I'll be presenting the Sunset Substation Park to the NW Ecobuilding Guild at their annual "green building slam," 10x10x10. It's "a high-energy introduction to ten cutting-edge sustainable building projects in and around Seattle...featuring fast-paced presentations by the region's leading green builders and delicious food and drink."
This marks our second year in a row presenting (last year, we showed off the Fremont Townhomes)!
One of my daily destinations for green design, Inhabitat, just featured our Sunset Substation Park! Just a blurb, but there is more information on the Sunset Substation blog
It was great to see a solid turnout for the opening. It was so packed I couldn't really spend time looking at the work, amongst all the starving architects jockeying for free wine, beer and food!
Come see the freshest work by a group of young architects, tonight at the AIA office downtown. We're honored to be a part of this group!
Kate and Ric have begun construction on their backyard cottage... They have been working hard the last few weeks and have enlisted the help of a few friends and colleagues along the way. A few key players have been helping guide us through the process:
Ric has been doing a wonderful job of photographing the process and has put together a few galleries of the construction process thus far (all images in this post are © 2010 Ric Cochrane). He has also agreed to write up a blog post on the experience thus far - so stay tuned for that!
DECONSTRUCTION GALLERY
An existing shed (that was a bit worse for wear) was painstakingly deconstructed and all reusable and recyclable materials were sorted and stacked
LABOR OF LOVE - THE FOUNDATION
Digging in the dirt and other fun activities - the true definition of 'sweat equity!'
LUMBER FROM THE BONE-YARD
Salvaged beams, columns and decking are being purchased from Bruce Borjesson of Pacific Resources
In the Daily Journal of Commerce: Green Building Blog
The final Feasibility Study and Community Design Report is available here
Congratulations to Parkour Visions--the City has selected them as a finalist for the 'Holding Pattern' competition to help energize one of Seattle's stalled building sites. Â I'm hoping we'll have an opportunity to help them create an urban Parkour park, although temporary, here in Seattle!
We just heard that one of our past projects is going to be featured in Seattle Homes and Lifestyles next year! Â The project was a remodel of a classic victorian on Capitol Hill. The original house was well kept, but overgrown, dark with a tiny kitchen:
The walls in the dining room were forest green, but you couldn't even really tell, because of the heavy drapes, and the 15' hedge that was gradually consuming the site.
We took down the hedge, pulled the drapes, then started cutting into the house to open up the spaces, and connect the house to the outside world. Â We added an elegant back porch, perfect for grilling, using all the period details down to the last dentil. Â Even though we maintained the perimeter of the existing house, by using the space better, we were able to triple the kitchen's size, and put in built-ins to maximize every corner without altering the character of the house.
We've been selected as one of the up and coming Seattle architecture firms shaping the future of our fair city. Â The exhibit will be up at AIA Seattle in July with a reception on the July 1st from 5-7 pm. The exhibit will highlight ten or so local firms, and will be a great chance to see some fresh design thinking from around town. Â The AIA hasn't published the full list of firms included yet, but when they do, I'll link up to their websites.