Tech award goes to Veterans Home

Stantec has received an international award for engineering work on the Washington State Veterans Home in Retsil. The project was one of three that took first place in the technology awards competition sponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.

The Veterans Home previously earned a Puget Sound Chapter and Northwest Regional Award from ASHRAE.

The Veterans Home is a $48 million, long-term care facility overlooking Puget Sound. Stantec provided mechanical engineering and sustainable design services for the 240-bed complex, working with NBBJ Architects.

Earlier this year, the building earned a LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Green features include an energy efficient heating and ventilation system, bioswales, recycled building materials and siting that reduced excavation requirements.

The ASHRAE awards recognize innovative design for energy management, indoor air quality and mechanical design.

Otak wins work in Olympia, Marysville

The city of Olympia selected Otak for improvements to the Harrison Avenue/Kaiser Road intersection. The core of the improvements, estimated to cost $1.2 million, involves constructing a signalized intersection and providing five vehicle lanes on Harrison Avenue.

In Marysville, Otak was selected as a subconsultant on the Sunnyside Boulevard expansion. Otak’s work will involve designing a low-impact development drainage system and a fish-passage culvert, providing bridge scour services and facilitating stream and wetland mitigation.

The project involves crossing both Allen and Jones creeks, as well as coordination with the Tulalip tribe’s restoration of the Qwuloolt floodplain wetlands.

“The growth of multidisciplinary firms really draws attention to how complex engineering, architecture and transportation projects have truly become,” said Dyanne Sheldon, Otak’s natural resources manager.

AIA awards Nov. 6 at McCaw Hall

The AIA Seattle 2006 Honor Awards will be Monday, Nov. 6, at McCaw Hall. This year’s theme is “Living Change: Architecture Enriching Human Experience.”

The Honor Awards Committee is chaired by Steve McConnell. The jury includes Ed Feiner, Margaret Helfand, James Timberlake and Daniel Friedman. Friedman is dean of University of Washington's College of Architecture and Urban Design.

Projects include institutional and cultural facilities, single-family and community residences, significant commercial and retail structures, as well as historic, urban design and interiors projects, located in Washington and in other locations around the world.

The jury will convene this weekend to review projects by viewing digital photos and making site visits.

For information, go to ww.aiaseattle.org. The event begins at 6 p.m. with a reception and no-host bar. The awards ceremony starts at 7. Cost is $18 for AIA Seattle members and affiliate members, and $20 for non-members.

Olson speaks on art and architecture

Jim Olson of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen will speak at 7:30 tonight on his new book, “Art + Architecture: The Ebsworth Collection and Residence.” The free event will be at Elliott Bay Book Co. at 101 S. Main St.

An American Institute of Architects Fellow, Olson is known for his ability to create environments for art and is sought after by collectors for his use of light, space and proportion.

Olson will talk about the recently completed Lake Washington residence for Barney Ebsworth which frames a collection of 20th century American Art, including works by Jasper Johns, Joseph Stella and Willem de Kooning.

Spots open on city design review boards

The city of Seattle is looking for qualified candidates to fill upcoming openings on the Design Review Board. The positions will be open in April, when retiring board members’ terms expire.

The city is looking for professionals in the design and development fields. Board members are appointed by the mayor and City Council and serve two-year terms which may be renewed once.

Members serve on one of seven boards that review projects in the city’s major geographic districts; each board has five members. Representatives are needed from the northwest, northeast, Queen Anne/Magnolia, southeast, southwest and downtown areas. The city also needs community and business leaders with an interest in shaping new development in their neighborhoods, and a passion for keeping Seattle a great place to live, work and play.

Send an application, cover letter and resume by Dec. 13 addressed to Tom Iurino, Design Review Board, Department of Planning and Development, City of Seattle, 700 Fifth Ave. Suite 2000, Box 34019, Seattle, WA 98124-4019. Iurino’s phone is (206) 615-1457 and his e-mail is tom.iurino@seattle.gov.

Portland firm featured in magazine

Giffin Bolte Jurgens Architects, a Portland architecture firm specializing in health care facilities, recently had two projects profiled in the Healthcare Design Architectural Showcase issue.

The firm designed the light-filled pediatric facility Mary Bridge Children’s Health Center in Tacoma. It also designed the St. Peter Hospital Emergency Center in Olympia. The firm also completed a renovation at Providence St. Peter Hospital between 2000 and 2004.

The issue is published annually by Healthcare Design Magazine and the Center for Health Design. Each year, 200 completed projects are submitted and reviewed by a panel of health care professionals and architects.

Amy Haugerud wins Cashman Award

Amy J. Haugerud, the founder of the civil engineering firm RoseWater Engineering, recently won the 2006 Nellie Cashman Award. The award celebrates the achievements of women who show leadership in business and community involvement.

Haugerud founded RoseWater in 1983 and is president, chief financial officer and a member of the board of directors. Outside of RoseWater, Haugerud volunteers for several community organizations including United Way, Water for Life, the University of Washington, Pike Place Market Foundation, YWCA and Habitat for Humanity.

The Nellie Cashman Award is named for a woman who came to the eastern United States from Ireland in the 1860s, then headed West and ran a restaurant as well as several businesses.

PCS Structural wins ‘Best Firm to Work For’

PCS Structural Solutions, which has offices in Seattle and Tacoma, recently placed second in Structural Engineer magazine’s Best Structural Engineering Firms To Work For contest, behind industry leader Walter P. Moore. PCS Principals Jim Collins and Craig Stauffer attended an event in Chicago earlier this month to receive the award.

The award program relies mostly on the feedback and evaluations of employees. PCS employees’ responses to the employee satisfaction survey were favorable in the areas of trustworthiness and competence of the leadership team, involvement in philanthropic and community service activities, and quality of work the firm provides clients. PCS employs 50 in Seattle and Tacoma.

SMPS conference Thursday, Friday

The Society for Marketing Professional Services Northwest regional conference runs 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel, 1320 Broadway Plaza.

This year’s conference is titled “Key to Success: Opening New Doors in Marketing,” and will have educational sessions focused on the theme “Communicate, collaborate and build.”

The keynote speaker Thursday morning will be Peter van Stolk, president and CEO of Jones Soda, Inc. Lectures will include “Marketing Metrics: How to Measure Return on Investment,” by Sally Handley. Stu Rose will speak on “The Key to Winning Proposals.”

For more information, call (206) 689-0430 or e-mail Stacey D’Alessandro at stacey.dalessandro@lewisbuilds.com.

Architecture guides wanted, will train

If you’ve ever thought about being a Seattle Architecture Foundation tour guide, now is your chance. The organization will have its first tour guide open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 on the third level of Rainier Square Atrium, 1333 Fifth Ave.

Seattle Architecture Foundation members will discuss SAF tours, tour guide needs and expectations, and offer testimonials from experienced tour guides.

To RSVP or for more information, e-mail info@seattlearchitecture.org, or call (206) 667-9184 by Oct. 30.

MAS meeting in Spokane on branding

The Marketing Associates of Spokane will hear Rick Hosmer, the creative director and principal of the firm Klundt Hosmer, and art director Lorri Johnston speak about “Branding, Beyond Your Logo” at noon Nov. 9, at the Spokane Red Lion River Inn, 700 N. Division St.

Klundt Hosmer is a Spokane brand identity firm. Hosmer and Johnston will give practical, inexpensive tools to help shape a firm’s brand. They will discuss evaluating a brand, improving it and establishing brand loyalty.

Cost is $15 for MAS members and $25 for non-members. For more information, call Leslie White at (509) 328-2994 or e-mail white@coffman.com.

Architecture billings look strong for 2007

The Architecture Billings Index, an economic indicator of nonresidential construction activity, showed modest growth in September, after a surge in the August figures.

Based on the nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending, the recent growth in billings points to a healthy 2007 in the nonresidential construction market, according to Architecture Billings Index.

“The last two years have been the longest run of positive business conditions since early 1998 through the end of 2000,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “While the last quarter has seen mostly moderate growth, the inquiries for new projects have been quite strong which suggests that there could be a spike in demand for architectural services in the coming months.”

Anderson, Berger new WASLA Fellows

The Washington State chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects will recognize the state's newest Fellows — Charles M. Anderson and Thomas L. Berger — at an Oct. 26 event. It begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be held at Henry Art Gallery at University of Washington.

The event will also feature a reunion of past inductees into the Council of Fellows from Washington state including Kenichi Nakano, Richard Haag and Ilze Jones.

The reception will be followed by a lecture on “Change, Continuity, and Civic Ambition: Balancing Design and Historic Preservation,” by Charles Birnbaum, director of the Cultural Landscape Foundation.

Berger founded The Berger Partnership in 1971, and has helped it grow into one of the largest site planning and landscape architectural firms in the Northwest. The Berger Partnership has received design awards for Cal Anderson Park, Islandwood and the REI flagship store in Seattle.

Charles Anderson co-founded Anderson & Ray in 1984, which became Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture in 2001. He is known for a modernist approach to design, a focus on urban ecology and extensive use of native plants. He has worked on Seattle's Trillium Projects, St. Helens Visitor Centers, the Arthur Ross Terrace in New York and Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park.

The new Fellows were inducted during the ASLA Annual Meeting in Minneapolis on Oct. 7.

NWAIA taking award nominations

The Northwest Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is looking for project entries for the NWAIA Chapter Awards, which will be held Dec. 8.

Projects designed by a licensed architect whose office is located within the NWAIA chapter boundaries of Island, San Juan, Skagit or Whatcom counties, or projects by NWAIA member architects are eligible. The submitting architect must be the “Architect of Record” for the subject projects.

The categories are built and unbuilt. The projects are due Nov. 17. For more information contact Sarah Allen at (360) 734-4744.

Mithun's Connolly on Design Commission

Mithun architect Brendan Connolly is a new member of the Seattle Design Commission. He was appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels and approved by the Seattle City Council for a term that began Oct. 1. Connolly is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Washington's master of architecture program.

The Seattle Design Commission advises the mayor, City Council and city departments on capital improvement projects as well as projects on city land, in the city right-of-way or constructed with city dollars.

A look at hydraulic engineering in Europe

Christopher Goodell, a senior hydraulic engineer with West Consultants of Salem, Ore., will speak at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 1 at the Society of American Military Engineers Portland Post monthly meeting.

Goodell will talk about hydraulic works in Europe. The presentation will cover a range of topics, from flood defense structures to large alpine dams, including a major dam failure in Italy.

From the lowlands of The Netherlands to the Swiss Alps, hydraulic engineering works in Europe are both innovative and large in scale.

Cost is $20, and the location is 112 S.W. Second Ave., Portland. For information, call Larry Greep at (503) 823-6900.

BetterBricks Awards coming Oct. 27

On Oct. 27, the BetterBricks Awards will be presented to five local firms for advancing sustainable design and operations in commercial buildings. In the running are architects, engineers, owners, developers, service providers and facility managers. Finalists include David Miller of the Miller/Hull Partnership, Dale Sperling of Unico Properties, Douglas C. Smith of Interface Engineering and Dale Anderson of BRCA Architects.

BetterBricks is a program of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, a nonprofit supported by Northwest electric utilities. The event will be at Bell Harbor Pier 66, 2211 Alaskan Way. For information, call (503) 241-1124, or go to http://www.betterbricks.com.

LEED gold for Yesler Community Center

Mithun’s Yesler Community Center has earned a LEED gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The design focuses on daylighting, energy and water conservation. More than 75 percent of space is naturally lit. Water-efficient landscaping and fixtures achieve a 30 percent reduction in overall water use, compared to a more conventional structure. The building is also a recent recipient of a Washington State AIA Civic Award, as well as first place chapter and regional ASHRAE Technology Awards for Public Assembly Buildings.

Yesler Community Center is located in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood. The building has FSC-certified maple in key public spaces; linoleum flooring and low-emitting materials used in the childcare room.

It is designed so all rooms need only natural light at mid-day. Clerestory windows and skylights are balanced with high-efficiency fluorescent lights that dim or switch off automatically. In the summer the gym can be used as late as 7:30 p.m. without lights.

ALSC expands Tri-Cities office

ALSC Architects has relocated its Tri-Cities office to a larger space to accommodate more workers. The new office is located at 8131 W. Grandridge Blvd., Suite 101, in Kennewick.

ALSC is working on regional projects including the city of Kennewick Shops, Kennewick City Hall, Bagley Dental Clinic, Bank Reale and Kiona-Benton City High School.

ALSC also provides master planning, programming, interior design, cost estimating, project management and construction management services.

Kundig is on AIA awards jury

Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects is serving as a juror for the 2007 National American Institute of Architects Honor Awards for Architecture.

The awards will be given out next year at the national AIA convention in San Antonio.

Kundig was awarded two national AIA Honor Awards in 2004. This fall, he is a visiting design critic at Syracuse University.