October 6, 1999

Design Detailings: In search of a home for new Ballard library

Two public meetings are scheduled this month that include discussion of possible sites for the new $6.5 million Ballard Library.

The first meeting will cover alternative plans for a proposed Ballard municipal center and is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 11 at Swedish Medical Center, 5300 Tallman Ave. N.W., conference room A. Free parking is available at the Swedish Medical Center garage across the street.

The second meeting will consider library site possibilities both in and outside of the proposed Ballard municipal center and is set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21 at Swedish Medical Center.

The new library is scheduled for completion in 2001. It is one component of the proposed Ballard municipal center, which would include a neighborhood service center, retail and housing facilities. Architects from the Zimmer Gunsul Franca Partnership will review alternative master plans for the municipal center, which will be encompassed by 22nd Avenue Northwest to 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street to Northwest 58th Street.

ASCE honors W&H president

The Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers last week named W&H Pacific president William Jabs as Civil Engineer of the Year.

Jabs has more than 30 years experience in the civil engineering industry. As principal founder and president since 1995, his leadership has resulted in the firm's expansion from a two-office 65-person firm to a six-office network operating in three states with nearly 300 employees.

He has extensive project management, design and construction experience in the areas of highways, airports, water and sewer systems and resort development. He has also helped develop a leading stormwater treatment technology that has led to the formation of the firm Stormwater Management, which manufactures, sells and distributes treatment devices throughout the United States.

Jabs received a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Oregon State University in 1969. He is a licensed professional engineer in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada and a licensed professional land surveyor in Oregon. He was also recently inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Engineers by Oregon State University. He currently resides in Lake Oswego.

W&H Pacific is planning, engineering and surveying firm based in Seattle, with offices in Beaverton, Bend, Klamath Falls, Ore., and Boise.

Ecology and architecture links explored

As part of the project "Whole Product Design to Integrate Ecology, Form + Function," the following lectures will be held at the Henry Art Gallery

Auditorium, University of Washington campus at 7 p.m.

On Oct. 12, Liesbeth Bonekamp, founding member of Eternally Yours Foundation and former chair of 02 Netherlands, will speak. On Nov. 2, Jacques Giard, director of design at Arizona State University, is scheduled to lecture.

Boeing exec talks at ASEM meeting

Greg DeGeller, of The Boeing Co., will talk on Wednesday, Oct. 20 about the global market for commercial jetliners and assess Boeing competition with Airbus Industries. The talk, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Rock Salt Restaurant in Seattle, will outline the Boeing products compared to Airbus, the market projections for these products and proposed production system improvements. The program, sponsored by the American Society for Engineering Management, includes a social gathering at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m.

SAF and AIA seek entries

The Seattle Architectural Foundation and the American Institute of Architects-Seattle chapter invite entries of architectural models and other forms of three-dimensional representation of the architectural design process. The submittals are due by 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14.

For more information, contact Louisa Chang at (206) 621-2266 or via e-mail.

The role of business in art

A panel discussion at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12, sponsored by the Contemporary Art Council of the Seattle Art Museum, will look at the roles that corporate art programs play beyond the familiar one of acquiring art. Participants in the roundtable include Michael Klein, Microsoft art curator; Jim McDonald, corporate art curator at Safeco; and Peggy Weiss, director of the Seafirst Gallery. The event will be held at the Lead Gallery and Wine Bar on 1022 First Ave. in Seattle. For more information, call John Boylan at (206) 781-5674.

Compensation rises for project managers

Firms in the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industry are rewarding their project managers with higher salaries and bigger bonuses, according to a new survey.

The 1999 Project Management Survey of A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms by Zweig White & Associates, a consulting group based in Natick, Mass., says the median annual base salary for project managers has increased steadily over the past two years -- from $60,000 in 1997, to $62,000 in 1998, to $65,000 this year.

In addition to healthy salary growth for project managers, the survey finds that 76 percent of project managers received a bonus last year. Not only are more project managers receiving bonuses, but the median bonus amount has risen as well -- from $2,500 reported in last year's survey to a record high of $3,000 reported this year.

Workshop looks at public art contracts

A training workshop on the legal rights and responsibilities of public artists will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16. The event, which is being sponsored by the King County Public Art Program, the Seattle Arts Commission and Washington Lawyers for the Arts, will be held in the Performance Studio of the Children's Museum at Seattle Center.

Topics include what to look for in a public art commission contract and an update on available art commissions. The registration fee is $10. For more information, call Cynthia Gould Brown at (206) 296-8692.

Gehry tapped again by Guggenheim

Architect Frank Gehry, who designed the titanium-clad Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, was chosen recently by the Guggenheim to design a building in New York.

The design, according to an article in The New York Times, features a 45-story building rising out of a cloud-like shape. Located on a platform above piers along the East River near Wall Street in lower Manhattan, the structure would include an exhibition space, a theater and skating rink. The proposal is one of nine the city is considering for the site. A decision is expected within a few months.

Gehry's $100 million Experience Music Project is funded by Paul Allen.