STATE NEWS
Mass Timber
AIA Washington Council submitted a proposal to the State Building Code Council (SBCC) in May to permit the use of mass timber in the construction of taller buildings. Proposals are currently being reviewed by the SBCC’s technical advisory groups, which will provide recommendations to the SBCC. AIAWA’s proposal is based on two precedents: proposed code changes issued this year by the International Code Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings and legislation passed by the state legislature in March that directs the SBCC to develop codes for wood buildings. That legislation passed with overwhelming support in both houses.
LOCAL NEWS
Early Community Outreach for Design Review Finalized
Seattle’s Department of Construction & Inspections and the Department of Neighborhoods published a final joint Director’s Rule for Early Community Outreach for Design Review this month. Disappointingly, the final rule appears to be unchanged from the draft version about which AIA Seattle and other organizations had expressed significant concerns. AIA Seattle’s comments to the city identified several areas where the Rule would make Design Review slower, more expensive, riskier to applicants, weighted toward larger developers and at cross purposes to the program’s stated goals. AIA Seattle supports effective community engagement, but we have concerns about this particular rule and how it might impact architects’ ability to support the city’s housing needs. The city’s decision to finalize the Rule means that it will go into effect on July 1. For reference, the city’s guidance website on Early Community Outreach for Design Review can be found here. AIA Seattle will monitor how Early Community Outreach is working for our members in order to provide additional feedback to the city.
AIA Seattle Submits Comments on Seattle’s ADU Draft EIS
AIA Seattle’s Housing Task Force and Public Policy Board submitted comments to Seattle City Council Central Staff on the city’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement related to Councilmember Mike O’Brien’s proposal to make accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) easier to build in the city. AIA Seattle has been supportive of this effort as a way to provide additional housing units in the city, particularly in single family neighborhoods.
AIA Seattle Weighs-in on Seattle’s MHA Propsal
AIA Seattle’s Committee on Homelessness organized groups to testify at City Council district hearings on the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program this spring. In addition, AIA Seattle’s Housing Task Force has met with six City Council offices—Councilmembers Herbold, Johnson, O’Brien and Sawant and staff from the offices of Councilmembers Juarez and Mosqueda—to discuss what architects are seeing on the ground in the areas where MHA has already gone into effect. For more information, contact Kirsten Smith, Manager of Policy and Advocacy.
GET INVOLVED
State Policy Opportunities
Interested in influencing state policy related to the practice of architecture? Consider joining one of AIA Washington Council’s policy committees. These committees meet by email or phone during the legislative session to review legislation and discuss AIAWA’s policy priorities. Outside of the session, committees meet less frequently. Contact Kirsten Smith if you are interested in learning more about any of the following committees:
Climate Committee: reviews climate change-related bills, carbon pricing policies, and energy efficient building incentives. Also weighs in on other climate issues including solar, energy use, refrigerants, and more.
Codes Committee: addresses building, energy and other codes that impact architects’ work. Monitors the actions of the State Building Code Council (SBBC) and advocates on behalf of the SBBC before the legislature.
Livability & Affordability Committee: advocates for the benefits of robust regional planning, tracking issues relating to affordable housing, planning, transportation, protection of the Growth Management Act, and more.
Practice Committee: reviews issues affecting the practice of architecture including contracts, alternative project delivery, quality-based selection, and changes to our state Practice Act. In preparation for the 2019 legislative session, the Practice Committee will be working to help craft legislation related to condominium liability reform (see below) and to amend the Practice Act’s statutes on architect licensure to incorporate NCARB’s national standards.
Taxes/Education/Capital Budget Committee: addresses all forms of taxation, funding of the capital budget, and legislative issues dealing with education facilities and funding for K-12 schools and higher education.
Condo Liability Reform
The state legislature is expected to work on some version of condo liability reform next year. Legislation was introduced but failed to pass last year, and we expect this to be a top priority for legislators in 2019. AIA Washington Council will be meeting with key legislators on this issue through the fall and working to craft AIAWA’s position on important elements aimed at decreasing liability around condo projects. If you are interested in participating in a special task force on condo liability, please contact Kirsten Smith.
Legislative Meetings
Through the summer and fall, AIA Washington Council will be setting up meetings with most state legislators to discuss issues related to the 2019 legislative session. We invite you to participate in meetings with your personal legislators. Talking points on key issues will be provided, members will always attend meetings with other members and/or staff, and members are welcome to bring their own topics of interest to the discussion. Although you will be notified if a meeting is scheduled in your district, please contact Kirsten Smith to let us know if you are interested in participating in one or more meetings with your elected officials. You can look up your legislators here.
EVENTS
City of Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections Forum on Pre-Approved DADU Plans
July 23, 5:30pm @ the Center
Last month Mayor Jenny Durkan released a statement indicating continued city interest in developing sets of pre-approved plans for detached accessory dwelling units to make DADUs less expensive and quicker to build. AIA Seattle is hosting this forum by the Seattle Deptartment of Construction & Inspections (SDCI), which will present current city plans related to DADUs and seek feedback from attendees.
AIA Seattle Committee & Task Force Meetings
Committee on Homelessness. July 10, noon – 1pm @ the Center.
Housing Task Force. July 12, noon – 1:15pm @ the Center.
For more information on these or any other topics, or to join a task force, please contact:
Kirsten Smith
Manager of Policy and Advocacy
AIA Washington Council & AIA Seattle
206-448-4938 x401 | kirstens@aiaseattle.temp312.kinsta.cloud
Rob has been with The Miller Hull Partnership since 2002 and was invited to be a Partner in 2016. His career has tended toward the management and practice side of architecture, and he leads Miller Hull’s Delivery group, which focuses on issues related to quality, technology, expectations for delivery, and improving staff understanding in each of these areas. Rob is also a leader in Miller Hull’s Serve marketing group, a team which focuses on projects related to infrastructure, U.S. gateways and public safety. His recent projects have included border crossings, embassies and other civic/public works.
Victoria has worked in the development industry in just about every facet of the industry: as owner, real estate developer, landscape architect and now contractor. For the last 4 years, Victoria has been building Sellen’s design-build portfolio. Recent projects include an office building on the Capitol campus in Olympia with ZGF & a 12 story office building in South Lake Union with Olson Kundig. Prior to Sellen, Victoria was a development manager for Vulcan for 10 years leading design & construction teams to create UW Medicine’s research facilities in South Lake Union. She also worked with Institute for Systems Biology, PATH and the Allen Institute for Brain Science on their new homes. Victoria’s laboratory knowledge niche was started when she worked in Immunex & Amgen’s capital projects groups. Victoria’s first career was as a landscape architect in Oregon and San Francisco, CA. She is a licensed landscape architect, accredited LEED AP, and DBIA member.
Myer’s work as a Principal & Director of Sustainability at Weber Thompson is primarily in urban, mid-rise, commercial office projects with ambitious environmental goals. He was named the AIA Seattle Young Architect 2011, and has been active in the local community through volunteer work on boards and committees. In recent years he has co-instructed architecture studios at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. Myer was a member of the design team for the award-winning Eco-Laboratory, which won the national USGBC 2008 Natural Talent Design Competition, and was included in the Cooper Hewitt’s 2010 Design Triennial Exhibit. Myer received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree with Philosophy citation at the University of Maryland in 2002, and a Master in Architecture degree at the University of Washington in 2005.
Margaret graduated from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning in 2012, after which she spent a summer abroad working with Kounkuey Design Initiative to conduct participatory design workshops outside of Nairobi, Kenya. She relocated to Seattle shortly after and has most recently been engaged in affordable housing and community-focused projects at Schemata Workshop. Margaret is co-chair of AIA Seattle’s Diversity Roundtable committee where she works to encourage and promote diversity within the architectural profession.
Osama Quotah, AIA, LEED AP is a Principal at LMN Architects. Osama’s professional career has included a wide range of projects in the U.S. and abroad that have focused on cultural sensitivity, sustainability and community-based design solutions. Recent project work includes the Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion, the Seattle Academy (SAAS) Middle School, and the conference center renovation at Pier 66. Osama has been intimately involved in the larger planning and development issues facing our city through his work as a board member on the AIA public policy board, and through his past work on the Yesler Terrace Citezen’s Review Committee, the Light Rail Review Panel, and as chair of the Seattle Design Commission.
Tom Kundig is a principal and owner of Seattle-based Olson Kundig. Over the past three decades, Kundig has received some of the world’s highest design honors, including a National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, Kundig was inducted into Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame and in 2016, he was elected to the National Academy as an Academician in Architecture. Under his leadership, Olson Kundig received the 2009 National AIA Architecture Firm Award (as Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects), was a recipient of the 2004 Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York, and has twice been named one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Architecture by Fast Company. In total, Kundig’s work has received over 60 awards from the American Institute of Architects, including ten National Honor Awards and ten National Housing Awards. In 2018, Kundig’s Sawmill project received an AIA COTE Top Ten Award and an AIA National Small Project Award. Kundig’s Shinsegae International received the World Architecture News Tall Buildings Award in 2017, and his Meg Home, Rolling Huts and Delta Shelter projects have all received Record House Awards from Architectural Record. The Pierre was named the World Architecture News House of the Year in 2010. Kundig’s work has appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide and on the covers of The New York Times magazine, ARCHITECT, Architectural Record, and Architectural Digest. Kundig’s work can be found on five continents, in locations ranging from Costa Rica to Brazil, New Zealand, China, Mexico and Sweden. Kundig regularly lectures and serves on design juries around the world, and is named in The Wallpaper* 150 as a key individual who has influenced, inspired and improved the way we live, work and travel. In 2011, Princeton Architectural Press released Tom Kundig: Houses 2, the follow-up to the 2006 book, Tom Kundig Houses. Both books have become the Press’s best-selling architecture books of all time. His third monograph, Tom Kundig: Works, was released in November 2015; by January 2016, the first print run of 7,500 copies was sold out and in 2018 the book is currently on its third reprint. The international success of all three of Kundig’s monographs is another testament to his worldwide reach and influence on both architectural practitioners and design-minded audiences.
JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox AIA, LEED AP, has committed her professional practice to exploring architecture’s emerging relationship to social and ecological possibilities – not just solutions – that uplift the next generation. Specializing in design for learning, her built work highlights a balance between persistent curiosity and a quiet sensitivity to place, craft and the human experience. Manifested through: spatial and functional exploration; transdisciplinary collaboration; rigorous resolution; and the cultivation of positive social interaction through design within the public realm. Noted for creating buildings as deeply impactful as beautiful, her work has been awarded for design excellence from the local to the international level. JoAnn is a Principal, Design Lead and Public Engagement Strategist at Mahlum, on the leadership team of the firm’s K-12 Studio. Additionally, JoAnn volunteers, juries, teaches, critiques, facilitates, publishes and lectures widely; engaging civic issues that speak to the transformational power of design for social equity and environmental wellbeing.
Lindsey is a construction law attorney with Cairncross & Hempelmann. Her clients include owners, owner’s representatives, contractors, multi-disciplinary design firms, and engineering and architecture firms. Lindsey has devoted her career to understanding the risks faced by design and construction professionals, working together with her clients to manage those risks, while encouraging growth and innovation in their practices. Her practice is thoroughly integrated with her clients’ projects; she provides counsel on contract negotiation, project delivery, budget and schedule constraints, payment disputes, and post-completion claims. Lindsey is very proud to have served as a three-term member of the Board of Directors at the AIA, and to have participated on the Practice & Ethics and Women in Design Committees, the Center for Architecture and Design Executive Committee and many other exciting AIA initiatives. Lindsey is also active with ACEC, ULI, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Seattle Architecture Foundation.
Peter is best known for his work with Quadrant Homes where he served for almost 25 years, helping to bring Quadrant to prominence as Washington’s leading homebuilder, serving as President until 2010 when he assumed the role of CEO of the Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company where he oversaw five different homebuilding operations across the Country until 2014 when Weyerhaeuser completed the successful sale of the Company, at which point Peter “retired”. In his retirement Peter served as the acting Director for the Runstad Department for Real Estate Studies and upon a successful search for the permanent Director, now serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board.. He currently serves on the Governor’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board and since July of 2016 has been a member of the Rainier Prep Charter School Board of Directors. Peter also serves as a Director for Beazer Homes, a national Public home builder and on the Advisory Board of Seabrook a Washington coastal resort community. Peter’s civic commitments have also been diverse. He has been Chairman of the King County Housing Authority, President of the King and Snohomish County Master Builders Association, Chairman of Forterra and a board and Executive Committee member for the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He also served as Chair of the Mercer Island planning commission and was elected to a four-year term on the City Council in 1994.
By reaching out to ‘Just Say Hello’ we begin the process of turning a stranger into a friend. Facing Homelessness invites community into the task of ending homelessness by bringing people closer in relationship, we do this with the understanding that healthy community does not accept homelessness. Our Facebook page shares b&w photos and stories of those living outside as means for highlighting the beauty of each person, inviting us to reach out. Over the last eight years, every need posted has been answered by this compassionate community. The BLOCK Project places a 125 sq ft home in residential backyards, providing an off-grid self-sufficient and dignified place to call home for someone formerly living outside. The BLOCK Project, originated by architects Jenn LaFreniere and Rex Hohlbein, partners at BLOCK Architects, and now managed by Facing Homelessness, unleashes the power of community by revealing that we each have a role in ending homelessness.
The Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) partners with the community to create strategies to help us achieve shared environmental goals. OSE coordinates among City departments, the Mayor’s Office, and City Council to ensure successful implementation these strategies. They integrate equity by elevating opportunities to increase racial, social, and environmental justice throughout Seattle’s environmental work. OSE is leading the way to a sustainable and carbon neutral Seattle. They focus our efforts in three areas: Meeting the Climate Challenge; Championing Environmental Equity; and Growing Sustainable Communities.
Laura is an Associate at Olson Kundig, where she first joined the firm as an intern in 2011. She is known for her interest in imaginative and exploratory architecture, which has informed her work on such cultural projects as Zooraji, a rooftop garden located above a nine-story department store in Daegu, South Korea. This project also reflects Laura’s continued interest in landscape – both real and imagined, micro and macro – as a point of departure for design investigations. She is currently working on the design of Checkmate Winery, a winery renovation in British Columbia by Olson Kundig Principal/Owner Tom Kundig. This coming spring Laura will also be co-teaching the studio ‘Design Dialogues’ at the University of Washington with Olson Kundig Principals Edward Lalonde and Mark Olthoff, and UW Associate Professor and Chair Brian McLaren. This collaboration between the University of Washington Architecture School and Olson Kundig will seek to unearth the inherent stories of place as a departure point for design.
Mithun is an integrated design firm with a shared mission to create positive change in people’s lives. As a national practice with offices in San Francisco and Seattle, the firm functions as one unified design studio with a humble and collaborative spirit founded on a process of inquiry and listening. Mithun’s team of architects, landscape architects, interior designers, urban designers and planners creates seamless experiences that are unique expressions of each client, community, and place. The work includes a wide range of typologies and scales, with a focus on urban environments, and the design of places where people live, work, and learn. The firm is an internationally recognized leader in sustainability, combining exemplary design with a focus on building and site performance, human health, and social equity.
R. David Frum FAIA is the president of Salus Architecture, a firm exclusively dedicated to healthcare facility design. David spent much of his career leading healthcare projects. He is known as an expert on healthcare design, both nationally and in the region. He initiated and led the AIA Seattle/AHP Healthcare Design Forum in 2004 and led its committee for eight years. He is a former board member of the AIA’s Academy of Architecture for Health and led its regional initiatives committee. David is a certificate holder of the American College of Healthcare Architects.
Mindy Lehrman Cameron FAIA designs environments that tell evocative stories for educational purpose. As architect, artist, and founder of Lehrman Cameron Studio, Mindy has expanded the role and reach of the practice of architecture and has made a powerful impact on the profession of interpretive design. A collaborative team leader committed to consequential subjects, Mindy creates significant visitor destinations with a strong vision from concept to details. Through her projects, she has sought to inspire positive environmental action at places such as Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve in New Jersey and at Washington State’s Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Plant. She’s affirmed history’s relevancy at Snoqualmie Falls, Lake Union Park, Stanford and Alaska University’s art museums, and Seattle’s August Wilson Way. She’s created interactive exhibits for the Exploratorium and the Seattle Symphony. Her work makes conservation accessible at Point Defiance and Woodland Park zoos. She elevated play with Utah Children’s Museum and at REI. Mindy teaches, lectures, trains creative professionals, develops courses, organizes symposia, and serves on juries and boards. She received a Masters of Architecture from MIT, and has lived in Seattle since 1995. From her first project (garbage museum, Connecticut), to today (historic concrete plant, Washington), Mindy has enthusiastically thrown herself into her work with wit and invention.
Sam Miller FAIA is Managing Partner at LMN Architects where his project work includes the Seattle Central Library, Seattle Art Museum Downtown Expansion, Museum of History and Industry, University of Iowa Voxman Music Building and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Sam heads LMN’s Green Group, focused on advancing sustainable design knowledge, resources and approach. He is also a leader of LMN Tech Studio, which performs research and development of design technologies, including simulation, parametric modeling, digital fabrication and human/computer interaction.
Wendy Pautz FAIA demonstrates the power of collaboration, leading multi-disciplinary teams to create transformative architecture. As a design partner at Seattle based LMN Architects, Wendy has led the design of public and private-sector projects throughout the United States with a profound impact on their urban settings. Through a holistic and integrated design approach, Wendy produces innovative project solutions that connect the experience of the architecture with the life of the community. Wendy has shaped LMN’s progressive and deeply collaborative design culture; her leadership defining a practice model that prioritizes the development of emerging professionals by fostering hands-on, face-to-face collaboration within the project work and engaging firm members regularly for exchanges of ideas and insights. Wendy has been invited to share the firm’s holistic and collaborative approach at the AIA National Convention and various AIA chapters throughout the country. Wendy’s projects have been widely published and recognized with more than 30 design awards – among them, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seattle. Her projects also include the Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center, the Conrad Prebys Music Building at the University of California in San Diego, the recently completed expansion and renovation of the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the Seattle Asian Art Museum Expansion and Renovation, and the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAAS), currently under construction.
Wolf Saar, FAIA, As a Managing Director of VIA Architecture, an international, west-coast-based design practice specializing in the creation of the vital components that establish great cities, Wolf oversees firm-wide initiatives across VIA’s US and Canadian office. Wolf also promotes synergies across all of VIA’s core services of architecture, planning, urban design and community-building, bringing to life projects that are both forward-looking and grounded in their urban setting. As the upcoming chair of the AIA Contract Documents Committee, Wolf leads the development of industry-standard risk management tools that promote sustainability and collaboration nationwide. He was a founding member of the AIA Continuing Education System (CES), a foundational element of the Institute and a fundamental aspect of licensure for architects. Wolf puts into practice the principles of lifelong learning and the AIA Continuing Education System through presentations at AIA Conferences, national universities and through webinars.
affordable housing and other public assets:
While any Washington resident is welcome to contact statewide elected officials such as the Governor, Lt. Governor, or Attorney General, typically the best way to impact state government policy is by contacting your personal state senator or representatives. Compared to federal legislators, Washington state legislators have much smaller staffs and therefore struggle to educate themselves personally about the myriad issues they must address. They welcome the opportunity to hear from knowledgeable constituents, and your input can matter a great deal at the state level. Choose an issue that you are interested in, track bills related to it, and become an advisor to your state representatives. Often, the best time to meet with your representatives is outside of the legislative session, when they are less busy and can focus on larger-picture issues.
AIA National maintains a dedicated advocacy team in the DC office to track and draft bills, coordinate with other organizations and mobilize member advocacy. AIA staff advocate for policies that shape smart decisions and encourage innovation; legislation that secures the future of the profession and allows communities to benefit from the value of architecture; and regulations and codes that ensure buildings and spaces are healthy and safe.
To visit DC, contact your legislator DC office well ahead of time, tell them briefly what you would like to talk with your legislator about, and request an appointment. When you visit, you will most likely meet with a staff person, not the legislator. Don’t worry; that’s often the best person to meet with, as they will know your particular issue better than the representative.