Program offers quick architecture overview

Goodspeed

Seattle Architecture Foundation will present a virtual program titled “History of Western Architecture in 90 minutes!” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 30.

Architect Jim Goodspeed will offer an overview that starts with Greek architecture and ends with the present day. Examples of historic styles will be applied to Seattle buildings, including the downtown core and residential neighborhoods.

Goodspeed is the principal at Goodspeed Architecture in Seattle. He gained an appreciation for architecture history while traveling, studying and working in Europe. He leads tours as a volunteer for SAF and plays a role in the training of its incoming tour guides.

The program is free to members, and $5 for others. Register at http://www.tinyurl.com/htxfjx7a.

AIA: Growth for custom residential sectors

Custom residential architects have fared surprisingly well despite the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the design and construction sector, according to new data from the American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey, focusing on kitchens and bathrooms.

In a press release, the AIA said the results showed continued demand during 2020 for kitchen and bathroom design features that are accessible to all people regardless of age or ability — known as universal design. Outdoor cooking spaces were the leading kitchen trend — for the fourth year in a row — while larger walk-in showers topped the list of popular features for bathrooms. There's also increasing popularity for hands-free/sensor faucets in kitchens and bathrooms; pantry space; and outdoor showers.

“Features like larger pantry space to accommodate more food storage and hands-free faucets are likely part of the long-term impact of the pandemic on home design,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “While the pandemic has created sluggish conditions in the nonresidential sector, residential architects are optimistic as project backlogs remain healthy.”

The findings also revealed residential architecture firm business conditions for the fourth quarter of 2020, which included:

• All custom residential sectors reported growth with home improvement continuing to report the strongest gains.

• On average firms estimate a 4% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

The survey is conducted quarterly with a panel of more than 500 architecture firms that concentrate their practice in the residential sector.

Energy code webinar April 8

AIA Seattle's Northwest Washington Section will present a webinar titled “2018 WA State Energy Code – Commercial Highlights” from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 8.

The training will provide an overview of substantive multi-discipline updates in the commercial 2018 WSEC.

The presenter is Lisa Rosenow, director of energy code services at Evergreen Technology Consulting. She manages the technical support program for the commercial Washington State Energy Code. Prior to that, she was a mechanical engineering designer for 15 years.

Cost is $90, or $60 for members. Register at tinyurl.com/4hxx4yz7.

SMPS seeks Reign Awards entries

The Society for Marketing Professional Services Seattle Chapter is accepting entries for the 2021 Reign Awards, which recognize excellence in marketing communications and outstanding achievements of marketing professionals.

The early bird deadline for marketing and communications projects and individual merit entries is April 17 and the final deadline is May 6. Member and non-member firms and individuals may submit an entry at tinyurl.com/madbduu6.

The virtual awards gala will be held June 16.

GoGreen confab on April 6

The 2021 GoGreen Conference will be held virtually April 6, with a focus on Climate Pledge action, diversifying the climate movement and meeting decarbonization measures.

The conference, created by Social Enterprises Inc., is billed as a sustainability learning experience for community leaders, business and public sector decision-makers.

Topics include:

• Action in the Decarbonization Movement: How We Succeed

• Effective Partnerships: Building an Equitable and Clean Energy Future

• Net Zero Energy Renovations for Existing Buildings: Design for a Sustainable Future

• Not Just Straws! The Plastic Problem - Let's Talk Realistic and Achievable Solutions

• Social and Environmental Imperative: Diversifying the Climate Movement

• Sports Venues Take The Climate Pledge: Commitments and Action

• The Path to Zero Waste: Cost-effective Solutions for Small Businesses

The keynote speaker is Colleen Echohawk, executive director of Chief Seattle Club. Other speakers include Dana Clare Redden, founder of Solar Stewards; Garry Gilliam, former Seattle Seahawks player and founder of The Bridge: Eco Village; Roger Frechette, managing principal of Interface Engineering; Stacey Smedley, director of sustainability for Skanska; Rob Johnson, vice president, sustainability and transportation, Climate Pledge Arena; and Yolanda Cole, owner, Hickok Cole Architects.

Cost is $75. Register at tinyurl.com/45hvf36c.

AIA Seattle looks at post-COVID urbanism

AIA Seattle's Urban Design Forum will hold a free online program titled “Post-COVID Urbanism” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 24.

According to the event announcement, the impacts of COVID-19 have burdened the local economy. Small businesses and the food and drink industry have been particularly hard hit, where indoor spaces have severe capacity constraints or have been closed altogether, many permanently. To maintain economic stability and resilience, temporary measures of tactical urbanism in Seattle streets have become the new normal.

The program will focus on opportunities and challenges regarding the measures the city of Seattle implemented to mitigate the pandemic's impact. You will hear from the community and the city, and a small business owner about the measures, such as Stay Healthy Streets, Stay Healthy Blocks and street closure permits for pedestrian access. Panelists will assess the impact on local communities and how much of this new right-of-way infrastructure is here to stay.

Panelists include Susan McLaughlin, Seattle Department of Transportation urban design; Alyse Nelson, SDOT public space management, manager; Robin Randels, founder of Greenwood Phinney Greenways; Terry Holme of Rainier Valley Greenways; and Taylor McAtee, owner of Snapshot Brewing in Greenwood.

Register at tinyurl.com/3mhb89kk.

Meeting today on new Bellevue housing policy

The Bellevue City Council recently adopted Action C-1, which focuses on making it easier to build affordable housing on select faith-, nonprofit- and publicly- owned land.

In a press release, the city said this new policy will provide a modest density bonus that can make affordable housing projects more feasible. The next step in the process is developing the land use codes that provide more specific guidance.

As staff works on the draft land use code, the city said it wants to understand how to ensure potential development is compatible with the neighborhoods. So it is inviting residents and other stakeholders to attend an Affordable Housing Community Conversation from 6 to 7:30 p.m. today. To attend, RSVP at tinyurl.com/ac4p3fy8.

The city's Affordable Housing Strategy was adopted in 2017 and sets a goal of creating 2,500 affordable homes over 10 years. To learn more visit http://www.engagingbellevue.com/affordable-housing-strategy.

ASLA Woman2Woman campaign underway

The American Society of Landscape Architects has launched the 2021 #Woman2Woman campaign in honor of Women's History Month.

Focused on connecting women in landscape architecture, the campaign highlights the stories, challenges and advice of women in the field at all stages of their careers.

The program includes:

• Ongoing social media highlights from ASLA women professionals, including recent graduates and the organization's fellows and honor recipients.

• An interdisciplinary panel entitled “Hear Their Voices: Inspiring Stories from Women Leaders in Design Education” at 2 p.m. March 25. Register at tinyurl.com/cyzh6ee3.

Eugenia Martin, ASLA president-elect, said the organization hopes the campaign “will support and strengthen the community of strong, dedicated women within ASLA and the profession, as well as encourage other women to join.”

How to research a building's history

A free online workshop at 7 p.m. March 23 aims to teach people how to do historic research in Tacoma.

Historic Tacoma, the City of Tacoma's Historic Preservation Office and Northwest Vernacular are presenting the workshop designed to help people do historical research about a building or house and answer questions like: How old is it? What type of architecture is it? Who lived there? Who designed/built it?

The workshop is being held in conjunction with the McKinley History Project, which is a historic building inventory of the McKinley neighborhood in Tacoma to learn about the places and people that make it unique.

The event link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89758956621 and the webinar ID is 897 5895 6621

Go to http://www.HistoricTacoma.org/McKinley for more information.

Lisa Richmond leaving AIA Seattle

Lisa Richmond

Lisa Richmond said she will be stepping down as executive director of the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects at the end of June.

In a statement, Richmond said that after 14 “wonderful years” with AIA Seattle, she plans to take a gap year to spend time with family, travel and explore new ideas.

Richmond said that working with AIA Seattle has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

“We have accomplished so much together: successfully advocating for local policy change to promote an equitable, well designed, and sustainable city; creating the Seattle Design Festival and the Center for Architecture and Design; leading the Institute through national education programs like AIA+2030 and Materials Matter; and elevating the ideas and interests of AIA members through myriad committees and events,” she said.

The board of directors is working with an executive search firm and will soon be sharing more information about an executive director hiring process.

Richmond said she remains invested in AIA Seattle's success, and "plans to set your new director up for success.”

Richmond is also stepping down as executive director of Design in Public.

AIA program on your career and a recession

AIA Seattle's Women in Design Committee will offer a free webinar titled Navigating Your Career Through a Recession from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 25.

The event includes a panel and small group discussions aimed at providing design professionals and business leaders with strategies and resources for navigating a financial recession. Topics will include how career stage, firm size and market sector influence a firm's or person's experience with a recession.

The panelists are Nomi Cooper of CallisonRTKL, Ami DiMarco of CBRE, Michele M. Hill of Broderick Architects, Cory Hitzemann of Coughlin Porter Lundeen and Grace H. Kim of Schemata Workshop. The moderator is Anna Leach of CallisonRTKL.

Register at tinyurl.com/4sdap7fb.

This is the first session in the 2021 Business of Architecture series presented by the Women in Design Committee.

Evaluating a building after a disaster

AIA Seattle will present the 2021 AIA Disaster Assistance Program: Building Evaluator Training from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 31 and April 1.

The course for licensed architects, engineers or certified building inspectors certifies attendees as Building Evaluators in the nationally recognized Safety Assessment Program managed by Cal OES with cooperation from professional organizations, including the AIA.

It uses volunteers and mutual aid resources to provide engineers, architects and building inspectors to assist local governments in safety evaluation of their built environment in an aftermath of a disaster. SAP is the training standard of the AIA Disaster Assistance Program. It provides leadership, advocacy and training to architects who are interested in volunteering their professional skills in times of crisis.

This workshop teaches participants to conduct rapid damage assessments of structures affected by earthquakes, wind and water. Upon completion, participants will be able to assess structures for habitability and will receive a nationally recognized Cal OES registration ID card from the state of California.

The speakers are Behrooz (Ben) Emam, senior manager with AWS Architecture, Civil, & Structural Engineering, and Rachel Minnery, director, built environment policy of the American Institute of Architects.

Cost for the webinar is $130 for members and $250 for non-members. Register at tinyurl.com/2pfya55p.

SMPS fellows discuss training technical staff

The Seattle chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Service will present a virtual fellows forum on why marketing and business development training is needed for technical staff from 3 to 5 p.m. April 1.

The fellows will discuss why it's critical to provide the training to staff across all disciplines and levels of experience as it will help staff achieve the firm's business goals and advance their careers.

The fellows are Vicky Cooper, president of Cooper Architects; Kenda Salisbury, business development manager of Degenkolb Engineers; Ted Sive, principal of Ted Sive Consulting; Bill Strong, owner of Bill Strong Consulting; and Carla Thompson, senior consultant and CMO-To-Go of Elevate Marketing Advisors.

Cost is $30 for members and $45 for guests. Register at tinyurl.com/ask3w9zs.

Join Redmond Human Services Commission

The city of Redmond is seeking candidates for its Human Services Commission, which advises the mayor and city council on general human services issues and makes specific funding recommendations as part of the city's budget process every two years.

Candidates must live or work in Redmond and be interested in a broad spectrum of human service issues, including basic needs, health care, counseling, domestic violence and family support.

To learn more about the commission or to apply, go to http://www.redmond.gov/Commissions.

There is no deadline, but interested people are encouraged to apply by March 15. Positions remain open until filled.

For questions, contact Alaric Bien at abien@redmond.gov or Brooke Buckingham at bbuckingham@redmond.gov.

Program focuses on schools, decarbonization

Svec

Goodman

Brown

Fa'amoe-Cross

AIA Seattle's Committee on the Environment will present a webinar titled Seattle Public Schools & Decarbonization from noon to 1 p.m. March 10.

According to the event announcement, the school district has for over a decade been working to integrate sustainable best practices into its institution from the top down, bottom up and middle out. It has been able to produce measurable results in energy, water, waste and food system savings that have added up to $1.4 million in annual savings for the district. Winning the Green Ribbon Award for sustainable school districts over many years has prepared the district to look ahead toward a new vision: be zero-waste by 2030 and carbon positive and a Responsible Water District by 2040.

Speakers are Rina Fa'amoe-Cross, Ian A. Brown and Graham Goodman, resource conservation specialists with Seattle Public Schools. The moderator is Phaedra Svec, director of regenerative design at McLennan Design.

Register for the free event at tinyurl.com/4b4569hp.

AIA: Design demand is still depressed

A slight improvement in business conditions has led to fewer architecture firms reporting declining billings, according to the American Institute of Architects.

AIA's Architecture Billings Index score for January was 44.9 compared to 42.3 in December (any score below 50 indicates a decline in firm billings).

In a press release, AIA said overall revenue at U.S architecture firms continued to decline from December to January, however, the pace of decline slowed. Inquiries into new projects during January grew for the second month in a row, with a score of 56.8 compared to 51.7 in December. The value of new design contracts rose to a score of 48.8 in January from 47 the previous month.

“The broader economy entered a soft spot during the fourth quarter of last year, and business conditions at design firms have reflected this general slowdown,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker. “While federal stimulus and the increasing pace of vaccinations may begin to accelerate progress in the coming months, the year has gotten off to a slow start, with architecture firms in all regions of the country and in all specializations reporting continued declines in project billings.”

The South scored 47.4, followed by the West at 42.8, the Midwest at 42.2 and the Northeast at 41.9.

Mixed practice scored 47.9, followed by multifamily at 44.4, commercial/industrial at 44.3 and institutional at 39.9.

Program on resiliency efforts March 5

AIA Seattle's Adaptation and Resilience Committee is hosting a series of four panel discussions during 2021 to highlight regional resiliency efforts in architecture and planning through four lenses – assessment, analysis, implementation and engagement.

The first session in the Conversations Toward Resilience series is focused on assessment. The session will be held virtually from noon to 1:15 p.m. March 5. It will establish an understanding of current local conditions, hazards and risks and level of preparedness.

Curry Mayer, emergency management director for the city of Seattle, and Danielle Purnell, director of corporate policy at Seattle Public Utilities, will discuss evolution of risk over time and provide a perspective on their organizations' risk mitigation planning and evaluation of continual risks. Presentations will leave time for an attendee Q&A with a focus on improving awareness and participation by the design and construction community in improving resilience in the region.

Register for the free event at tinyurl.com/tu9y33ja.

SMPS: Strengthen your digital presence

The Society for Marketing Professional Services Seattle Chapter will host a virtual workshop titled How To Build Awareness Through A Stronger Digital Presence from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 17.

The workshop will help you discover what you can do to strengthen your company's digital presence and better position your brand to reach your audience.

Speakers are Brianna Home, Ron Hansen and Georgia Blerot of Hansen Belyea, a marketing and branding agency. They are principal/strategic director, principal/ design director, and project manager, respectively.

Tickets are $45, or $30 for members. Register at tinyurl.com/d2w76959.

Opening on Bellevue transpo board

The Bellevue City Council is seeking candidates for a vacancy on the transportation commission, which advises the council on transportation-related issues.

Commission members are responsible for studies, analyses and reports as required by the Traffic Standards Code or as requested by the council. Commissioners review and make recommendations to the council on topics such as the Transportation Facilities Plan, changes to the Traffic Standard Code, long- and short-range funding, and Capital Investment Program and Transportation Improvement Program project prioritization.

Applicants must be Bellevue residents. Applications are due by March 11.

You can apply at tinyurl.com/ynhtaa6p or submit an application to P.O. Box 90012, Bellevue, WA 98009-9012 or to kroberts@bellevuewa.gov.

For more information, call Deputy City Clerk Karin Roberts at (425) 452-6806.

MKA's John Hooper recognized by AISC

Hooper

John D. Hooper, a senior principal and director of earthquake engineering at Seattle-based Magnusson Klemencic Associates, received the American Institute of Steel Construction's 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award honors people whose continued outstanding service has made a difference in the success of AISC; the structural steel industry; and the structural steel design, construction and academic communities. Hooper is one of only five people to receive the award this year.

With more than 35 years of engineering experience, Hooper is a nationally recognized specialist in advanced seismic design, MKA said in a press release. It said the impact of his work can be found throughout the architecture, engineering and construction industry. He has made great contributions to seismic-related research and advancements, particularly in the development of the next generation of Performance-Based Seismic Design methodologies and advancement of code-prescriptive seismic design approaches.

In addition, he has traveled to major earthquake sites throughout the world to research and analyze the performance of structures and aid in the advancement of seismic risk mitigation.

Since joining MKA in 1997, he has played an important role in almost every high-rise building the firm has designed in seismically active zones. Hooper is a member of AISC's Task Committee 3 (loads, analysis and stability), Task Committee 5 (composite design), and the Committee on Specifications. He is the chair of the ad hoc Task Group on Seismic Analysis. He also is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineering Institute.

Magnusson Klemencic Associates is a 185-person structural and civil engineering firm.