Events Search and Views Navigation
September 2016
Why Seattle Needs a Downtown Urban Design Plan
A policy framework is insufficient to achieve the urban outcomes we all desire; we also need specific, physical recommendations for urban form and shape, to guide investment. How can we visualize, through plans and illustrations, how growth and development can contribute to a greater whole? Could Seattle benefit from an Urban Design Plan, like so many other large cities have developed? Join moderator Dennis Haskell and panelists Lee Copeland, Barbara Gray, Don Stastny and Heidi Bullinga to explore the value…
July 2017
Built Environment Mayoral Candidates Forum
Seattle will have a new mayor next year, and the built environment of our city is under stress like never before. How do the candidates propose to accommodate the 3,125 new Seattleites who arrive each month while addressing the homelessness crisis? How do they hope to grow our city while preserving the quality of life for all residents? Join us for our quadrennial Built Environment Mayoral Candidates Forum to learn more about the candidates and their views on these and…
Density & Affordable Housing: Info Session on Seattle’s HALA/MHA and D/ADU Proposals
Seattle is moving forward with city-wide proposed zoning changes to increase density as a way to mitigate escalating housing costs and provide more affordable housing. What will this look like “on the ground”? As an architect, your informed opinion is important in the call for responses (by August 7) to the MHA Draft Environmental Impact Study. Read more
September 2017
Enter the Fray: How Architects & Designers can be POWERful Advocates
Architects and designers are uniquely positioned to advocate for vital urban spaces and design elements that contribute to healthy, livable communities. They are also well-suited to work towards community consensus on controversial issues: they are good listeners, they work collaboratively in groups, they look at all ideas, and they are effective problem-solvers. But too often architects step back from involvement in public policy decision-making. Can architecture and design instead be viewed as lenses through which public problems can be solved?…
January 2018
PPB Presents: Autonomous Vehicles & the Future of City Design
Self-driving cars are already being tested on Seattle’s streets. They have the potential to benefit cities by reducing crashes, improving first and last mile connections for transit users and reducing the high cost of owning a private vehicle. They also have the potential to significantly increase traffic congestion, vehicle miles travelled and climate pollution. How do we anticipate, adapt to, and leverage innovative and disruptive transportation technologies as we look to design our city for the future? Where will AIA…
February 2018
Imagineering a Postcarbon Seattle – Part 2
As a closing activity to the exhibit Futurama Redux: Urban Mobility After Cars And Oil exhibition, AIA Seattle will host a second public symposium, Imagineering a Postcarbon Seattle – Part 2, to explore the challenges and opportunities that decision makers, creatives, and civil society face when taking on the responsibility to phase out fossil fuels. Local experts will explore urban strategies for context-sensitive postcarbon transition and invite you to share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns as we try to achieve…
March 2018
Policy Pub Night – Density
Please join us for AIA Seattle’s inaugural Policy Pub Night hosted by the Public Policy Board & the Urban Design Forum, where we ask you to help us develop AIA’s policy response on a current public affairs issue. Read more
May 2018
What Shapes Seattle’s Affordable Housing?
Panelists: Jon Grant / Housing for All Coalition Joe Ferguson / Lake Union Partners Sharon Lee / Low Income Housing Institute Nick Welch / Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development Moderated by: Rick Mohler AIA / mohler + ghillino architects / university of washington Organized by: Committee on Homelessness / AIA Seattle An affordable housing week event
July 2018
SDCI Forum: Feedback Needed on Pre-Approved DADU Plans
The City of Seattle has expressed interest in developing sets of pre-approved plans for Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs) to make them less expensive and quicker to build. Recently, Mayor Jenny Durkan issued a press release touting the idea. At this Forum, Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development and its Department of Construction & Inspections will present the City’s current work on ADUs/DADUs and seek input from attendees on how such a program might work and what concerns architects…
September 2018
Owner Occupancy Member Forum
Owner occupancy is currently required by the city of Seattle for either the main house or the ADU if the owner chooses to rent out either property. The city’s draft ADU EIS released in May contained alternatives that would remove the owner occupancy provision. With the final EIS scheduled to be released around the end of September, this Forum is designed for members to provide feedback to AIA Seattle’s policy position makers. Aly Pennucci, Policy Analyst, Seattle City Council Central…
February 2019
Transportation Task Force Meeting (CANCELLED)
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith. Note: this month’s meeting is cancelled.
March 2019
Task Force Meeting: Transportation
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month.* For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith. *Please note: this month’s meeting occurs on the second Monday.
PPB+UDF Policy Pub Night
Join AIA Seattle’s Public Policy Board and the Urban Design Forum for drinks and discussion at Policy Pub Night Read more
October 2019
TASK FORCE MEETING: HOUSING – OCTOBER
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Thursday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
Seattle City Council Candidates Forum on Housing + Homelessness
Join us for a city council candidates forum focused on housing issues in advance of November’s municipal election. Read more
November 2019
TASK FORCE MEETING: HOUSING – NOVEMBER
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Thursday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
December 2019
Task Force Meeting: Transportation
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith. On Dec. 10, we’ll hear from the Lid I-5 team about the City’s feasibility study (led by WSP) for lidding the area between Denny Way and Madison Street. Lid I-5 co-chairs Scott Bonjukian and Josh Feit will tell us what’s currently happening, discuss strategy and next steps,…
Task Force Meeting: Housing
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Thursday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
January 2020
Housing Task Force Meeting
AIA Seattle’s Housing Task Force operates under the Public Policy Board. It discusses, researches, and makes policy recommendations related to the chapter’s policy interests related to housing. All members are welcome to attend Task Force meetings. For more information, please contact Kirsten Smith at kirstens@aiaseattle.temp312.kinsta.cloud or 206-957-1926.
**CANCELLED**Task Force Meeting: Transportation
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith. **Tonight’s meeting is cancelled due to weather. We’ll reschedule soon.**
March 2020
CANCELLED: Task Force Meeting: Transportation
The March 10 Transportation Task Force meeting is cancelled due to health concerns. We’ll update this space when it’s rescheduled. AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
April 2020
CANCELLED – Task Force Meeting: Transportation
The April 14th meeting is canceled. AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
May 2020
CANCELED Task Force Meeting: Transportation
The May meeting is canceled. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
October 2020
Task Force Meeting: Transportation
AIA Seattle members are invited to attend these policy-focused committee meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Kirsten Smith.
November 2020
AIA Seattle Climate Advocacy Week
Climate Advocacy Week is your opportunity to showcase the built environment’s role in combating climate change by advocating for strong sustainability policies at the local government level. Seattle’s Commercial Energy Code has been updated and must be approved by the City Council. Key changes to the code this year will: Eliminate most fossil fuel uses Prioritize high-efficiency building envelopes Make the best use of Seattle’s clean electricity Ramp up renewable solar energy The Seattle City Council will be voting on…
May 2021
West Coast Downtowns: Resilience, Recovery and Beyond
More than just a central business district, each downtown projects a civic identity that offers opportunities to build community, welcome residents and visitors, enhance the economy, and create wonder. Building back better requires a critical look at our past and a clear vision for the future. Can we transform our downtowns beyond the central business district into active, vibrant neighborhoods that center our cities? And what does revival mean in the context of all of our region’s residents? Join panelists…
June 2021
15-Minute Seattle: Design for Dignity
Throughout the spring of 2019, Elizabeth traveled from Seattle to Dallas, Helsinki, Vienna, and Zurich to learn more about successful programs transitioning people from homelessness into permanent housing. Specifically, her work explores how design choices impact the housing retention rates of formerly homeless individuals and families and supports the restoration of their dignity. For the second half of the session, Elizabeth will lead the audience in small group discussions to explore how we might rewrite Seattle’s narrative on housing and…
City of Seattle Candidate Forums on the Built Environment
Seattle’s built environment – homes, buildings, streets and sidewalks, public spaces, parks, zoning, transportation options and more – provides the infrastructure for how we live our lives in the city. Our built environment impacts our health, our quality of life, and our ability to make homes, connections, and contributions to jobs and community organizations. These forums are presented by a coalition of Seattle’s built environment practitioners and are designed to give you an overview of the candidate’s positions on housing…
September 2021
Neighborhoods for All: Expanding Housing Opportunity in Seattle’s Single Family Zones
Taught in collaboration with the Seattle Planning Commission and building on its Neighborhoods for All report, the courses are aimed at advancing progressive housing policy in Seattle. Students reviewed the city’s recent history of explosive growth and the resulting housing crisis, exacerbated by a racist legacy of single-family zoning that reserves 70% of residentially zoned land for single family homes. This has yielded a dichotomy of housing types in which Seattle has an outsized percentage of detached suburban homes and large…
October 2021
Calling Climate Advocates: King County Climate Advocacy Action
AIA Seattle’s 2020 Climate Advocacy Week, held in December, featured AIA member meetings with Seattle City Councilmembers to support the city’s strongest-in-Washington energy code update. That code was approved in February and is now effective for commercial and large multifamily buildings. In 2021, we’re continuing this effort as King County’s Council looks to approve its commercial energy code for unincorporated areas. King County’s proposed code is based closely on but not a copy of the Seattle update. We’ll be holding…
March 2022
Design Review Work Session
Seattle will take a close look at its Design Review program in 2022 in response to an item included in the city’s 2022 budget that requires SDCI to convene a stakeholder group on Design Review program outcomes. The stakeholder group is tasked with reviewing the following and providing recommendations for how the program should be modified: A Race and Equity Toolkit analysis of the Design Review program and barriers to participation for BIPOC residents; Design Review program outcomes since the…
June 2022
COHO: Social Housing in Seattle – A Look Into Initiative I-135
Join AIA Seattle’s Committee on Homelessness for a panel discussion on the new proposed ballot initiative to create a public development authority for social housing in Seattle. Read more
April 2024
Our Future Seattle: Comprehensive Plan Charrette
Join the AIA Seattle Urban Design Forum and the Comprehensive Plan Workgroup to learn about the recently released draft of the Seattle comprehensive plan, the “One Seattle Plan!” This plan is the city’s vision for how Seattle should develop for the next 20 years. Read more
