The Northwest Washington Section Scholarship Fund has awarded one scholarships totaling $4000 to a local student pursuing Architectural education.
2020-21 Recipient:
My name is Matthew Robinson, I was born and raised in Bellingham Washington and I am 22 years old. Growing up I spent my time running around in the forests of Chuckanut Mountain and playing wiffle-ball with my neighbors during the beautiful Northwest summers. I still enjoy being outside, taking advantage of the vast assortment of trails and parks in both Washington and Oregon whenever I can. I attended Sehome High School where I played both basketball and baseball before making the decision to go to college at the University of Oregon in Eugene. I am currently entering the fifth year of my Bachelors of Architecture education, with a Minor in Landscape Architecture. I enjoy traveling, listening to music, hiking, spending time with family and friends, and cheering on my favorite sports teams.
About the Northwest Washington Section Scholarship Fund
The goal of the AIA Northwest Washington Section Scholarship is to encourage and assist local residents of Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan Counties who are pursuing a degree in architecture in an accredited School of Architecture. Entering its 9th year, the scholarship fund primarily funded by funds raised at the annual Scholarship Golf Tournament. Despite the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, the Section remains committed to funding the program throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to help students in the region.
About the Northwest Washington Section of American Institute of Architects Seattle Chapter
AIA Northwest Washington is section of AIA Seattle that provides events and programs for AIA members in Skagit, Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties.
About the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
Founded in 1894, AIA Seattle is a not-for-profit professional association of architects, allied professionals, and laypeople. AIA Seattle provides the architecture community with resources and relationships to make a difference through design.
Walter Schacht, FAIA has practiced architecture for over thirty years with a central focus on the public realm. He thinks strategically about the relationships between people, place and process. His clearly planned, carefully detailed civic buildings reflect a search for meaning inspired by their community, context and culture. Walter’s partnership with architect Cima Malek-Aslani is the foundation of his practice.
Garrett Reynolds, AIA LEED AP BD+C is an architect at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. His work strives for elegant, clear design solutions that thoughtfully respond to the unique circumstances of place. He takes pride in being a generalist architect with strong interests in building tectonics, conceptual design, and research – all with a focus on craft and detail. His interest in housing of all scales and types has resulted in a highly varied portfolio of work at BCJ and Mithun including a large mixed-use project in Portland’s Pearl District, a significant private residence in Big Sur, and a family retreat in Iowa.
Casey is a fifth-generation construction professional whose career has been honed through time spent working in the field, estimating, project engineering, project management, and division management roles. He was instrumental in the delivery of the Bullitt Center; a six-story office building deemed the ‘greenest’ commercial building in the world. As the President of Schuchart, Casey leads the team through the execution of business initiatives and strategies. Casey earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego and an MBA from Seattle University. Casey currently serves as the immediate Past President for the Seattle Architecture Foundation, while also serving as a board member for the Seattle Aquarium and the Lakeside Alumni Board.
Marshall Foster is the Director of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects (OWCP). OWCP leads the “Waterfront Seattle” program, which is creating 20 acres of new parks and public spaces on Seattle’s Central Waterfront, and is supporting the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium in completing major expansions. The Office is also leading efforts around the redevelopment of Key Arena and Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center.
Greg Briggs grew up the son of a civil engineer and was exposed to engineering as an early teen working at his dad’s firm. Fascinated with the design of buildings led him to get his master’s degree in Structures from North Carolina State after receiving his BSCE from Oklahoma State. As a structural engineering consultant for over 30 years primarily in Seattle, he has had the opportunity to work on many significant projects and with several great architects in Seattle and across the globe. His project types have varied from museums, performing arts, institutional and historic renovations as well as many others. He recently served as the principal engineer-of-record on the landmark Climate Pledge Arena renovation project.
Founded in 1988 by 10 Seattle-area nonprofit housing providers, HDC’s membership has grown over the last 32 years to encompass all the major affordable housing developers, financial institutions, architects, general contractors, attorneys, accountants, service providers, public housing authorities, and government agencies, working in the affordable housing space in King County, Washington. United around our shared vision – “That all people live with dignity in safe, healthy, and affordable homes within communities of opportunity” – our membership-based network collaborates effectively to provide a wide range of stable and affordable housing opportunities for our region’s low income and most vulnerable residents. Each night, more than 125,000 individuals go home to more than 45,000 affordable homes created or preserved by HDC members. By bringing together organizations, government agencies, and businesses around shared values, we are better positioned to support the sector’s ability to make a positive, community-wide impact. Guided by our members and volunteer Board of Directors, we weave a powerful network of strategic alliances across sectors and industries to respond to diverse community needs and provide capacity-building, networking, and advocacy opportunities all geared toward creating a sector that is more equitable, productive, efficient, and effective as good stewards of public resources.
Queena Yi, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is an architectural designer with over six years of experience and is anticipating licensure this year. Her previous work experience at Katerra and Perkins + Will, where she managed senior housing projects and a WeWork | WeLive project, provided the foundation for this Travel Scholarship proposal. Previous to pursuing a career in architecture, Queena worked for over a decade at various startup tech companies in San Francisco and Seattle. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego and an M.Arch from the University of Washington. During her studies at the UW, Queena received a Scan Design Fellowship to study at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen for one year. Her time in Copenhagen provided the groundwork for her thesis project, Memento Mori | A Non-Sectarian Memorial Site in Seattle, which was later selected for the AIA 2015 Emerging Professionals Exhibit. Queena has been active in the design community by participating in the UW PAC, Design in Public, and Seattle Architecture Foundation at various capacities.
Best Practice is a design-intensive firm located in Seattle, WA. Despite our size (we are 8) and relatively young age as an office (founded in 2011), we relish tackling a diverse range of work, from small boutiques or residences to large scale offices & cultural projects. We believe that meaningful design is a balance between inspiration and the real-life needs of each project. From there, intuitive and experiential design often emerges. Our strength lies in our ability to creatively collaborate – with each other, with our fabricators, with our clients, all to provide innovative solutions that explore the precarious balance between function, content and beauty.
Weinstein A+U is a 25-person generalist architectural firm located in Seattle Washington. Founded by Ed Weinstein in 1977, the firm provides comprehensive design services on a broad array of building types including education, social service, institutional, public sector, public safety, commercial, mixed-use, multi-family residential, single family residential, adaptive re-use, and urban design. By integrating an urban design perspective, the firm is especially effective in the design of complex urban projects.
Marsha Maytum, FAIA, LEED AP | Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | San Francisco
Pascale Sablan, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP | S9ARCHITECTURE | Beyond the Built Environment, LLC | New York
Tatiana Bilbao | Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO | Mexico City
Myer is a Principal at Weber Thompson, a mid-size multidisciplinary architecture and design firm in Seattle. As the firm’s Director of Sustainability, he manages the firm’s building performance initiatives including participation in the AIA 2030 Commitment. His current project focus is as the architectural project manager for urban commercial office projects, including three buildings pursuing Living Building Challenge Petal Certification. Myer was named the 2011 AIA Seattle Young Architect, and currently serves on the AIA Seattle board of directors and the AIA Continuing Education committee. He received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture with Philosophy citation at the University of Maryland in 2002, a Master in Architecture at the University of Washington in 2005, and completed a Commercial Real Estate Certificate at UW in 2016. He has co-instructed undergraduate and graduate architecture studios at UW and currently contributes as a guest lecturer and studio critic.
Carrie Anderson has sixteen years of experience in custom residential architecture in the Puget Sound region, from small remodels and additions to multi-million-dollar new construction. She received her bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in 2002 and graduate degree from University of Washington in 2006. Since that time, she has been a passionate advocate for sustainability as an active member of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild and International Living Future Institute. Carrie has presented at the Northwest Green Building Slam & Summit as well as the Northwest Green Home Tour. When not social distancing, Carrie is an avid sailor and softball player. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Seattle Times, Luxe Magazine and numerous other publications.
Whitney Lewis is an East Coast native who’s called the West Coast home for the last 10 years and Washington state the last 5. After relocating to the Seattle area in 2015, she has been focused in the multi-family housing market specifically affordable housing. Currently, Whitney volunteers as one of the co-chair’s of AIA Seattle’s Diversity Roundtable where she is working to promote the committee locally and at a national level. Whitney is also finishing a three year term as a member of the Membership Steering Committee. When not volunteering, Whitney has been working at GGLO within their affordable housing group for the last year and a half. In and outside of work she seeks to make connections to encourage and promote diversity and equity in architecture and the built environment.
Amarpreet Sethi is a Principal and Energy and Sustainability leader at west coast engineering firm, tk1sc. Her work experience in Architecture, Building Science and Engineering allow her to provide valuable contributions in the field of high performance building design holistically. Her knowledge of climate-responsive design, daylighting, HVAC systems enable her to assist in sustainability, especially in the early stages of design. Amarpreet has worked in multiple market sectors to assist in meeting goals of decarbonization and Net Zero. Driven by a passion to provide valuable contributions to clients’ sustainability goals through Building Optimization, Amarpreet has been doing building performance analytics for over 18 years. Amarpreet’s focus on sustainable design first began while completing her Architecture degree in 2001. She went on to achieve a Master of Science in 2003 and worked as part of Mechanical Engineering teams for 15 years prior to joining tk1sc in 2019.
Katie is an expert in capital project planning for arts & culture with twenty years’ experience in planning, decision making, and economic analysis for nonprofit and public sector clients across the country. Her approach combines deep technical expertise in the complexities of cultural projects with a sensitivity to the unique needs, values, and aspirations of cultural organizations and their communities. Katie spent a decade as a theatre planning consultant prior to shifting her focus to cultural economics and its intersection with design, working to help clients and design teams make informed decisions about investment in cultural infrastructure. Past projects and clients include Seattle Rep, Minnesota Historical Society, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, American Repertory Theatre, the City of Vancouver, and many others. Katie holds a B.A. in Architecture from Princeton University and an M. Phil. in Public History and Cultural Heritage from Trinity College Dublin.
Michael is a principal at Everett-based Dykeman Architects. Born and raised in rural West Virginia, Michael relocated to the Northwest in 1999. He has over 20 years of experience in architecture and planning. He has been involved in a variety of projects including public, retail/mixed-use, education, residential, and civic projects. He is a thoughtful leader, an accomplished listener, and an excellent facilitator and client advocate. Michael earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a planning focus, augmenting a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Kentucky. Additionally, Michael has served on the City of Marysville City Council since 2010, providing a unique perspective on the impacts of public policy on the built environment. Michael believes the best architecture is the product of a successful collaboration between the design team and the client. He has a broad knowledge of the profession and utilizes his many experiences to develop cohesive designs for his clients.
JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox AIA is a licensed Architect in Oregon and Washington, where she practices as a Principal, Design Lead and Public Engagement Strategist for Mahlum. In her tenure at the firm, she has made a significant contribution in establishing Mahlum as a nationally recognized design firm. JoAnn designs consciously and is motivated by action and impact. An emerging national leader in design for learning, JoAnn’s built work explores architecture’s connection to regenerative social and ecological outcomes, and its power to uplift the next generation. Her work highlights a balance between persistent curiosity and a quiet sensitivity to place, craft and the human experience through design within the public realm. Operating in an area that is regularly constrained by budget and entrenched conventions, she is able to sensitively listen and provide innovative solutions that influence K-12 design nationally. Her advocacy has brought social justice to the foreground in the conversation on school design, and her public work for communities-in-need models the social impact architecture can have. She is noted for creating buildings as deeply impactful as beautiful and has been recognized with more than 80 awards for design excellence from the local to the international level, including a 2019 National AIA Honor Award for Arlington Elementary. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, JoAnn was also the recipient of an AIA Henry Adams Medal and in 2018 received AIA Seattle’s Young Architect Award. In addition, JoAnn volunteers, juries, mentors, publishes and lectures widely; engaging civic issues that speak to the transformational power of design.
Stacey Crumbaker Assoc. AIA is an associate principal at Mahlum, where she is focused on work that serves the greater public rather than individuals. With accredited degrees in both architecture and interior design, Stacey balances her work across two intertwined disciplines and advocates for the development of stronger bonds between practitioners. By cultivating a practice that responds to the human experience, she proves that architecture has a unique ability to foster community. She has led multiple designs for the region’s public schools, and her work often ties together the poetics of design with the tectonics of construction. Her work was informed by the receipt of the Sean Murphy Travel Fellowship, which sent her to Antarctica to research how such an extreme environment can shape livable spaces. She carried the lessons learned there back to Seattle, where she breathes new life into mundane spaces to inspire and enrich the communities she serves. Stacey’s path to leadership began with important roles for the Northern Pacific Chapter of the International Interior Design Association, where she fostered the organization’s advocacy programs to advance design excellence, legislation, and community outreach. With her unique perspective on practice, Stacey has also served on AIA’s Interior Architecture Advisory Group since 2017, and she has been instrumental in shaping the knowledge community’s long-term vision. Stacey has pushed designers across all disciplines to test the boundaries of design. As past-president of the board of Design in Public, she has prompted community dialogue focused on the impact of design in urban life. She has successfully gathered architects, interior designers, planners, and artists to participate in a wide range of programming at the annual festival.
Lisa Richmond, Hon. AIA and Executive Director of AIA Seattle has channeled her belief in the power of design to engage the public in critical issues of sustainability, livability, and resilience. Always providing maximum organizational impact, her actions and innovation have helped architects lead positive change in our communities. Lisa has worked to develop a culture of advocacy at AIA Seattle, recognizing that solving the profession’s pressing issues can only happen through policy and regulatory change. She has developed systems, such as the chapter’s public policy board, to both engage and deploy its members to great effect. AIA Seattle is one of the few local chapters to host a full-time position focused on advocacy, and the infrastructure Lisa has developed has become a model for components across the country. To directly foster carbon reduction in the built environment, Lisa led the chapter in its support of a state carbon tax. She was also a partner in the formation of Shift Zero, a cohort of 20 organizations from around Puget Sound striving toward zero carbon buildings. Her propensity for strategic thinking led to an appointment to the AIA Strategic Planning Task Force where she has championed a focus on organizational impact and accountability. Previously, Lisa served on the AIA Advocacy Capacity Building Task Force, where she worked with colleagues to unite a fractured group and create recommendations that were unanimously adopted by AIA’s board of directors. The list of Lisa’s accomplishments is lengthy and includes a Loeb Fellowship from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a place on the Seattle mayor’s Green Building Task Force, and service as a climate reality mentor for Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps. A born leader, her outlook on advocacy has become a national model that has greatly benefited AIA.