Balancing the private and public sectors will be key to weathering storms in the economic forecast, according to Karen Kiest of Murase Associates.

Flatiron Crossing, Broomfield, CO., Murase Associates

Murase's Seattle office has added three people since moving to the Eastlake district last April, and now has a staff of 11. With a 200 percent increase in work over the previous year, the outlook for the upcoming year remains good, according to Kiest.

With offices in Seattle and Portland, Murase is known for water and stone features. The firm's current work includes parks: health care, school and university facilities; and several transportation projects, including light rail, commuter rail and park-and-ride stations.

Over the past few years, Murase has increased work in the private sector. The number of private projects has increased from 25 percent three years ago to roughly 50 percent, while the value of the projects have increased from 60 to 80 percent of the firm's revenues, said Kiest. Current challenges continue to be finding senior staff.

Last February, the firm was selected as landscape architect for the new Immunex campus at the north end of Elliott Bay at Terminal 88. Working with Koetter Kim Architects of Boston, Murase just completed design development for the $500 million project, scheduled to open in summer 2003.

Four major commercial projects have been completed. In Seattle, working with separate design teams at NBBJ, Murase worked on the entry plaza and north garden at 505 Union Station, and the shared entry garden for Opus Center. With Callison, Murase oversaw installation of a major water feature and landscape installation for Flatiron Crossing, a new mall in Broomfield, Colo. Working with LMN, Murase was responsible for site design and water features for the Civica Office Commons in Bellevue.

Murase Associates sees the upcoming year as a period of settling in, as the regional economy matures. Locally, the next stage of the neighborhood planning efforts, supported by the passage of the ProParks initiative last fall, will be funding design and development of several park and recreation projects in Seattle over the next few years, even as public support and funding for transit, of transportation improvements founders.