by landscape architects Brian Elrod and Barbara Simpson, and by Shawn Chandler, landscape designer. The group is now at work on several exciting projects, including a park redevelopment project for the Port of Seattle, two subway station streetscapes and related transit village planning in Los Angeles, and a light rail corridor design in Pasadena. We are also working on two streetscape design projects and one town center urban design project along the Capitol Highway in Portland, Oregon. "As an interdisciplinary firm we have the advantage of teaming on projects with other departments in-house," said Glick. "We are currently going into the construction document phase on the streetscapes and waterfront parks for two bridge projects headed up by our Civil and Transportation Engineering department and are looking at design of landscape improvements for upcoming airport traffic control tower projects led by our Architecture department." Swift and CompanySwift and Company now supports four landscape architects and two landscape architectural interns. This past year, Melanie Davies has joined the firm and Luanne Smith took the opportunity to teach full-time at the University of Washington's Department of Landscape Architecture. Barbara Swift is currently serving as the Chair of the Seattle Design Commission, and has been a commissioner since 1995."We've got fabulous projects, great clients, and we are enjoying a very busy and productive year," said Swift & Company's principal Barbara Swift. "If this continues, we will not die bored." Current projects, which run the gamut between campus design to community redevelopment, and include the Holly Park Redevelopment Project, the Holly Park Community Center, and two projects at the University of Washington: the Oceanography Building and the Fisheries Building. "Of course, all projects require a fully integrated use of computers," she said. "Diving headlong into the sink-or-swim waters of computer technology, the six-person firm has thoroughly gotten soaked. Most have actually enjoyed the swim and keeping abreast of the current trends." Last year's research on integral colored concrete for the Seattle Center Pacific Science Court resulted in an award for excellence in concrete construction from the Washington Aggregrates and Concrete Association. Research on the removal of Scotch broom was published in Hortus Northwest, and Swift and Company's work with bio-solid soil amendments and ecological restoration was recognized in two articles in Landscape Architecture. Kobayashi & AssociatesKobayashi & Associates (KAA) works in Japan and the Pacific Northwest with a small core staff expanded with a network of frequent collaborators who work well as a team. A recent example of this kind of collaboration is a partnership with former Jones & Jones principal Tom Atkins and former EDAW manager Frank Groznik for design of the Newhalem/Diablo sites along the Skagit River."The client could really get the individuals with the most FERC, hydropower site, Skagit River familiarity -- etcetera -- for the project, rather than an available current team at one particular firm," said Koichi Kobayashi. "Communication and travel are among the largest KAA budget expenditures. We use web page, Internet, e-mail, phone, fax to stay in touch with our network internationally. Video teleconference capabilities are available for specific situations or projects." In the landscape industry, there has been an emphasis on water management, not just water conservation. Clients are moving away from "use less" toward "do more with less." "Our clients are demanding that water perform many functions on their site, actig as visual amenity, irrigation source, stormwater runoff control . . ." he said. The perfect example of this combination is a residential property in the urban growth boundary. "Our specialties lie in five to seven core business areas, each of which has a market cycle of it's own," said Kobayashi. "Not every business area is in current demand. At KAA we try to manage change in demand for service, rather than let change in the market place eliminate core values or KAA services expertise." KAA has historically provided a unique expertise in visual impact assessment, most often for overhead powerline corridors and hydro power sites. Now that power line construction is on the decline, the compnay will use visual analysis expertise for transportation, waterfront shoreline projects, and timber management. Parks & recreation planning and design, trail projects, community planning and campus planning are current major areas of 1997 activity. The largest market is residential, both in Pacific Northwest and Japan. Examples include a planning project for Mikawa annexation area, a 350-unit development in Japan and the 1997 Street of Dreams site, Blakely Woods. Historically, the firm has provided more services on commercial, civic and public projects since 1981. The firm is best known for I-90 Landscape Plan in Seattle, Bellevue Square Mall in Bellevue and Skagit River environmental study. We expect residential projects to be a sustained four-year market concentration within the firm, unless national or regional economic factors change dramatically. "We are expecting Seattle to continue to be the Pacific Rim 'gateway'," said Kobayashi. " Under Governor Locke, we expect significant Washington state presence in Pacific Rim business activity." MurasePortland-based Murase Associates' experienced steady and rapid growth in 1996. Murase anticipates further increases to the 25-person professional staff to execute growing numbers of commercial, cultural and recreational projects.Recent additions include Karen Kiest as the Seattle office's managing director. Kiest helped to develop the original urban design concept and prepared streetscape plans for the Prudential Center Redevelopment Project in Boston and for the Hudson Riverfront Park in New York City. A sizeable portion of the firm's work reflects the Northwest's ever-present and increasing demand for environmentally sensitive design solutions for storm water management, wetland mitigation and habitat enhancement. Current projects for Murase Associates include University of Washington's new Law School, the King Street Station Intermodal Terminal and Seattle Symphony's Benaroya Concert Hall. For the Law School, Murase's design reunites the Law School community with the main campus by expanding the Parrington green, one of the most loved open spaces on campus. The restoration and renovation of the 1906 King Street Station will prepare it to become a major hub of transportation modes for the City of Seattle. For Benaroya Concert Hall Murase is responsible for the creation of the stone water feature, hill climb staircase and Garden of Remembrance Memorial for military service veterans. The design will integrate the architecture of Benaroya Hall and surrounding civic attractions such as the Seattle Art Museum. GlanderGlander & Associates of Olympia has been thriving on Washington State projects with Department of Social and Health Services improvements and site work."Intel has come into the area," said Glander, "and the growth that we expected to see accopany that has just started to occur." Three residential developments are now under construction. The Port of Olympia is also in an expansion mode, and Glander has worked on corporate office building projects fof the port. Recent projects include Western State Hospital and an eight-acre community park for the park district of Tacoma. The firm has also designed landscapes for several schools and multi-family projects over the last yearand a large streetscape design project in Ocean Shores. Glander was involved in the Thurston County Street of Dreams event. The firm's portfolio consists of 30 percent upper end residential 40 to 50 percent public projects.
Brumbaugh & AssociatesKirkland-based Brumbaugh & Associates saw record growth in revenue, projects and staffing during the year of 1996. The firm is planning an office expansion this spring.
Celebrating its 10th year in business, the firm has grown around work with single-family residences and corporate campuses. In 1996, Brumbaugh completed projects for Boeing, Intel, Eddie Bauer and the Emerald Downs Racetrack and has just begun design work on 1.25 millon square feet of office expansion for the Microsoft Corporate Headquarters. The firm is also working with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership to masterplan Safeco's kplanned Redmond Campus. Other new corporate work includes an office complex for CarrAmerica, a television studio for MSNBC and regional facilities for Safeco Insurance in Atlanta, St. Louis, Portland and Spokane. Current health care projects include a new campus for Harrison Hospital in Silverdale and Phase II of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center adjacent to Lake Union in Seattle. Extended stay business hotels, retail centers, industrial facilities, and multi-family developments rounded out the year's project mix. Geographic expansion and diversity of services continue to be business goals of Brumbaugh & Associates. The firm has 11 current projects in the Portland, Oregon market including residnetial communities, mixed-use developments, hospitality complexes, office projects, high-tech facilites and a retirement complex. One of these, the Murray North development in Beaverton, creates a new community with townhomes, garden apartments, clubhouse amenities, a regional light rail transit center, and a retail component. JGMJGM (Jongegan Gerrard McNeal) is entering its fourth decade of practice in Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, and Planning. Established in 1965, and located in Bellevue, Washington, the firm is led by David A. McNeal, FASLA and Ted Wall, ASLA. The firm specializes in and design, commercial and residential development, and transportation projects.The firm is currently completing a six-mile revitalization plan on the Columbia River for Franklin County and the City of Pasco. The master plan calls for a resort center, bike trail improvements, riverfront park development, and habitat enhancements. JGM's most notable recent project is the Department of Veteran Affairs Tahoma National Cemetery. The 156-acre memorial park for veterans will be the first National Cemetery in the State of Washington. JGM received an Honor Award from the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the cemetery's exemplary design. The cemetery will be dedicated this summer. The business of landscape architecture in the region is becoming increasingly competitive, but the firm has remained stable with a staff of eight professionals. JGM continues to market services in park and open space planning and commercial and residential development while expanding its client base in transportation, environmental planning and project permitting. JGM will continue to recruit staff with strong backgrounds and skills in computer graphics and computer-aided-design (CAD), and a commitment to excellence in design and environmental sustainability. Gail Staeger AssociatesGail Staeger Associates' most significant project during 1996 was the completion of the Chief Leschi School for the Puyallup Indian Nation. It includes preschool through high school levels and serves Native American children from tribes throughout North America. The naturally wet, 60-acre site in the Puyallup River Valley was used to advantage bycreating a wetland habitat and year-round lake -- part of which is used for stormwater retention. The project typifies services provided by the two-person firm for the last few years: site design for development complexes throughout Washington State, in concert with building design teams.
Construction will be finalized this spring for the Animal Disease Biotechnology Facility, an addition o the veterinary medicine complex on the Washington State University campus in Pullman. Currently under desgn are transit/visitor center for the City of Forks on the Olympic Penninsula; Cooper Elementary School for Seattle Schools; an apartemnt complex on Capitol Hill in Seattle; and Kwawachee Center, the firm's second project for the Puyallup Tribe's medical campus in Tacoma. Principal Gail Staeger, of Native American descent herself, hopes to expand the frm's collaboration with tribal entities in the future and increase work on the Olympic Pennensula. The firm has a branch office in Sequim. BergerThe Berger Partnership finished 1996 in a flurry of project work and office remodeling. With a staff size of 24 -- up from last year's count of 21 -- the firm was in need of a few more work stations.The Berger Partnership's steady growth is attributed to long standing client relationships, encouraging individual staff members to pursue projects of special interest and a healthy balance between personal and professional lives. According to Tom Berger, what drives the firm is "interesting challenges and clients who appreciate thoughtful design." Projects keeping the firm busy include the REI "flagship-class" store in Bloomington, Minnesota; Samsung Changwon Global Center, Samsung Kangbuk and Mason Hospitals, Korea; Villa Mt. Eden Winery, Napa Valley; the Quadrand-Adobe office project, Fremont; Overlake at Toole residential development, Salt Lake City; Starbucks SODO center, Seattle; Bobby Morris playfields, Seattle; Big Finn Hill playfields, Kirkland. Anderson and Ray"Our environmental education work with the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation is very important at this time," said Charles Anderson of Anderson and Ray.The firm's Lake Washington Environmental Education Complex is in various design and construction stages. (see story on page --) The firm is currently working in the Delridge area of West Seattle on Greg Davis Park. It features a native plant interpretive garden, a wildflower meadow, interpretive signage and uses almost all native plants. The project has particular environmental significance because of its adjacency to Longfellow Creek and Camp Long (Camp Long is another of project involving a native plant interpretive garden for children). Anderson & Ray is also at work on a number of resort projects in Canada, California and Washington. Design commissions for apartment, condominium, extended care facilities and office development projects are rapidly expanding. The firm has added two full time and one part time staff members in the past year, and may require additional staff before this year's end. The research, contacts, and experience Anderson & Ray has developed in preparing manual for using native plants has allowed an expanded role in the design of environmental education projects and in interpretive design. Landscape professionals are moving away from generic landscape practices in favor of customized-to-the-region designs that include native flora, habitat for native fauna, and a local flavor for all to enjoy," said principal Charles Anderson. Weisman"Even though the industry is healthy and the workload is deep, there is a very competitive edge to this market," said Mark Weisman, president of Weisman Design Group. "Most development margins are very slim as project and mitigation costs are so high. This translates to reduced project budgets for site development. Our challenge is to provide a high level of impact and amenities on a limited budget."Areas of specialty for the office include the entire range of commercial development including midrise office, high tech and business park, shopping centers, big box users, restaurants and hotels. Other market areas include housing site planning and design for multi-family, single family, infill and mixed use structures; school design and site planning for elementary, middle, high school and college campuses and sports facilities. Current projects include AT&T Corporate Wireless National Headquarters in Redmond Town Center; Canyon Park Business Center Highlands Campus Phases 1-3 in Bothell; five middle school projects for the Northshore School District Fountain Court and Laguna for Hart Properties in Redmond; site planning for Mercer Village on South Mercer Island; Snohomish Cascade for Polygon, and 800-lot planned development; Snoqualmie Ridge Business Park for the Quadrant Corporation; and 106th Plaza for Su Development, a mixed use midrise in Bellevue Weisman Design Group has seen a significant increase in the firm's work and degree of control on projects in the past year. The firm has added two additional staff members during the same period and is currently looking for one more. Last year a larger percentage of Weisman Design Group work was out of the region, including a waterfront park in Queens, New York. EDAW1996 was a banner year for EDAW Seattle, accoding to Bob Shrosbree, who leads the architecture studio in Seattle. EDAW, Inc.'s Seattle office is part of a global network of 19 offices.Major landscape architecture projects included the Master Plan for East Capitol Campus Plaza, a renovation of the eastern half of the state's capitol grounds in Olympia; Olympic College/Poulsbo Campus Master Plan and Phase I Implementation for a 20-acre satellite campus being developed as part of the college's expansion plans; the McKinley Village Resort Master Plan and a $5 million first phase implementation at Denali National Park in Alaska; the Kawaihae Botanical Garden, a 50-acre garden being developed for a private foundation in Kauai, Hawaii; and the Sand Point/Magnuson Park Design Guidelines, an integration of a portion of the former Sand Point Naval Station with Magnuson Park. "We entered 1997 very strong, with the start-up of several new projects and additional phases of others early in the year," said Shrosbree. "Our design staff has grown over the past year and we anticipate this growth trend will continue." Susan Black and Associates"The greatest challenge to SB&A has been developoing profesional design firm asosiations within a robust economivc environment," said Susan Black of Susan Black and Associates, Inc. "We are particularly interested in seeing quality urban and community design develop from the new Regional Transit Program -- neighborhood improvements, other public infrastructure developments and mixed-use recreation facilities.The firm has focused marketig efforts on expanding asociations with engineering firms and architecture firms in te area. Susan Black and Associates, which offers design, master planning, community involvement and construciotn management services, is also concentrating on esdnetial subdivision and garden design, park planning and project feasibility analysis. "We are als intersted in . applying design and environmentally sensitive restoration techniques to degraded landscapes, building on our experiencese at the newly complted West Point Treatment Plant site." Projects in the office in the past year have included te Maury Island Regional Waterfront Park Master Plan, Katz Memorial Sculpture Garden at the School of Art at the University of Wahsington, the Sylvan Grove Theater reconditioning stdy and mater plan at the University of wahsington, management of the Westhill Community Recreation Center design for King County, a famkily aquatic center and other capital improvement projects in Pendleton, Oreegon, completion of a subdivision design in Sapporo, Japan and the completion of a number of parks and school projects in the Puget Sound area. Talley & Co.While the size of Talley & Company has reminaed steady over the past year, te firm plans to expand into commericla and institutional consturction-oriented projects as a subconsultant to architefctural firms."We feel this work would complement or current emphasis on uinveristy dcampus planning on the one hand -- which is not construction oriented," said Talley associate Brooks Kolb, "and residential landscape architecture on the other hand, which is construction-oriented but smaller in scope." The firm is interested in local neighborhood parks and play faiclities identified and spearheaded by grass-roots neighborhood groups rather than by the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. The most important projects in the office now and in the past year have been the University of Wahsington North Campus Plan and East Campus Plan. There have also been several exciting large residential gardens. R.W. ThorpeThe staff of R.W. Thorpe & Associates, Inc. has been fairly consistent at seven or eight positions for the last five years. The firm's work largely centers around permit applications for master planned communities, commercial projects, multi-family plats and other related land use entitlement activities.The firm is currently working on the Washington National 36-hole golf course near Auburn with O.B. Sports of Portland and Soos Creek Golf, Inc. This project will have a joint relationship with the University of Washington Husky Golf Team as an alternate training facility. It is also working on an 800+ acre master planned community near Lyons, Colorado with a 9-hole golf course. This site includes the old historic Centennial Trail between Denver and Laramie, Wyoming. Preserving the historic character of the area as part of a cluster development is a challenge to the Landscape team. R.W. Thorpe is also at work on a master planned community of 1,000 acres in Lewis County and continues to work on environmental and site elements on Thurston Highlands Golf Course, a 1,500 acre master planned community in Yelm. For the last two years the firm has provided input to property owners surrounding the Mariners' new stadium and developed a mitigation package that was part of the Public Facilities District record. The firm continues its long history of working on the zoning, permitting and landscape architecture for a variety of multi-family projects throughout Western Washington. These include Bush Lane/Pickering Place near Issaquah, Lexington Ridge in Renton, Wilderness Village in South King County, Kenmore Apartments and Renton Crown Apartments. In addition, the firm is working on Crista Ministries master plan in Shoreline as well as a landscape plan and permits for expansion of educational facilities at that location. It recently completed expansion of the Honey Farm residential area in Snoqualmie and is working on several plats and Public Utility Districts in Western Washington. Current projects include permitting for several service station facilities including convenience stores, minute lubes and car washes throughout Western Washington and Oregon. The firm is also the team coordinator and project manager for the Master Plan for Shorewood Apartments on Mercer Island and its potential expansion. The landscape section of R.W. Thorpe supports the firm's efforts in highest and best use studies and condemnations. The ability to work in a variety of jurisdictions throughout Western Washington and the western states remains the primary challenge to firm members. Our historical 96 percent approval rate on zoning entitlements and permits remains a strong firm goal.
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