November 27, 2002

Design Detailings: Conflict resolution forum Dec. 4

The American Society for Engineering Management will host a discussion on "Reducing Conflicts During Design and Construction" on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The scenario is common: a project goes to construction and conflict between the design engineer, construction manager, contractor and owner surfaces. This can lead to costly delays and strained working relationships.

Representatives will be available from all interest groups for the panel discussion, focusing on how parties can communicate and work together. Panel members will use real life examples and lessons learned.

The panel moderator will be engineer Mohammed Kashani; Dick Andrews of Perteet Engineering; Gordon Sivley, Snohomish County deputy prosecuting attorney; Franchot Fenske, principal, KPG; Gene Williams, Snohomish County project manager; and Mike Skagen, project manager, RW Scott Construction Co.

The discussion will be held at Rock Salt Steak House, 1232 Westlake Ave. N. It will run from 4 to 9 p.m. Cost is $45 pre-paid for members, or $55 prepaid for non members. For information, call Mohammed Kashani at (425) 388-6493.

Gustafson designs 'Big Dig' park

Seattle-based Gustafson Partners Ltd. has been selected to design Boston's North End Parks, working with Boston's Wallace Floyd Design Group. The North End Parks will be constructed over a portion of the Big Dig tunnel, also known as the Central Artery Project. The project will be in one of downtown Boston’s densest districts.

Gustafson Partners’ North End Parks design will create nearly three acres of urban open space over a portion of the Central Artery which houses approximately 65 vertical feet of infrastructure, including seven tunnels of freeway and transit lanes. Gustafson Partners specializes in designing landscapes in complex, urban contexts. The firm was founded in Seattle by partners Kathryn Gustafson, Jennifer Guthrie and Shannon Nichol. Gustafson is also designing the Lady Diana Memorial in London's Hyde Park.

Kathryn Gustafson, who practiced in Europe for 20 years before returning part-time to the U.S., received the 2001 Chrysler Design Award and is the recipient of London’s Jane Drew Prize. The London partnership, Gustafson Porter, is designing the Princess Diana Memorial in London’s Hyde Park. Other Gustafson Partners’ current projects include renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with London’s Foster & Partners; the Monroe "Shoulder" Garden in Chicago’s Lakefront Millennium Park; and landscape for the McCaw Hall Opera House.

Core Design relocates in Bellevue

Effective Sunday, Core Design, Inc. will have a new address. Core Design is moving from 4205 148th Ave. N.E., No. 100, in Bellevue, to 14711 N.E. 29th Place, No. 101, Bellevue. Telephone, fax and email addresses will remain the same. The e-mail address is LKB@CoreDesignInc.com, phone is (425) 885-7877 and fax (425) 885-7963.

Berger Partnership wins award

The Berger Partnership, a landscape architecture and site planning firm, is a joint recipient of the American Planning Association Washington Chapter’s, Physical Plans Honor Award for working with the city of Renton in development of the South Renton Neighborhood Plan.

The city, in collaboration with Berger, Marcia Gamble-Hadley, Real Vision and Mithun, created the South Renton Neighborhood Plan as an economic development tool for revitalization of a evolving area of town.

APA judges said were impressed by "the thorough integration of land use regulations, cost/market research, and detailed designs for the city’s private and public improvements."

Outstanding planning efforts in Washington are recognized at the annual Awards Program for Excellence in Planning, sponsored jointly by the American Planning Association/Washington Chapter, and the Planning Association of Washington.

Walker takes sustainable award

Rendering by Walker Macy Landscape Architects and Planners Center for Social Sciences

Portland-based firm of Walker Macy Landscape Architects and Planners recently received the first Honor Award for Environmental/Sustainable Design from the Oregon chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The organization introduced a new category this year to recognize projects designed with exceptional sustainability and environmental responsibility.

The award was for Walker Macy's work on Lewis & Clark College’s new Center for Social Sciences. The project was recognized for its stormwater filtration, storage and reuse system, and described by jurors as an "exceptional demonstration of developing an existing site in a way that honors the past, meets the needs of the present, and protects and preserves resources for the future."

Walker Macy’s plan for the Center for Social Sciences includes an innovative storm water filtration and recovery system; environmentally responsible use of plants, irrigation and construction materials; open spaces for flexible use; and ecological education opportunities that integrate with the academic program.

Photographer Stamets speaks Tuesday

On Tuesday, John Stamets will show recent photographs of the construction of two new buildings by Rem Koolhaas/OMA: the Seattle Central Library and the IIT Campus Center in Chicago.

The presentation will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Room 322 of University of Washington's Gould Hall.

A lecturer in photography at the School of Architecture, University of Washington, Stamets has compiled more than 20,000 photographs that document construction and destruction of major architectural projects.