April 5, 2000

Design Detailings: Commission on Transportation offers update

The Seattle Section and the Kitsap Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers are holding a joint meeting on Wednesday, April 12 to hear the latest from the state's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation. The keynote speaker will be Doug Beighle, chairman of the Commission.

In 1998, the Washington State Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke chartered the Commission to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the state's transportation system and to present final recommendations to the Legislature and governor in December 2000.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. business meeting. The program begins at 7:45 p.m. It will be held at the Melody Lane Restaurant, 536 Fourth Ave., Bremerton. The cost is $15 per person To make reservations, call (206) 632-2667. The reservation deadline is noon on Friday, April 7.

Architectural metal expert for EMP speaks

William Zahner, a specialist in architectural metal fabrication and installation, will speak Tuesday, April 18. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the lecture hall of the Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St.

Zahner, president of Kansas City-based A. Zahner Co., is providing the metal work for Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project in Seattle. He has also collaborated with Gehry on the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis and was the architectural metal consultant for Gehry's Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Zahner is the author of "Architectural Metals: A Guide to the Selection, Specifications and Performance of Architectural Metals." He holds two patents on roof systems and a joint patent on ceiling systems. He is also the recipient of the 1994 Advanced Construction Technology Award and the 1995 Environment Excellence Award.

Space.city, a Seattle art and architecture organization, is the sponsor for the event. Tickets are $5; all ticket sales will be held at the door.

AIA hosts Earth Day conference

On Wednesday, April 19 and Thursday, April 20, AIA Seattle's committee on the environment is holding a two-day program of lectures, workshops and panel discussions of selected projects, including an exhibit of "What Makes it Green?" projects. The conference will be held in the Dome Room of the Arctic Building, at Third Avenue and Cherry Street in Seattle.

Speakers include Janine Benyus, author of "Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature," and Alisdair McGregor, principal and mechanical engineer with Ove Arup & Partners.

For more information or to make reservations, call AIA Seattle at (206) 448-4938.

CECW and WSDOT hold annual meeting

The Consulting Engineers Council of Washington and the Washington State Department of Transportation will hold their annual meeting on Tuesday, April 25. The meeting will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport, 18740 Pacific Highway S.

Issues that will be discussed at the meeting include legislative updates and impacts, DBE changes, local agency issues, the consultant selection process and Blue Ribbon Commission findings. Registration is $35, which includes lunch. Call the CECW at (206) 623-5936 for more information or to register.

ASCE, ASEM look at leadership in engineering

Peter Hahn of Snohomish County Public Works and Amy Haugerud of Rosewater Engineering on Wednesday, April 26 will discuss what it takes to be an effective leader of an engineering organization. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the Rock Salt Steakhouse, 1232 Westlake Ave. N. in Seattle. The cost, which includes dinner, is $23 in advance and $25 at the door.

The American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Management are the sponsors for the event. To make reservations, call (206) 695-6670 or e-mail lkd@shanwil.com.

Port holds workshop for prospective consultants

The Port of Seattle on Thursday, April 27 is holding a workshop for consultants and contractors interested in working for the Port on its marine and aviation capital improvement programs.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Seattle Center, Shaw and Fidalgo rooms.

Port representatives will make presentations on upcoming projects, small works, purchasing, project labor agreements and the consultant selection process. A question-and-answer session will follow, as well as breakout sessions for consultants and contractors.

To make reservations, call (206) 728-3721.

NW firms named finalists in ACEC awards

Several Northwest-based firms or engineering firms that worked on Seattle projects have been named among the 100 finalists in the American Consulting Engineers Council's Excellence in Engineering Awards.

Seattle-based KPFF Consulting Engineers was declared a finalist for its role in two projects: the restoration of the Oregon State Library in Salem and the design of Eastbank Riverfront Park in Portland. Other local finalists are: Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire for its design of the retractable roof for Safeco Field; Shannon & Wilson for designing the expansion of the Roseburg Landfill in Douglas County, Ore.; the team of Parsons Brinckerhoff Douglas & Quade and Kaiser Engineers for traffic improvements on the First Avenue South Bridge in Seattle.

Winners of the ACEC's Excellence in Engineering Awards have been chosen but will not be publicly announced until the organization's annual meeting in May. With about 250,000 members, the ACEC is the nation's largest organization of consulting engineers.

Art Anderson chosen for NOAA job

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded Art Anderson Associates, a Bremerton-based architectural and engineering firm, a one-year contract with four option years, to provide naval architecture and marine engineering services at its Pacific and Atlantic Marine Operations centers.

The Pacific Marine Operations Center is located in Seattle; the Atlantic MOP is in Norfolk, Va.

The contract has the potential value of $5 million in services over the full five-year period.

Art Anderson Associates has provided similar services to the NOAA fleet for more than 15 years.

Roen Associates moves to new space

Roen Associates, a construction management and cost estimating firm, has moved to a new office in the Maritime Building, two floors below its prior location. The new address is 911 Western Ave., suite 304, Seattle, WA 98104. The firm's telephone number, (206) 343-1003, and fax, (206) 343-1004, remain the same.

Seattle Center wins $10 K to preserve sculpture

The Seattle Center has recently won $10,000 for the conservation of the sculpture, "Moses," created in 1975 by Tony Smith. The Center received the award from Save Outdoor Sculpture!, a national program that aims to heighten awareness of public sculpture.

"Moses," an abstract 15-foot-by-11-foot black painted, welded steel sculpture, is currently in storage at Seattle Center. The artwork will undergo a through repainting as the restoration process begins in April, with an expected completion date in June. Patricia Leavengood of Art Conservation Services will perform the restoration work. After restoration, the sculpture will be relocated to the newly landscaped lawn north of the Space Needle.

SOS! is a joint project of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art. For more information about the program, call Susan Nichols, director, at (202) 634-1422 or (888) 767-7285.