Biden to speak in Seattle May 3

Former Vice President Joe Biden will talk about the future of communities at 5 p.m. May 3 at Washington State Convention Center in Seattle as part of the 25th annual Congress for the New Urbanism May 3-6.

More than 1,400 people are expected to attend the 25th annual Congress. It will explore intersections between growth, equity, transportation and urban form.

Congress for the New Urbanism is a Washington, D.C.-based national association of urban designers, planners and thinkers. The Seattle conference will include national and local experts, workshops and tours.

A free kick-off event titled “The Suburbanization of Poverty” is from 6 to 8 p.m. May 2 at Benaroya Recital Hall.

The cost to attend the Congress is $525 for members and $725 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/iysoky/.

Biden's “fireside chat” is co-sponsored by the Urban Land Institute.

AIA forum on future buildings

Luebkeman

AIA Seattle will present a forum titled “Future Ready Buildings” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 25 at Metropolist, 2931 First Ave. S. in Seattle.

It will explore trends such as disruptive technologies and data-driven design. There will be lightning talks, panel discussions and presentations on how to make buildings and cities future-ready, and whether architects act as creators or curators.

Dr. Chris Luebkeman of Arup Foresight will give the keynote address.

Speakers include Lindsay Baker of Comfy, Michael Bergin of AutoDesk Research, Jim Davidson of James Davidson Architects, Herbert Els of WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff, Fran Heller of G2G, Chad W. Jennings of Google, Matthew Peck of Onvia, Philip Speranza of the University of Oregon, Sam Stubblefield of NBBJ and Stephen Van Dyck of LMN Architects.

Cost is $238 for members and government/partners, and $426 for non-members (including breakfast, lunch and light refreshments). Cost increases 15 percent after May 8. Register at http://tiny.cc/vfjmky/.

AIA billings index went up in March

Architecture billings rose in March, the American Institute of Architects said in a press release.

The Architecture Billings Index was 54.3 in March, up from 50.7 the previous month, reflecting a sizable increase in demand for design services, the AIA said. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.

The ABI reflects the approximate nine to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.

AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said the first quarter ended on an upswing before the traditionally busy spring season: “All sectors showed growth except for the commercial/industrial market, which, for the first time in over a year displayed a decrease in design services.”

The Midwest scored the highest, at 54.6, followed by the South at 52.6, the Northeast at 52.4 and the West at 50.2. Multifamily residential scored 54.6, mixed practice was 53.7, institutional was 52.9 and commercial/industrial was 49.8.

Living Building program on May 1

AIA Seattle will hold a free panel discussion on the Seattle Living Building Pilot Program from 5:30 to 7 p.m. May 1 at 1010 Western Ave. in Seattle.

The event was organized by AIA Seattle's Committee on the Environment, and Cascadia Green Building Council's Seattle Collaborative.

The discussion will focus on the newly enacted Living Building Pilot Program, including its viability and profitability in the current real estate market.

Panelists are Brett Phillips of Unico Properties, Alicia Daniels Uhlig of the International Living Future Institute, Joanna Callahan of Hess Callahan Partners, Andy Lee of Architecture 2030 and Jess Harris of Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections.

R.S.V.P. at http://tiny.cc/by9zjy/. Food and beverages will be provided.

Free talk on house design history here

Architectural historian Jeffrey Karl Ochsner will give a free talk on Seattle's single-family architecture from the 1880s to the 2000s at 1 p.m. Saturday at Seattle Public Library.

Ochsner has taught in the University of Washington department of architecture for 29 years. He has written and edited five books on Seattle's architectural and urban history, including the Second Edition of “Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects.”

Seattle Architecture Foundation is presenting the lecture in collaboration with Seattle Public Library.

R.S.V.P. at http://tiny.cc/q2anky/.

SMPS forum on how to get work

SMPS Seattle will hold its quarterly fellows forum titled “Research to Win Work — Preparing for Success” from 4 to 7 p.m. May 4 at Hart Crowser, 3131 Elliott Ave. in Seattle.

SMPS fellows will talk about how to ensure your company is doing all it can to bring in a steady stream of work.

The fellows are Bill Strong of Bill Strong Consulting, Carla Thompson of NAC Architecture, Karleen Belmont of Pace Engineers, Ted Sive of Ted Sive Consulting and Victoria Cooper of Cooper Architects.

Cost is $30 for members, $40 for member firms and $45 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/rcqiky/.

Preservation Race in Tacoma May 7

Registration is open for Tacoma's Amazing Preservation Race at 11 a.m. May 7, which will begin on the University of Washington Tacoma campus stairs at 1754 Pacific Ave.

The race is as part of Historic Preservation Month. Participants will race across downtown Tacoma as they learn about the city's historic and cultural resources.

In a press release, Lauren Hoogkamer, Tacoma's historic preservation coordinator, said: “Our theme this year is ‘Tacoma's Maritime History: Rails to Sails', because we're highlighting the Prairie Line Trail and Tacoma's inclusion in the proposed National Maritime Heritage Area.”

Registration is $50 for a team of up to four people and $25 for a team of up to two and includes a T-shirt designed by ETC Tacoma. The top three teams win a grand prize.

Register at http://tiny.cc/pqklky/.

AIA program on private schools

AIA Seattle will hold a free program on designing independent schools from 5 to 6:30 p.m. April 25 at 1010 Western Ave. in Seattle.

The event was organized by the Committee on Architecture for Education.

Panelists will explore campus environments and educational mission. They are Kent Hickey of Seattle Preparatory School, Rob Phillips of Seattle Academy, Jay Franklin of The Bush School and Mike McGill of The Northwest School. The moderator is Ruth Baleiko of The Miller Hull Partnership.

R.S.V.P. at http://tiny.cc/59xyjy/.

Historic preservation nominations due

Nominations for the 2017 Historic Preservation Awards from the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission are due by April 24.

Apply at http://tiny.cc/dfmlky/. Categories include housing, commercial, planning, policy, leadership, heritage events and collaboration.

The awards ceremony is at 1 p.m. May 20 at Slavonian Hall, 2306 N. 30th St. in Tacoma. It is free and open to the public.

Historian Mary Bowlby, director of the Job Carr Cabin Museum, will lead a walking tour titled “Tacoma Maritime: More than Sailors & Ships.” R.S.V.P. at http://tiny.cc/ggmlky/.

SMPS fellows teach marketing course

SMPS Seattle will present a five-part workshop titled “AEC Marketing 101” from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in May at Sellen Construction, 227 Westlake Ave. N. in Seattle.

The presenters are SMPS fellows Bill Strong, owner of Bill Strong Consulting, and Carla Thompson, chief marketing officer of NAC Architecture.

The sessions are Marketing Overview; Marketing and Business Development Plans and Budgets; PR & Communications; Proposal Power; and Shortlist Interviews.

Cost is $225 for members, $275 for member firms and $325 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/57ogky/.

Marijana Cvencek wins Young Architect Award

Cvencek

AIA Seattle selected Marijana Cvencek, an associate at Baylis Architects, for its 2017 Young Architect Award.

Cvencek left post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2005 and became an architect in 2013.

At Baylis, she has been project manager for the Eddy at Green Lake Village and Greenwood Phase III, both mixed-use apartment projects in Seattle.

Cvencek is a member of the AIA Diversity Roundtable, where she leads the Architects in Schools Program. The program expands awareness of the architectural profession to children of diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds through collaboration among DRT, St. Edward Elementary and the University of Washington. She also is a vice-chair on the Wellspring Family Services' inaugural associate board, helping with the agency's efforts to alleviate Seattle's family homelessness situation.

Cvencek is moving to Schemata Workshop on May 1.

Pioneer Square board members sought

The city is seeking a retail business owner, a historian, a property owner and a member-at-large to fill four positions on the Pioneer Square Preservation Board.

The 10-member board reviews facade alterations, signs, new construction, changes-of-use and street improvements, and makes recommendations to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods director for properties in the Pioneer Square Preservation District.

Appointments are made by the mayor, subject to city council confirmation.

Seattle residents can apply by sending a letter of interest and resume by April 27 to genna.nashem@seattle.gov or to Genna Nashem, Pioneer Square Preservation Board Coordinator, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle, WA 98124-4649. Nashem is at (206) 684-0227.

SMPS: Learn about delivery methods

SMPS Seattle will present a program titled “Demystifying Delivery Methods” from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. April 25 at Washington Athletic Club, 1325 Sixth Ave. in Seattle.

Topics include the benefits and disadvantages of various approaches to construction delivery and real-world strategies to help position your firm for the delivery method at hand.

The speakers will discuss design-bid-build, GC/CM and design-build. They are Rustin Hall of ALSC Architects and Tim Graybeal of Lydig Construction.

Cost is $45 for members, $55 for member firms and $65 for non-members before April 19. It is $10 more after that.

Register for the breakfast meeting at http://tiny.cc/gy01jy/.

Film focuses on Jane Jacobs, Robert Moses

Northwest Film Forum will present a film about the battle between activist Jane Jacobs and the “master builder” of New York, Robert Moses, at 7:30 p.m. Friday at 1515 12th Ave. in Seattle.

“Citizen Jane: Battle for the City,” is directed by journalist and documentarian Matt Tyrnauer.

After World War II, Moses transformed New York City by bulldozing its poorest sections and erecting in their place concrete-slab housing and superhighways. Against this view, Jacobs published her book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” in 1961, which condemned the reconfiguration of cities and argued for urban planning that prioritizes people who live in the cities, not the cars driving through them.

Samuel Assefa, director of Seattle's Executive Office of Planning & Community Development, will introduce the film, which Arcade is co-presenting.

Buy tickets at http://tinyurl.com/ktw6s7l/.

Event focuses on designing abroad

AIA Seattle will hold a free program titled “Practice Abroad: How Can International Experience Make Us All Better?” from 5 to 7:30 p.m. April 12 at 1010 Western Ave. in Seattle.

The event was organized by the Seattle International Architecture Forum of AIA Seattle.

Panelists are Kendall Strong of ZGF Architects, Kun Lim of Kun Lim Studio, and Doug Streeter, formerly of Perkins + Will. The moderator is Boris Srdar of NAC Architecture. All have worked abroad.

Register at http://tiny.cc/t2xyjy/.

SDA: retirement plans for businesses

Lightle

Peterson

The Seattle Chapter of the Society for Design Administration will present a program on “Financial Strategies in the Business Environment” at 5:30 p.m. April 20 at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Seattle.

Kevin Peterson, a financial adviser at Eagle Strategies, and Curt Lightle, owner of planning firm Radwick & Lightle, will discuss retirement plan strategies for you and your employees.

Topics include recent investment market changes, what it means to have a qualified/non-qualified retirement plan and how to structure a plan that appeals to employees.

Cost is $37 for members, $43 for member firms and $48 for non-members; dinner is included.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/lpd67w7/.

Design festival seeks proposals

The 2017 Seattle Design Festival has issued a call for proposals for programs, exhibits, lectures, installations and events.

Proposals are due by May 5. The rules are at http://tinyurl.com/lbtzvhg/.

“Power” is the theme of this year's festival. It will focus on how design has the power to drive positive change and what the Seattle design community should do with that power.

The seventh annual design festival runs Sept. 9-22 at the Center for Architecture & Design and other venues in the city. It is presented by Design in Public, an initiative of AIA Seattle, in collaboration with community organizations.

SAF event highlights next-gen materials

Seattle Architecture Foundation will hold a program titled “PNW Materiality|Materials of the Future” at 6:30 p.m. April 18 at 1010 Western Ave. in Seattle.

The program will look at material and construction process advancements that are influencing the next generation of buildings.

Speakers are Amir Lofti of CallisonRTKL and Setion Branko of Gensler. The moderator is Jason Lear of Batt + Lear.

The event includes a free reception at 5:30 p.m., with light fare and beverages. Tickets are $15, or $10 for members. Buy them at http://tiny.cc/yo4ujy/.

The program is part of SAF's “Design in Depth 2017|Two x Two” series.

Tips on buying, fixing historic homes

The city of Tacoma's Historic Preservation Office will present a free workshop on “Buying an Old House” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at 1532 N. Anderson St. in Tacoma.

Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Jeff Williams will lead the program on buying and renovating historic homes. A Realtor, he has been buying, renovating and selling historic homes for over 20 years. He will talk about his latest project on Anderson Street.

Historic Preservation Office staff will discuss financial incentives for rehabilitating homes on the Tacoma Register of Historic Places.

R.S.V.P. at http://tiny.cc/sd11jy/.

Tom Clark heads AIA health group

Clark

Tom Clark, a founding principal of Portland-based Clark/Kjos Architects, was elected president of the American Institute of Architects' Academy of Architecture for Health.

Clark has been an AAH board member since 2015. As president, Clark will lead a knowledge community of over 7,000 health care architects, designers, and other health industry members, his firm said in a press release.

The academy provides information to support the design of healthy environments, with education and networking for members and other organizations.

Clark's designs have received awards from the American Institute of Architects, Modern Healthcare and Healthcare Design, and his work has been in Modern Healthcare, Healthcare Design and Contract.