July 12, 2000

Design Detailings: Callison/TVS to design two retail centers

Callison Architecture and Atlanta-based Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates will jointly design two retail centers for the Richard E. Jacobs Group of Cleveland.

One is the Triangle Town Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot super-regional retail property located in Raleigh, N.C. The the design partnership is based on Callison's market orientation and the contextual and planning resources of TVS. Construction will begin in this fall for completion in the spring of 2002.

The same design team will also work on the renovation and reconfiguration of Vallco Fashion Park, a 2-level regional mall located in Cupertino, Calif. Construction on the Cupertino center will begin in January of 2001, with completion expected the following November.

The Richard E. Jacobs Group is a private developer, owner and manager of regional shopping malls, with over 45 million square feet of retail space located in 16 states, including 37 malls.

Safeco Field, bridge, library win design awards

Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire has won the Grand Award in the American Consulting Engineers Council Engineering Excellence Award competition for its role in the design of Safeco Field. As the structural engineer for the 47,000-seat stadium, SWMB designed the 8.8 acre, 24-million-pound roof retractable roof that consists of three moving panels. To design the roof, the project team conducted extensive analyses to predict the loads of the moving roof as well as the stability of the supporting trusses. While typical stadiums can be analyzed using approximately 100 load cases, Safeco Field required 1,500 cases. A computer simulation to predict damper performance needed 400 times more calculations than conventional analysis, and the stadium design was subjected to 30 major computer-simulated earthquakes. Ultimately, the engineering ideas reduced the cost of the stadium by an estimated $30 million.

The design team of Parsons Brinckerhoff Douglas & Quade and Kaiser Engineers has won an Honor Award in the ACEC award program for the First Avenue South Bridge. The two firms assisted the Seattle Engineering Department and the Washington State Department of Transportation in an eight-year effort to make the bridge into a safe, free-flowing transportation route. Improvements include separating two-way traffic and eliminating narrow lane widths, reversible lane operation, high traffic flow and substandard weave and merge distances. Adding lanes and switching to one-way operations significantly reduced accidents and traffic congestion. Along with developing complex intersections and approaches to make the bridge safer, the design team also integrated pedestrian and bicycle lanes into the roadway, and created the Puget Sound region's only urban saltwater estuary.

KPFF Consulting Engineers of Portland has also won an Honor Award through the ACEC for its role in the restoration of the Oregon State Library in Salem. The firm addressed the special needs of the historic structure through and innovative design that uses thin steel plates in shear walls in combination with other non-invasive renovation methods. A system of pin piles were installed at strategic locations within the basement for additional footing capacity and to support the overturning forces of the new steel plate shear walls. The entire system helped the meet the requirements of current seismic codes, which have changed drastically since the building was constructed.

Earth Tech acquires Kaiser engineering units

Earth Tech Holdings, a unit of Tyco International, has acquired the infrastructure and facilities businesses of Kaiser Group International. The acquisition is expected to help Earth Tech expand in the fields of transportation, water/wastewater, facilities design and construction and microelectronics and clean technology. The sale is expected to be completed before the end of the month. Earth Tech is based in Long Beach, Calif., and employs 7,000 in 130 offices around the world. Tyco is a diversified manufacturing and service company operating in more than 80 countries, with 1999 revenues of $22.5 billion.

Merger and acquisition activity high, says survey

Almost nine out of ten design firms are currently considering some type of merger or acquisition activity, according to a survey conducted by Zweig White & Associates. The 86 percent positive response is up from 74 percent in a similar 1999 survey. At the same time, actual mergers and acquisitions are up 40 percent from last year, according to the same source. In a breakdown of survey responses, 73 percent are considering an acquisition, while 36 percent are considering sale of the firm. The number considering a sale has doubled since last year. For the fifth year in a row, potential buyers consider the Southeast as the top location in which to make an acquisition.

The 2000 Merger & Acquisition Survey of A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms is available from the publisher free of charge. Contact Zweig White & Associates, P.O. Box 8325, One Apple Hill Drive, Natick, Maine 01760, (508) 651-1559, fax (508) 653-6522, info@zweigwhite.com.

Engineering, construction firms form B2B exchange

Five engineering and construction companies--AMEC, Bovis Lend Lease, Hochtief and Turner, and Skanska--have formed and an Internet portal, http://www.aecventure, that links global and regional portals for business-to-business information exchange and online collaboration. The portal, open to the entire industry, is also intended assist in marketing and procurement. The founding companies are in negotiation with several other partners and actively seeking new global and regional alliances around the world.

Hazard Institute at CAUP

The Institute for Hazard Mitigation Planning and Research has been established within the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington to research ways to make Washington more disaster resistant. The institute will conduct research, offer mitigation planning courses and provide community outreach opportunities for students and faculty. There are plans to offer a certificate program in mitigation planning in the near future. The institute director, Bob Freitag, was appointed this past October and has 23 years of experience with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a variety of management positions.

New educational research center

BJSS Duarte Bryant has joined several other firms throughout the country in a partnership with San Diego State University's College of Education to establish the national Center for the 21st Century Schoolhouse. The new academic center, located in San Diego on the SDSU campus, will be a resource for school administrators, policy makers and design professionals. Programs will address the interrelationship between educational programming and school design according to Frank Smith of BJSS Duarte Bryant. Areas of discussion will include the need for greater flexibility in classroom design to facilitate participatory learning and new educational delivery systems.

Center staff report an estimated $300 billion will be available from local, state and federal sources for school construction over the next five to ten years.

More Samis apartments opening

Samis Land Co. has just opened its newest development, the Corona Lofts, located one block north of the Smith Tower at 606 Second Ave.

The Corona consists of 20 units with rent ranging from $1,000-$1,100 for studios that are 640-850 square feet. Rent for one-bedroom units is $1,700-$2,200 for one-bedroom units that are 1,050-1,330 square feet. Five units are still available.

Stickney Murphy Romine Architects of Seattle designed the restoration work; Spaces, also a Seattle firm, did the interior design. The building has been restored to retain many if its circa 1903 characteristics, such as original millwork and wood floors, high ceilings, exposed brick walls and a refurbished lobby with a marble staircase. The Corona is also equipped with high-speed Internet access and cable television access.

For information on tours or leasing, contact Tamara Hahn at (206) 854-4400.

Architects push for ADA clarity

With the 10-year anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act approaching on July 26, the American Institute of Architects this week urged the U.S. Department of Justice to provide greater clarity and certainty in the ADA.

"Architects have been striving to meet the intent of the ADA since its adoption 10 years ago, but can never be certain they've met the requirements unless they get sued," said R.K. Stewart, a member of the AIA Accessibility Task Force and an architect with Gensler in San Francisco. He cited a recent case in which the defendant was found by a district court to be non-compliant with the ADA even though the design and building was pronounced in compliance with the Texas Accessibility Standard--which had been certified by DOJ as meeting ADA accessibility requirements. Another complaint: While architects are, on one hand, required to design ADA-compliant facilities, the DOJ will not certify beforehand that a design meets those requirements, he said. He added that current discussions between the AIA and DOJ to bring about improved clarity in the requirements have been well received.

Arts foundation head to visit Seattle

Ruby Lerner, founding executive director of Creative Capital, a national organization that provides funding to individual artists, will visit Seattle to introduce herself and her foundation to the arts community on Thursday, July 13, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Seattle Asian Art Museum Auditorium in Volunteer Park. The event is co-sponsored by SAM/Open Studio, Seattle Arts Commission, King Co. Arts Commission, Artist Trust, and the Seattle Independent Film & Video Coalition. Prior to becoming Executive Director of Creative Capital, Ruby Lerner was previously executive director of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers in New York and publisher of The Independent Film and Video Monthly. She was also director of Alternate ROOTS, a coalition of performing artists in the Southeast. Founded in 1999, Creative Capital is committed to working with artists in long-term partnerships, providing advisory services and professional development assistance along with financial support.

For more information on Creative Capital's schedule and upcoming events, visit the website at www.creative-capital.org.

Arts Commission seeks artists for Seattle Libraries

The Seattle Public Library and the Seattle Arts Commission are seeking artists to complete up to 15 projects in branch libraries over the next three years. Artists are sought in all media, including permanent materials such as metal or glass, surface treatments including etching or mosaic, and new media such as video or digital work. The Library is particularly interested in finding artists who want to explore, through their work, the meaning of a library as a repository of information and an icon of community identity. Branches for which work will be commissioned from roster artists include: Ballard, Beacon Hill, Broadview, Capitol Hill, Columbia, Douglass-Truth, Greenwood, High Point, Lake City, Montlake, North East, Northgate, Rainier Beach, and Southwest.

The artists selected will become part of a roster of no more than 30 artists pre-qualified for library projects. When public art commissions become available at branch libraries, a panel of library and community representatives will be assembled to select an artist for each project.

Chosen artists will work with the architectural design team, representatives from the branch library, and the community to discuss the appropriate integration of art into the building, to develop an art concept and design, and to fabricate and install the work.

The Library, as part of its art plan, has developed a collaboration program called Art Partners. For some of the branch library projects, the Library will pair artists from a roster with an artist from the local library community who will have excellent artistic skills but little or no experience working in the public realm. The experienced roster public artist will help select his or her teammate. This program is being established to encourage participation by local artists working in traditional or non-visual art forms, such as Chinese papercutters or community storytellers, whose work historically has not been articulated as permanent public work.

The program is open to established professional visual artists living in the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia). The library projects vary in budget size from $12,000 to $50,000 or more. For more information, please call Seattle Arts Commission project manager Lisa Richmond at 684-0998.

Methodologie and The Traver Company merge

SEATTLE - June 30, 2000 - Local brand and design firms Methodologie and The Traver Company announced that they are merging. The combined company will be the city's fourth largest brand and design firm with total billings of over $6 million. Since its inception in 1988, Methodologie has grown from five employees to 35, with over 50 clients including Microsoft, Immunex and Primus. Methodologie is lead by two high-tech industry veterans, Janet DeDonato and Bob Grindeland. The

husband-and-wife team have over 40 years of combined experience, Grindeland in technology, multimedia and online communication, and DeDonato with primary expertise in investor communications and identity. The Traver Company's 20 years of experience in brand strategy and design has focused on high-profile local and national companies including Vulcan Northwest, Chateau Ste. Michelle and the Seattle Times. Lead by Anne Traver, the 14-person firm has had significant involvement in the arts, including local art museums and theatre companies, as well as the tourism and hospitality industry. The combined firm, now totaling 49 employees, will work out of Methodologie's current offices at 808 Howell Street.