February 13, 2002

Design Detailings: Rice Fergus to design fire station

Rice Fergus Architects of Bremerton has been selected by the city of Renton to design Fire Station No. 12, a new fire station and emergency operations center for the city. The 15,000-square-foot station is located in the Renton Highlands at 1209 Kirkland Ave. It will include four double-deep apparatus bays, house the SCUBA team, and have office areas for on-duty personnel. The overall project budget, including property acquisition, is $5 million.

Rice Fergus Architects’ expertise includes designing emergency service facilities for Bremerton Fire Department, Bainbridge Island Fire Department, Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue, Pierce and Kitsap Counties.

Otak expands to Tempe

Otak has added a Tempe, Ariz., office, joining offices in Kirkland and Vancouver, Wash.; Lake Oswego, Corvallis and Bend, Ore.; and Carbondale and Denver, Colo.

Ken Nelson, one of Otak's founding principals, opened the first office outside the Lake Oswego headquarters in Kirkland in 1987, and has moved to Tempe to manage the Arizona operations.

Otak expanded to Arizona to serve public and private clients throughout the Southwest in fields such as light rail transit, transportation, planning, public works and residential/commercial development. Projects already underway in the Tempe area include the Tempe comprehensive transportation plan, the Tempe regulatory code re-write and residential development in Phoenix.

UW hosts green panel Feb. 19

The College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Washington at noon Tuesday hosts a panel discussion with Evergreen State College Olympia design team. The seminar is sponsored by Praxis 2.

Anne Schopf, principal at Mahlum Architects; Robert Axley, vice president at Wood Harbinger (mechanical engineer); and Karen Kiest, senior associate at Murase and Associates (landscape architect) will be among the speakers.

They will address the topic: "Green Goals: establishing, evaluating and implementing for a successful outcome," using the Evergreen State College Seminar II building as a case study. The seminar, held in Gould Hall 100, will discuss the tools used to set targets for green performance and their implementation within a large design team.

For more information, go to the Praxis Web site caup.washington.edu/praxis/.

IIDA deep-discounts fabrics, furnishings

The Washington State Chapter of International Interior Design Association will host its 5th Annual Interior Design Market 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at the Miller Community Center on 330 19th Ave. E. Admission is $1. Open to the public, this year’s "rummage sale" features deeply discounted designer furnishings, fabrics, lighting and building supplies, as well as a silent-auction, live music, and a kids’ activity table. Partial proceeds will benefit Rebuilding Together, a non-profit organization that coordinates home repairs for the needy.

The event will include a raffle for two specialty designer items: a Haworth X-99 task chair valued at over $1,500, donated by Haworth and NuMark Office Interiors, and a Pucci Maple Stool, donated by Business Interiors Northwest and valued at over $2,000. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the market Saturday, March 16 for $2 and can be pre-purchased by contacting Paula Munson at (206) 577-7020. Ticket-holders need not be present to win.

For more information on the event, contact Paula Munson at (206) 577-7020 or paula.munson@numarkoffice.com. Those interested in donating items to the sale can contact Lorraine Kitsos at (206) 615-9285 or lkitsos@binw.com.

Library seeks A/E teams on 4 projects

The Seattle Public Library is seeking architect and engineering teams to provide design services for four neighborhood library projects. Interested firms are invited to an information conference scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the Temporary Central Library, 800 Pike St., second floor board room.

A public notice on the request for qualifications ran in the Feb. 2 edition of the DJC.

Architect/engineering teams are being sought to design new library buildings in Montlake and South Park, renovation of the Fremont Library and expansion of the existing Southwest Library.

The current 1,574-square-foot Montlake Library, a converted retail store, is Seattle Public Library’s next-to-smallest neighborhood branch, yet it is heavily used by children, working parents, retirees and University of Washington students. The new 5,000-square-foot library will have an expanded collection of 18,700 books and materials, more seats, a meeting room, upgraded technology services and equipment, and parking. The $2.57 million library will be located at the northwest corner of 24th Avenue East and East McGraw Street. It is scheduled to open in 2004.

South Park’s new 5,000-square-foot branch will have 18,700 books and materials, a special area for children, modern computer work stations and instructional spaces, a meeting room and parking. The $2.53 million project is being funded out of the Opportunity Fund, a special fund created as part of the Libraries for All bond measure to be used for new or unanticipated neighborhood library capital needs for underserved areas of Seattle.

The 6,060-square-foot Fremont Library, 731 N. 35th St., was built in 1921. The Carnegie-funded branch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated as a Seattle landmark. The $554,000 renovation includes converting some storage to public and staff space, more seats, an expanded book collection, more computer work stations, improved parking and more efficient lobby, circulation desk and work areas. The renovation is scheduled to be finished in 2004.

Southwest Library, which opened in 1961 at 9010 35th Ave. S.W., is 7,557 square feet. The $4.3 million expansion will add 7,443 square feet of space and feature an expanded book collection, new seating and shelves, expanded program, service and work areas, new computer work stations and study areas, a meeting room, upgraded technology services, connections and equipment, better lighting and mechanical systems, improved seismic safety and improved parking. The expansion is scheduled to be finished in 2004.

Architect/engineering teams must deliver their proposals by 2 p.m. Friday, March 8, to Capital Program director Alexandra Harris, Seattle Public Library, 800 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98101-3922. For more information, interested firms may check the Library’s Web site at http://www.spl.org, select Libraries for All, or call the Capital Program Office at (206) 386-4624.