Design Detailings: SU to build $25M rec center

The architecture firm of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen was selected to design a new recreation center at Seattle University. Construction of the $25 million center is set to begin in 2006. Principal Rick Sundberg leads design of the 75,000-square-foot center, which will include fitness rooms and a climbing wall.

Sundberg recently donated architectural services to Habitat for Humanity for 10 single-family homes. The firm works on residential and institutional designs. Past projects include museums, colleges and universities.

Bernardo-Wills wins port work

The Port of Kennewick selected Bernardo-Wills Architects to design a new office and retail building on Clover Island. The two-story, 8,500-square-foot building will house the port's administrative offices, a board room, retail and public spaces. Currently in the design stage, the $1.5 million center is tentatively planned to be completed in the middle of 2005.

The building will front the island's planned boardwalk and Clover Island Marina. It will be the first structure built since development of the Clover Island master plan, which calls for an island waterfront theme inspired by local historic architecture, gable and dormer roof forms, and use of traditional construction materials.

Eastlake walking tour July 10

Modern buildings in Seattle's Eastlake neighborhood will be open for a self-guided walking tour July 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., hosted by Historic Seattle.

Small-scale commercial and residential buildings in the neighborhood date from the late 1920s through the early 1960s and represent modernism in Northwest architecture. The 1958 Egan House, which was designed by Robert Reichert, is now owned by Historic Seattle.

Cost is $15. To register, call Historic Seattle at (206) 622-6952 ext.234. For more information, visit www.cityofseattle.net/commnty/histsea/events/default.htm#eastlake.

Design Center seeks nominations

Interior designers and architects are invited to submit interior work for Seattle Design Center's Northwest Design Awards competition.

The competition is open to firms in the Pacific Northwest. Awards recognize professionals whose work has made a significant contribution to the design industry.

Projects are judged anonymously based on problem solving, creativity and design quality. Judges include members of the American Society of Interior Designers Washington state chapter, the Northwest Society of Interior Designers and the design press.

Entry fee is $35. Submissions are due by Sept. 7 to Seattle Design Center Management Office, 5701 Sixth Ave. S., Suite 378, Seattle 98108. Winners will be announced Oct. 28. For more information, visit www.seattledesigncenter.com.

Art show features architectural models

Seattle-based artist Leo Saul Berk will give a talk, "Enter the Model," from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Rainier Square Atrium, 1333 Fifth Ave. Berk will present his life-sized architectural models constructed of fluted polypropylene, complete with furniture made of the same material. His rooms-within-a-room have been featured at Bellevue Art Museum. No charge.

Design Detailings: Notkin changes address

Notkin Mechanical Engineers relocated to the Metropolitan Park West Tower at 1100 Olive Way in Seattle, WA 98101.

Notkin will continue as a single-discipline mechanical firm, specializing in HVAC, plumbing and fire protection systems. The company's clients include healthcare, military and cultural arts facilities.

Earlier this year, Notkin added Mark Leinenwever as partner to work on the Evergreen Hospital medical center expansion and U.S. Nakamura Courthouse renovation. He is also working on new facilities such as the Seattle Command Center, National Flight Interpretative Center and Olympic College Science & Technology Facility.

The firm's Web site address has changed to www.notkin.us. A new Web site will be launched this month.

Women's engineering network names first director

C. Diane Matt is the first executive director of the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network. The nonprofit promotes positive change for women in engineering in academic and professional development.

Matt is a geoscientist with 19 years of experience leading nonprofits. She was director of strategic partnerships for the Geological Society of America.

The network is supported by centers at Purdue University, the University of Michigan and Stevens Institute of Technology. It's led by a board of directors from academia and industry, and has a membership of more than 600 in engineering schools, corporations and nonprofits.

ENR magazine names Hanson in its top 500

Hanson Professional Services was named one of the top 500 design firms by the trade publication Engineering News-Record. Hanson ranked 192nd on the national list and is also listed as a top firm for design services overseas.

Hanson is headquartered in Springfield, Ill., and has an office in Bellevue.

Seattle firm wins awards for California credit unions

Seattle-based architectural and design firm Emick Howard & Seibert's design for Yolo Federal Credit Union in Woodland, Calif., won an award from the Credit Union Executives Society.

Yolo Federal Credit Union was established in 1954 to assist buying uniforms for new sheriffs' officers. Emick Howard & Seibert developed the branch with strategic partner Weber Marketing Group of Seattle. The Yolo design won first place in image enhancement of credit unions with assets less than $150 million.

Emick Howard & Seibert provides customer and market analysis, operations planning and brand image development. The company collaborated with Weber on other award-winning credit unions in Palo Alto and Burbank, Calif.

Design Detailings: Redmond park gets new turf

Bruce Dees & Associates called for improvements to Grass Lawn Community Park including softball fields surfaced in synthetic turf.

Bruce Dees & Associates developed a master plan and construction documents for two phases of the recently re-opened Grass Lawn Community Park in Redmond. The new park features a synthetic turf softball field and six tennis courts.

This park was originally built in the late 1970s. The original all-weather soccer field often flooded and eroded due to poor drainage. Storm sewer lines were frequently full of sand and silt after storms.

Improvements include a porous rubber-coated track surrounding the synthetic field. The softball fields were also surfaced in synthetic turf and both fields are underdrained in the same manner.

The re-design solved problems that limited park use and were causing damage to nearby salmon habitat in the Sammamish River. The synthetic material eliminates nutrient runoff into the storm sewer and subsequent tests have proven that no harmful materials are in the water that percolates through the sand/rubber infill, crushed rock base and sub drain lines into the storm sewer, according to Bruce Dees & Associates.

The new fields, including a soccer field, have a lighting system designed by Sparling.

Central Library tours: online and in person

A half-hour documentary on the opening of the new Central Library -- featuring behind the scenes planning with architect Rem Koolhaas -- can be viewed at www.seattlechannel.org. The documentary, "A Library for All," features librarian Deborah Jacobs, staff and architects explaining the library from conceptual design to completion.

Lead architect Joshua Ramus of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam explains the evolution of the design, from program to spread sheets and models.

The library is also offering tours beginning at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. They will also be offered at 6 and 7 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays. Sign up on the day of the tour at the Fifth Avenue welcome desk. Reservations will not be accepted by phone or e-mail. For more information about tours, call (206) 733-9609 or e-mail centraltours@spl.org.

Candela wins lighting awards

Candela Architectural Lighting Consultants recently received the international IIDA Paul Waterbury Award and several other awards at the 2004 International Illumination Design Awards ceremony, hosted by the Puget Sound section of the Illuminating Society of North America.

Exterior lighting of the Museum of Glass and Contemporary Art in Tacoma received section and regional awards in addition to the first-place international Paul Waterbury Award. This category acknowledges Paul Waterbury's achievements in the lighting field, including the development of 1500 W metal halide lamps for stadiums.

"Visible light fixtures in the form of poles and bollards were banished from the vocabulary on this project," said Mary Claire Frazier, Candela principal and project designer. "Instead, the design team sought to interact lighting with materials and surfaces to reveal a breathtaking array of textures. This museum sparkles, shimmers and glows day and night."

Candela also received region and section Guth Interior Awards for interior lighting design of University of Washington Medical Center Surgery Pavilion, and a Guth Interior Section Award for interior lighting of University of Washington William H. Gates School of Law.

Sunday forum on Dutch 'interiority'

In conjunction with Seattle Art Museum's current exhibit, "Van Gogh to Mondrian," the museum will host a discussion titled "The Abstract Interior: Dutch Modernism from Van Gogh to Mondrian." It will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Plestcheeff Auditorium.

Marek Wieczorek, assistant professor of art history at the University of Washington, will explore Dutch modernism and "interiority," which for some artists led to new ways of understanding the interior of the home as an abstract reflection of the inner self and, by extension, the community.

Design Detailings: Scandinavian tour set for fall

A tour earlier this year to Sweden and Denmark to look at urban sustainability will be repeated from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1.

Tour organizer International Sustainable Solutions said real estate developers, architects and engineers from Seattle, Portland and the Tri-Cities visited Scandinavia. ISS is encouraging people from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to take the tour to see how they can collaborate on energy and transportation projects in the future.

A number of people have already signed up for the tour including Paul Anseeuw (Keene Engineering), Don Milliken (Milliken Developments), Jim Mueller (Vulcan), Dave Rogers (SvR Design), Mike Scott (Callison Architects) and Mark Woerman (Collins Woerman).

ISS says architects can receive up to 24 continuing education credits for the tour. For more information, contact Patricia Chase at Patricia@i-sustain.com or visit www.i-sustain.com.

Walker buys LiDAR system

Aero-Metric, the parent firm of Seattle-based Walker and Associates, bought a new Optech Airborne Topographic LiDAR system, which is aerial survey equipment that collects ground data. The system approximates medium-resolution photography, even when shot at night.

The company also purchased a digital mapping camera manufactured by Intergraph. The multispectral camera will be used to map a portion of the nation's 95,000-mile shoreline for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Walker will offer brown bag presentations on photogrammetry basics and digital cameras by appointment. For more information, contact Jeff Kenner or Craig Berry at (206) 244-2300.

Viaduct DEIS comments due June 1

Washington State Department of Transportation and the city of Seattle are taking comments on the draft EIS for the viaduct until June 1. The DEIS can be downloaded from www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct/deis/chapter1_1.htm. Send comments to awvdeiscomments@wsdot.wa.gov.

Edmonds community center upgraded

ECS Engineering has completed upgrades to the Francis Anderson Cultural Center in Edmonds.

The 53,000-square-foot facility, built in 1928, is listed on the historic register. Renovation and upgrade of electrical services and power distribution included replacement of all lighting and fire alarm systems. The landmark building is now the key community center for Edmonds, with meeting rooms, a dining area and a refurbished sports complex.

ECS Engineering is a 20-person electrical engineering company with offices in Bothell and Wenatchee.

Guy Battle to speak at UW

Structural and environmental engineer Guy Battle, founding partner of Battle McCarthy, and formerly with Ove Arup & Partners, will speak today on the University of Washington campus at 6 p.m. in Architecture Hall 147.

Battle designs naturally ventilated and cooled high-rise buildings. He specializes in low energy sustainable buildings and urban environments. His London-based consulting firm will design a wind farm for New York's Freedom Tower.

Battle has worked on projects with architectural firms such as Richard Rogers Partnership, Norman Foster and Partners, Kohn Pederson Fox, Gensler and HOK.

Redmond park gets new turf

Bruce Dees & Associates developed a master plan and construction documents for two phases of the recently re-opened Grass Lawn Community Park in Redmond. The new park features a synthetic turf softball field and six tennis courts.

This park was originally built in the late 1970s. The original all-weather soccer field often flooded and eroded due to poor drainage. Storm sewer lines were frequently full of sand and silt after storms.

Improvements include a porous rubber-coated track surrounding the synthetic field. The softball fields were also surfaced in synthetic turf and both fields are underdrained in the same manner.

The re-design solved problems that limited park use and were causing damage to nearby salmon habitat in the Sammamish River. The synthetic material eliminates nutrient runoff into the storm sewer and subsequent tests have proven that no harmful materials are in the water that percolates through the sand/rubber infill, crushed rock base and sub drain lines into the storm sewer, according to Bruce Dees & Associates.

The new fields, including a soccer field, have a lighting system designed by Sparling.

Design Detailings: Pacific Coast Builders honors LIHI projects

Courtesy Pyatok Architects Pyatok Architects won a 2004 Gold Nugget Award for the Tyree Scott Apartments.

Pyatok Architects and the Low Income Housing Institute won a 2004 Gold Nugget Award: Judges Special Award of Excellence, for the Tyree Scott Apartments and the for the Refugee Women's Alliance building, both located on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

The awards will be presented June 17 in San Francisco at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.

Gold Nuggets awards honor achievements in architecture and land use planning for residential, commercial and industrial projects.

The $2.1 million Tyree Scott Apartments has 21 affordable units serving families and individuals with incomes at or below 50 percent of area median income. The design includes four buildings with townhouse units over flats. The upper units have decks, bay windows and lots of light. There are two courtyards and an office.

The Refugee Women's Alliance headquarters is located next to the apartments and developed with LIHI's assistance. A new KaBOOM! Playground was built in one day with 100 volunteers, for use by children from both the housing and the alliance. Residents benefit from alliance programs, meeting space, day care, ESL classes, a computer lab and other services located next door.

SMPS awards set for June 24

The Society for Marketing Professional Services will honor local marketers at its annual Markee Awards on Thursday, June 24, at 5:30 p.m. in the Columbia Tower Club, 701 Fifth Ave.

Twenty-one entries were received from Architects BCRA, Coughlin Porter Lundeen, Joseph Greif Architects, Julian Rogers, KPFF Consulting Engineers, Perteet Engineering, Quantum Consulting Engineers, RoseWater Engineering, Sparling and Studio Lux.

Winners will be announced in the following categories: Brochure, Corporate Identity, Direct Mail, Holiday Card, Special Event, Web site and Client of the Year. A Best of Show/Judge's Choice award will be presented, and attendees can vote for the People's Choice Award.

The guest speaker is Randle Pollock, SMPS national president. The cost is $75 for members and $85 for non-members. The event includes appetizers, dessert and drinks. For information, contact Mary Mader of ESM Consulting Engineers at (253) 838-6113 or mary@esmcivil.com. To register, contact Grace Vigil of Parametrix at (425) 822-8880 or gvigil@parametrix.com. Visit www.smpsseattle.org.

Masonic Lodges get preservation awards

King County Executive Ron Sims recently announced the Spellman Awards for the best preservation projects.

He recognized historic Masonic lodges in King County and a group of county employees who have worked to protect archaeological and historic resources encountered during road maintenance projects.

Sims said members of the five Masonic lodges in King County have made a commitment to preserve their meeting halls by working with the King County Landmarks Commission to have the lodges designated county landmarks. They include the King Solomon Lodge in Auburn, Fall City Lodge, Mark P. Waterman Lodge in Burton, Unity Lodge in North Bend and the Skykomish Lodge.

The county Roads Maintenance Section was also recognized for its efforts to identify and protect archaeological resources in the field.

County Landmarks Commission Chair Patrick Schneider said, "The Roads Maintenance Section workers have really embraced their responsibility to protect cultural resources. They have identified previously unrecorded archaeological sites, and other important historic properties in the field during routine maintenance projects."

Design Detailings: Free workshop tonight on communication

The Society of American Value Engineers' International Cascadia chapter hosts a free training seminar by Peg Drummond from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Winners American Grill in Tukwila.

"Power Communication for Meeting Leaders" is for professionals who want to learn how to inspire creativity, speak more effectively to groups and understand the impact of body language on meetings.

Peg Drummond is CEO and a trainer at Drummond & Associates who gives workshops on how to gain participation and turn teams into problem solvers.

For more information on SAVE International's Cascadia chapter, call Gene Haba, chapter president, at (206) 587-3797 or visit http://seattleve.com/meetings.htm.

LMN to design two education buildings

Seattle-based LMN Architects was selected to design a building for Boise State University. The Center for Environmental Science & Economic Development will have research laboratories, offices, reading and conference rooms.

LMN will also do programming and design for renovation and expansion of Central Washington University's Hogue Technology Building. Predesign of classrooms, technical labs, industrial shops and offices is set to be complete in June.

LMN provides planning and design services for conference centers, higher education and lab facilities.

Chinese sculptor to give UW lecture

Sculptor Ye Yushan will give a free talk on his work at the University of Washington's Kane Hall on May 17 at 7 p.m. His 15,000-pound marble statue of Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai will be dedicated at South Seattle Community College on May 18 at 2 p.m.

One of Yushan's famous works is the seated white marble statue of Mao Zedong in Tian'anmen Square. This piece led to commissions for public monuments throughout China. Yushan is based in Chengdu, Sichuan.

"We are thrilled that Ye Yushan has so generously donated this extraordinary work of art to our garden," said David Buck, president of the Seattle Chinese Garden Society.

The Seattle Chinese Garden is located on a 4.6-acre site at the north end of SCCC. Garden designers in Seattle's sister city of Chongqing have created a master plan for traditional pavilions and courtyards, ponds and plants native to China.

New urbanism group honors Sienna

Sienna Architecture Co. won awards for two Northwest projects from the Congress for the New Urbanism. The group aims to restore urban centers and towns in metropolitan regions and turn sprawling suburbs into communities with real neighborhoods.

Tribeca, completed earlier this year and located in lower Queen Anne, has residential loft condos over a full-block grocery store and sub-grade parking. Sienna designed the site, which is bound by pedestrian-oriented streets, with three distinct housing blocks to vary the façade and roof line.

For the Portland project Northrup Commons, Sienna held neighborhood meetings and did zoning and concept studies. A four-story structure with a hidden parking area is intended to fit the neighborhood's small scale.

Sienna has offices in Portland and Seattle and works on architecture, interior and urban design projects.

UW Bothell campus designers win award

Gov. Gary Locke awarded the Governor's Award for Quality and Performance to the design team that worked on planning, design and construction of the University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia Community College's co-located campus.

The design team members were the Department of General Administration, NBBJ, M.A. Mortenson Co., the University of Washington and Cascadia Community College.

Wetlands on the site were incorporated into the campus design and will be used as a laboratory.

Design Detailings: SAME hosts ethics workshop Thursday

Society of American Military Engineers hosts a video workshop on ethics on Thursday (May 6). Participants can learn about their "ethical IQ," the latest research on professional ethics and tips on how to resolve complex dilemmas.

Presenter Deborah H. Long, an ASME distinguished lecturer in ethics who is also certified by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, speaks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at 4735 E. Marginal Way S.

For information, contact Lori Danielson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at (206) 764-6177 or lori.d.danielson@usace.army.mil. Cost is $10.

Werner Sobek lecture at SAM

Space.City will present a lecture by engineer Werner Sobek of Werner Sobek Ingenieure on May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Seattle Art Museum. Sobek founded and directs the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design in Stuttgart, Germany. Tickets are $10 and available at Peter Miller Books in Seattle at 1930 First Ave. For information, contact Greg Bishop at (206) 443-9833 or visit http://www.space-city.net.

Women in Leadership seminar May 13

Bellevue-based MulvannyG2 Architecture, in collaboration with the Association for Women in Architecture and the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable, will hold its quarterly Women in Leadership seminar on May 13.

"How to Make Powerful and Persuasive Presentations" will run from 4 to 6 p.m. at MulvannyG2's office at 1110 112th Ave. N.E. in Bellevue. Keynote speaker and seminar leader Vanna Novak will make a presentation.

The series was established last year when MulvannyG2 CEO Jerry Quinn Lee became concerned about the lack of women in high-ranking roles in his firm and the industry. The forum intends to inspire women to greater heights in their fields. Registration begins at 3:30 p.m. Cost is $25, with proceeds benefiting the AWA and Operation Smile, a program to repair childhood facial deformities. For information, contact advance@mulvannyg2.com.

Tacoma landscape firm wins awards

Three parks designed by the Tacoma landscape architecture firm Bruce Dees & Associates received awards from the Washington Parks & Recreation Association. Centennial Park, Snoqualmie won an award of excellence. Grass Lawn Park Phase I in Redmond and Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila both earned awards of merit.

Weiss/Manfredi wins national award

New York-based American Academy of Arts and Letters announced the winners of its architecture awards for 2004.

Academy Awards in Architecture of $7,500 each were given to Preston Scott Cohen and Weiss/Manfredi Architects. Weiss/Manfredi designed Olympic Sculpture Park of Seattle Art Museum.

Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi are partners in the New York-based firm. Committee member Cesar Pelli praised their work as "an architecture of engagement with the place and its landscape, the people and their history, and with the materiality of building."

Selection committee members included Henry N. Cobb, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, Hugh Hardy, Stephen Holl, Ada Louise Huxtable, Richard Meier and Cesar Pelli. Each year, the academy presents 50 artists, architects, writers and composers with cash awards, ranging from $2,500 to $75,000.

Design Detailings: Girvin designs SBRI gallery

Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, a non-profit that researches global infectious diseases, recently moved to South Lake Union. Strategic branding and design firm Girvin designed the institute's new Bioquest Science Gallery.

Conceived as a "living room for the life sciences," the gallery fronts Westlake Avenue and serves as a window into the science the institute conducts.

The gallery is intended to provide insight on who the scientists are and the nature of the research they are conducting. Some of the displays are blue nitrile gloves, lab coats and safety glasses.

Girvin has offices in Seattle and New York, and partnerships in Japan and France. Its clients range from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies and include include Roche, Eden Bioscience, Pfizer, Evergreen Hospital and Duke University's Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy.

Meeting on Overlake Hospital

Overlake Hospital will partner with Group Health to expand the hospital and build a new Group Health Speciality Center. The project is expected to bring 1,000 new jobs and $300 million in new construction to Bellevue, and also bring Overlake Hospital up to a Level 2 trauma care center. Work is set to be complete by 2007.

A public meeting is scheduled for May 25. Partners will describe the venture, and talk about how it could boost Bellevue's economy and improve health care on the Eastside.

The meeting will take place from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Harbor Club, Rainier Plaza, at 777 108th Ave. N.E., Suite 2500 in Bellevue. Cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

Register by May 18 by calling (425) 453-1223.

South Park library design meeting

Seattle Public Library will host a public meeting with Johnston Architects to review design of the $2.5 million South Park Branch Library, which is to be built at the southeast corner of South Cloverdale Street and Eighth Avenue South.

Architects will explain the design for the 5,000-square-foot branch and take questions and comments. A Spanish interpreter will be present.

The project is one part of the $196.4 million "Libraries for All" bond measure, which voters approved in order to meet library needs in underserved areas of Seattle.

Completed projects to date include branches at Capitol Hill, Delridge, Green Lake, New Holly, Rainier Beach, Wallingford and West Seattle. The Central Library will open May 23.

Ballard, Beacon Hill, Columbia, Greenwood, High Point, Lake City and North East all have library branches in the construction phase. For more information, contact library project manager Frank Coulter at (206) 615-1621 or visit www.spl.org.

Olson Sundberg exhibit through May 2

"Selected Work: 1997-Now," an exhibit featuring the work of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, will be on display until May 2 at the Frieze Room of Architecture Hall at the University of Washington campus in Seattle.

On display are 12 projects, including a museum, winery, cathedral and Habitat for Humanity development. There will be photographs, models, sketches, construction document drawings and a slide presentation.

Design Detailings: Forum on Central Library design

A panel of people who participated in design for the Seattle Central Library will share their experiences in a public forum. The event will be held on May 27 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Central Library Auditorium on Fourth Avenue.

The free program is sponsored by the Naramore Foundation and will be presented by both the Seattle Architectural Foundation and the Seattle Public Library Foundation.

Panelists will include Alex Harris of the Seattle Public Library, Sam Miller of LMN Architects, Jon Magnusson with Magnusson Klemencic Associates and Dale Stenning of Hoffman Construction.

Novelist and editor Matthew Stadler will moderate the presentation. Stadler has written on the Seattle Public Library and its designer Rem Koolhaas.

To register for seating, contact Seattle Architectural Foundation at (206) 667-9184 or info@seattlearchitectural.org. For more information, visit www.spl.org.

New firm: Strotkamp Architects

Thomas Strotkamp has formed an architectural services company, Strotkamp Architects, with offices in Burlington. Strotkamp practiced in Skagit County for 30 years and worked on office, automotive, medical and agricultural projects. For more information, contact (360) 854-9907 or saarchitects@hotmail.com.

Werner Sobek lecture at SAM

Space.City will host a lecture by engineer Werner Sobek of Werner Sobek Ingenieure on May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Seattle Art Museum.

Sobek founded and directs the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design in Stuttgart, Germany. He has written on structural engineering and co-authored glass and steel construction manuals.

He has worked on projects in Chicago, Bangkok and Shanghai, and also with architects such as UN Studio and Helmut Jahn.

Sobek works with steel, titanium, glass, fabric, wood and concrete. Organizers of the lecture describe his structures as sensible, logical, simple in construction and outstanding in form.

Advance tickets are $10 and are available at Peter Miller Books in Seattle at 1930 First Ave. For more information contact Greg Bishop at (206) 443-9833 or visit www.space-city.net.

Geo-Tech acquired by Boart Longyear

South Africa-based Boart Longyear Co. has acquired Geo-Tech Explorations, which is based in Portland and also has offices in Kent and Eugene, Ore. Greg McInnis will continue to manage the business in Portland.

Geo-Tech works on geotechnical, environmental, clean water and construction drilling projects.

Geo-Tech will keep its name and internal structure for the next two years. It will now be able to also offer sonic drilling and other services of Boart Longyear Co.

Design Detailings: City wins for 'Ave' project

The city of Seattle won an award from the Puget Sound Regional Council for the University Avenue Northeast improvement project. The council recognized the project for being "an exceptional effort that promotes a livable region and exemplifies Vision 2020, the region's growth management, economic and transportation strategy."

The goals of the roadway and urban design improvements, completed in August 2003, were to improve pedestrian safety and mobility, improve transit speed and reliability, and upgrade the street character. The project included a reconstructed street, new underground utilities, wider sidewalks, consolidated bus zones, bus-bulbs for passenger loading, a new streetlight and traffic signal system, pedestrian lighting, street trees and other art and urban design elements.

The Seattle Department of Transportation led the design and construction, and Seattle City Light, Seattle Public Utilities and King County Metro Transit were project partners.

Southwest Washington AIA turns 50

The Southwest Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has begun a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary. The events kick off with a gala celebration and dinner at the Tacoma Sheraton Ballroom on April 21. The gala will include an address by National AIA President Eugene Hopkins.

One event will feature an exhibit recognizing AIA Southwest Washington Chapter firms and their contributions to the profession and their communities. The series of graphic displays will showcase buildings, events and individuals which have shaped the local built environment. The displays are designed to serve as an archive of the chapter as well as an ongoing community resource.

Gala reservations are requested by today, through the AIA Southwest Washington office at (253) 627-4006, or by e-mail to aia@aiasww.org. Tickets are $50.

Idaho, Utah towns hire LMN

The towns of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and West Jordan, Utah, have selected Seattle-based LMN Architects for urban design and master planning.

LMN Architects will assist the city of Coeur d'Alene to prepare infill development codes and design guidelines for midtown and downtown areas of its 729-acre Lake District. Architects will do an economic analysis and make recommendations for code changes.

West Jordan, located 15 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, contracted LMN for a 75-acre master plan. The area slated for redevelopment is next to a light rail station. It will include a town center on 200 acres of privately owned land. Master planning is set to be completed within nine months.

LMN will begin both assignments immediately.

'Dr. Joint' presents SEAW timber seminar

An evening seminar on wood design hosted by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington will be held April 21 at Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center, 17620 Pacific Highway S. A dinner and program with timber engineer Ben Brungraber will follow. Cost is $45.

Brungraber is known as "Dr. Joint" for his research and testing of joinery methods. He specializes in heavy timber structures and supervises Benson Woodworking Co.'s timber frame design and construction.

Brungraber taught engineering at Stanford University, the University of Connecticut and Bucknell University before joining Benson.

To make reservations, contact seaw@seaw.org by Thursday or call (206) 682-6026.

Graphic design conference in Victoria

Connections, the national conference of Graphic Designers of Canada, takes place from April 30 to May 2 in Victoria, B.C.

It will feature speakers from San Francisco's Pentagram, AdamsMorioka from Los Angeles, Portland's Johnson and Wolverton, and the Canadian retail advertising agency Suburbia.

For more information, contact Carol Hyland, GDC Vancouver Island vice-president, at chyland@telus.net or visit www.gdc.net/connections.

SR26 becomes 133-mile-long museum

Washington State University students will station themselves along stretches of state Route 26 on Friday for the performance art project "Signing SR 26."

WSU students who travel the state highway between Vantage and Colfax have made it the topic of "The SR 26 Project: Imagining a 133-mile-long museum in Eastern Washington." The student exhibit runs through May 2 at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane at 2316 W. First Ave.

Paul Hirzel, a professor at WSU's school of architecture and construction management, said the exhibition aims to show that the apparent bleakness of the highway is in fact one of its assets. He said views from the highway show geological and historical features, along with diverse biological and agricultural zones.

For more information, visit www.northwestmuseum.org.

Design Detailings: Providence wins EPA energy award

Providence Health System received the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Partner of the Year award.

The award recognizes large organizations' long-term commitment to managing energy resources. Past winners have been General Motors, Raytheon, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson and Westinghouse.

The Providence utilities management effort spans eight years, with facilities from Anchorage to the San Fernando Valley putting into practice more than 100 energy-saving projects. Providence says it has saved $5 million in energy costs.

Design Trends today and tomorrow

The Seattle interior design show, Design Trends, takes place today and tomorrow at Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Alfred Petterson will speak on marketing strategies from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. today.

Tomorrow from 8:30 a.m. until noon Doug Land will speak on project management. He will talk about trouble-shooting and give tips on how to get distressed projects on track. Also tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. until noon, Larry Lee of Argus Pacific will moderate a panel discussion on insurance practices and premiums. To register, visit www.designtrendsseattle.com. For more information call (877) 739-2112 Ext. 228.

SAME seminar April 20 on weapons

Society of American Military Engineers will hold a seminar April 20 at the Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Galaxy Room, 4735 E. Marginal Way S., from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Christy Ray-Hagenau of Integrated Science Solutions will speak about weapons of mass destruction incidents, with a focus on vulnerability and readiness assessments, response actions and drills. Cost is $5. For more information, contact Andy Hough at (206) 726-3772 or andy.hough@skanskausa.com.

SMPS seeks scholarship nominations

The outreach committee of Seattle's Society for Marketing Professional Services is taking applications for a $1,000 undergraduate scholarship award. Students planning to attend a community college, private college or four-year university this fall are encouraged to apply by May 5.

SMPS-Seattle set up the scholarship for students pursuing careers in marketing or project management in architecture, engineering or construction.

SMPS has a national membership of 5,300 marketing and business development professionals from architectural, engineering, planning, interior design, construction and consulting firms in the U.S. and Canada. For information or to request an application form, contact Nikki Kloeppel at (206) 459-1131 or visit www.smpsseattle.org.