August 16, 2000

Design Detailings: Team chosen for Redwood interpretive center

A team of design firms from Washington, Oregon and Vancouver B.C. was recently selected to develop a site master plan for Redwood Gateway Interpretive Center in southern Humboldt County, Calif. The team was selected through an invitation-only proposal process initiated by the San Francisco-based Save-the-Redwoods League. Lead by the Portland landscape architecture and design firm Walker Macy, the team includes Seattle's Miller Hull Partnership, ECONorthwest of Eugene and Aldrich/Pears Associates from Vancouver, B.C. Of the 35 submitting firms, the Walker Macy team is the only one not physically located in California. The design team will address the recent acquisition by the Save-the-Redwoods League of the Hartsook Inn, a historic lodging house on Highway 101, and the surrounding property. It will develop a master plan that restores the landscape and enhances visitor experiences while assessing the feasibility of redeveloping the site into a self supporting educational and interpretive facility.

Design firms show revenue growth

The 2000 "Zweig White & Associates Finance & Accounting Survey of Architecture, Engineering and Planning Firms" shows that earnings (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expenses) grew from 12.4 percent to 13.4 percent of net revenues between the 1999 and 2000 editions. While Zwieg White analyst Ian Rusk points out that strong economic conditions have contributed to revenue growth, he believes that industry-wide increases in profitability are more attributable to lower overhead levels. Meanwhile, net revenue per employee has grown with each year of the survey, jumping from $72,948 in 1997 to $79,683 in the 2000 edition.

Design Commission Opening

Mayor Paul Schell is seeking three new members for the Seattle Design Commission. They include one member-at-large, one urban/environmental designer and one landscape architect, to replace members whose terms will expire in October of 2000. Those interested in being considered for an appointment should send a letter of interest and resume by Friday, August 18, to Alex Field, Administrator, Boards and Commissions, Mayor's Office, 600 Fourth Avenue, 12th Floor, Seattle, Washington 98104.

Orenco Station recognized

The Orenco Station Town Center, near Portland, recently won three Gold Nugget Awards in a national housing awards program sponsored by Building Magazine.

The project, designed by Fletcher Farre Ayotte of Portland, won three merit awards for design in the categories of Community/Town Plan over 100 acres; Mixed Use Project; and Condo or Attached Home. Orenco Station has now received eight awards including the First Place Award for Livable Communities Transit Design given by the US Department of Transportation, and has been published in several national magazines. The dense, mixed use development is designed around a light rail stop.

IBC 2000 seminar

The International Conference of Building Officials and the Continuing Education arm of the American Institute of Architects will sponsor a seminar on the non-structural provisions in the new 2000 International Building Code. The two-day seminar will be held on October 19 and 20, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Seattle. The cost is $395, $345 for registration 30 days before the session. For more information, call (562) 692-3853, or visit www.icbo.org.

Rail-Volution conference

Rail-Volution 2000: Building Livable Communities with Transit will be held October 4-8 in Denver. The conference covers financing, land use issues, concurrent transportation issues, coalition building and community development related to rail. It is sponsored by a partnership of 18 government agencies and rail organizations. The registration fee is $325 before September 8 and $375 after that date. For more information, visit railvolution.com or call 1-800-788-7077

Prezant merges with Stewart & Associates

Prezant Associates, a safety consulting and laboratory service company, has added a new ergonomics division by merging with Stewart and Associates. The new division will offer services in compliance with WISHA ergonomics regulation, regular open-enrollment training courses and custom courses at various sites in Seattle or Spokane. For more information, call 281-8858 or 328-2084.

Camp Nor'wester opens

Campers, staff and supporters of Camp Nor'wester gathered at the camp's new John's Island location this month to celebrate the reopening of the camp. Jones & Jones provided design services for the camp relocation, much of it on a pro bono basis. The camp has been closed since 1996 following the sale of Sperry Peninsula on Lopez Island, where the camp had operated since 1945. A number of buildings were relocated from the old site.

Art Anderson managing hospital demolition

Art Anderson Associates has been selected to provide construction management services for the $2.3 million demolition of the old Alaska Native Medical Center near downtown Anchorage. The building, which has become functionally obsolete, narrowly survived a 1964 earthquake. A new, state-of-the-art complex has been constructed on more stable ground in south anchorage at a cost of $92 million. Significant amounts of asbestos-containing material are being removed and disposed of, and non-hazardous materials are being recycled.

Dull Olson Weekes wins award

Alpha High School, designed by Dull Olson Weekes of Portland, has received a Best Community Service Use award from the City of Gresham Planning Commission. It is the seventh award for the project. Located at the edge of the Gresham Downtown Plan District, Alpha High School establishes the design and density precedent for future development within the district. Located near a light rail station, the project anticipates a growing percentage of students and teachers relying on public transit. The high school is designed with limited parking and with showers for bikers.

Reid Middleton wins award

The American Galvanizers Association recently awarded Reid Middleton a 1999 excellence award for creative and innovative use of hot-diped steel in the water or marine environment.

The project honored is the Port of Everett's Public Access and Transient Moorage Facility. Completed in 1998, the facility serves as a public access point to boats at the Port of Everett Marina, the second largest marina on the West Coast. It features the first gangway system in western Washington to fully comply with American with Disabilities Act slope requirements. All together, 40 tons of hot-dipped or galvanized steel went into the moorage. The steel makes up the piles, float-stop frames, connections between concrete piles and timber caps, and the guard rails.

Air conditioning fundamentals

A course on air conditioning fundamentals, sponsored by the University of Washington Department of Mechanical Engineering, will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from October 24 to December 5, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The fee for the course is $595. Air Conditioning Design will be offered at the same days and times from January 9 to February 15, 2001, also for $595. It is possible to enroll in both courses for the reduced fee of $1050 if registered by October 16. For a registration folder or more information, contact Engineering Professional Programs, University of Washington, 10303 Meridian Avenue North, #301, Seattle, WA 98133-9483, 543-5539, uw-epp@engr.washington.edu.