June 12, 2002

Design Detailings: Kirkland's innovative housing forum

Photo courtesy of Ross Chapin Architect The Third Street Cottages in Langley, Whidbey Island.

A presentation and discussion about innovative housing styles will be held Monday at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Kirkland City Hall, 123 Fifth Ave. The event is sponsored by the city of Kirkland as part of the Community Lecture Series and as the kick-off event for an innovative housing program.

Housing styles the city will be considering for single-family neighborhoods include cottages, compact single-family homes on smaller lots, and duplexes and triplexes designed to look like single family homes.

Featured speakers will be Jim Soules, cottage housing developer, and Art Sullivan, ARCH (A Regional Coalition Housing) program manager. They will discuss how single-family homes, accessory dwelling units, cottages and duplexes can all fit in one neighborhood. For more information, call Dawn Nelson at (425) 828-1131.

SMPS hosts Markee Awards June 19

The Seattle Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professionals will honor local marketers at its annual Markee Awards ceremony at 5 p.m. June 19.

The event, which will award marketers in the categories of Marketer of the Year, Corporate Marketing Achievement, Marketing Communications Achievement, Special Event Achievement and Client of the Year, will be held at the Big Picture, 2505 First Ave. SMPS will also pay tribute to the inspirations and success of four marketers and the unique vision and communication of one notable client.

The cost is $50 for SMPS members, $65 for non-members. The event includes appetizers, dessert, drinks and music. To register, contact Grace Vigil at Reid Middleton, (425) 741-3800 or visit http://www.smpsseattle.org.

Four firms vie for Southwest Library

An architect selection advisory panel has recommended Carlson Architects, Koppe/Wagoner Architects, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects and The Portico Group be considered for the job of designing the 7,400-square-foot expansion to the Southwest Library.

Panel members evaluated 14 firms before selecting the Seattle-based finalists to interview and introduce to the public. A total of 17 firms applied for the job.

A public reception for the finalists is set for 7 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 9, at the Southwest Library, 9010 35th Ave. S.W. The architects will display examples of their work and be available to answer questions. For more information, contact Justine Kim, Library project manager, at (206) 615-1329 or justine.kim@spl.org.

The $4.4 million expansion project will feature an updated collection of 66,700 books and materials, new seats and shelves, improved program, service and work areas, new computer work stations and study areas, a meeting room, upgraded technology services and equipment, more electrical, communications and computer connections, better lighting, a modern mechanical system, improved seismic safety, and more accessible and safer parking.

The project is expected to be completed in 2004. The current 7,500-square-foot library was built in 1961.

The panel will interview each firm. The Seattle Public Library board of trustees is expected to hear comments from the advisory panel and select an architect at its meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, at the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, 2021 Ninth Ave.

Xorel recognized for what it's not

The Washington chapter of the International Interior Design Association and Environdesign6 recently paired green product manufacturers with Northwest designers for the 2002 Greenworld Product Exhibit competition.

As a part of Greenworld, an educational forum on sustainable design, the competition charges manufacturer/designer teams to come up with building exhibits that best illustrate the manufacturer’s "green story" and engage people to learn more about the environmental benefits of the product. Out of more than 30 entries, judges selected first, second and third place winners.

Dupont Flooring Systems and NBBJ received first place honors. Second place was awarded to Carnegie/Xorel and DLR Group. Third place went to DesignTex and Gensler.

Xorel is an environmentally sound alternative to textiles for walls, upholstery and panels. Xorel was developed by Carnegie Fabrics in 1981, and has since been recognized as one of the leading textile advances of the last two decades.

"We began brainstorming about what makes Xorel fabrics especially green," said Dave Walsh, LEED certified architect at DLR Group who paired with Carnegie/Xorel for the competition. "Production of Xorel uses very little water or energy, and no hazardous materials. It produces no VOCs. It’s chlorine free and plasticizer free. We discovered that what makes a green product is what it’s not. What we chose to single out about it, for the purposes of a display design, was its versatility."

The Carnegie/Xorel exhibit was a sculptural narrative of Xorel's best qualities. A sphere of the material rests on a cylindrical wood-frame base. The exhibit is lit from within by low-power-consumption LED lights in the sphere, and compact fluorescents in the base.

"In all," said Walsh, "the illumination consumed less power than an average light bulb." A first-person graphic narrative, told from Xorel’s point of view, ripples across the top of the cylinder from under the sphere, while the LED lights shift through the hues of the rainbow.

"The design became an organic representation of the product," said DLR Group designer Stephanie Deshaies. "It’s recyclable, it breathes, it’s friendly to fish. I think the organic play of forms and light evoked Xorel’s invisible qualities."

Other displays ranged from graphic display panels to interactive, walk-through exhibits.