HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Recently I had the pleasure of working on a habitat for humanity home in Albion Washington. This experience was multi-faceted for me, not only getting the experience of working hands on building houses, seeing every detail that goes into the finished product, but also having the satisfaction of helping on a project that will ultimately be a “family in need” dwelling and home. Our day was spent performing many tasks; however the main priority was to enclose the roof in order to weather proof the dwelling. We were tasked with sheeting the roof; this involved hanging hurricane brackets for the trusses and finishing with laying sheeting across the south side of the roof. Throughout the process I was able to reflect on how decisions as a designer ultimately affect the people tasked with building these structures. Overall it was a very rewarding and educational experience, allowing me to see first hand how a building is constructed as well as helping to advance someone else’s dream of owning a home.

BUILD URBAN JOB SHADOW

I had the opportunity to participate in a field trip to Seattle with the Washington State University Interior Design Department. The highlight of the Seattle field trip came as a job shadow with Build Urban. Build Urban is a full service real estate development company. Keying on land use acquisition, urban designing and construction management, they provide clients with everything from feasibility studies to the final turnkey projects. They focus on projects that use fully sustainable building practices as well as obtaining as many local materials as possible. Their highest priority is building projects on prime view lots and creating value engineering in each and every project. I had the pleasure of meeting with Build Urban’s interior designers, Alyse and Brittney, and they walked me through a floor plan layout as well as finished material selections. I even had the opportunity of creating a floor plan of a space that they are currently designing. While I was incredibly nervous about this undertaking upon first being presented with the task, it was an incredible experience, even receiving approval from one of the company’s designers. We then proceeded to one of their projects in progress; two magnificent townhouses with open floor plans, each with 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and a single car garage. What was most impressive was the floor to ceiling windows that give you an incredible view toward Lake Union, Queen Anne, Gasworks Park, and Downtown Seattle. What I found so interesting about their designs were the simple lines and simplistic materials merging to create an elegant yet earthy space. This meeting certainly validated my career choice as an interior designer, but also gives me direction in which type of firm I may seek out upon completion of my education. While reflecting upon this amazing experience I must ponder if I would have had the same thoughts if I had the opportunity to job shadow a different firm.

SKETCH CRAWL AT SEATTLE CENTER

The last day of our amazing Seattle trip we met with a group called the Urban Sketchers at the Seattle Center. The Urban Sketchers are a nonprofit organization that develop educational programs to foster the art of on-location drawing. The mission of the Urban Sketchers is to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel. We were shown some amazing sketches done by Urban Sketchers and then tasked with creating our own sketches of the landmarks surrounding Seattle Center. After attempting to sketch the space needle for about an hour we met back up at the Armory for a critique with the Urban Sketchers. The advice that was given was to sketch as much as possible and sketch as quickly as possible.

GUIDED BY LIGHT

The Frye Art Museum opened in 1952, displaying the art collected by Charles and Emma Frye; this was the first free art museum in Seattle, WA that was open to the public. Upon the Frye’s death they had several stipulations in their will concerning the museum, one of the stipulations was specific to lighting. When the museum was renovated in 2012, careful consideration was made in exploring the variety of ways daylight could be used as a guide through the museum but also not to affect the art that was displayed. The architects after several study models (around 500) strategically designed the building so that natural light slips into the building guiding the visitors through the museum at the same time you are guided through the exhibits the designer made sure the light did not have any affect on the art work. The use of light in this building was a display of artistic talent, creating a lighted path leading you to the artistic pieces contained within the museum itself.

THE MEANING OF LIGHT

Jim Graham, of Graham Babba a design firm in Seattle, WA, met our group at St. Ignatius Chapel located at 901 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA. Before we went into the chapel Mr. Graham explained how Steven Holl, the architect of St. Ignatius Chapel, created “A gathering of different lights” in the design concept of the chapel. He further expanded on this by describing the design concept as “seven bottles of light in a stone box.” The unique exterior of St. Ignatius Chapel does not immediately convey the unique use of light; it is upon stepping through the doors that one is hit immediately with a myriad of light that creates lines heading in many directions. The light penetrating the building through the “bottles” creates geometric shapes of light being bent and twisted; the lines create and convey certain moods. The diagonal lines guide you throughout the building, creating lighted pathways that pull you in the intended direction. Some portions of this guided tour, the light bends in a horizontal fashion signaling a moment of pause or rest, the light and colors change your mood and give you moments of reflection. Vertical lines abound in certain areas suggesting spirituality other spaces have soft shallow curves giving you a feeling of comfort and safety while the combination of vertical and horizontal lines throughout the building communicate stability. Every line Holl used in defining the space coincided with the reflections of color to change the definition of the existing shape of each wall and more than anything to portray feelings.

STREET BEAN ESPRESSO

Thursday afternoon we had the privilege of meeting with Mary Steele the Executive Director of New Horizons, a nonprofit organization that helps the children living on the streets of Seattle. In 2009, Street Bean Espresso a subsidiary of New Horizons was opened as a nonprofit coffee shop. Street Bean Espresso located at 2702 3rd Ave., Seattle, WA is a very different coffee shop, not only is there a beautiful industrial aesthetic to the interior design with the use of raw wood at the barista counter, polished concrete floors and modern art that lines the walls, this coffee shop provides an opportunity for the homeless children in Seattle to acquire job training and employment so that they may exit the street life. The industrial design of the coffee shop matches the state that most of these kids are in upon entering Street Bean Espresso, raw and unrefined, ready to be molded.

WESTLAKE PROJECT

On Thursday morning we met with Leann Crist with Graham Baba a design collective firm in Seattle, WA. The project we were privileged to tour is known as the Westlake Residential project located at 325 Westlake, Seattle, WA. This building originally was a one-story auto garage built in the 1920’s. The front half of the building is undergoing a seismic retrofit with new steel frames and connections between the timber diaphragms and original perimeter masonry walls to function as Mad Art Studio. A new five story steel framed addition comprised of mixed use space and high end residential apartments is being added to the back portion of the building. The structure has a beautiful rawness to it with the steel, concrete, wood decking and utilities being exposed. There is a large skylight that will flush the interior space with natural light. The project delicately balances old with new while also incorporating modern green building practices setting the standard for building reuse in the modern age.

THE FUTURE

The Seattle field trip begins at a 10-unit townhome development called zHome in Issaquah, WA. zHome uses a smart design to reduce environmental impacts. A few of the energy-efficient techniques used to reduce energy use are super insulated walls, double-paned fiberglass windows that allow solar heat gain to enter the homes during the cooler months, tight exterior walls that exceed code standards, a ground source heat pump is used for heating and hot water, a heat recovery ventilator which allows cold air coming into the house to be heated by the warm air that is being exhausted, and hydronic heating which water that runs through the floors and walls that heat the units. The most effective technique is the use of photovoltaic panels; these panels absorb the sun’s rays and turn it into electricity. What happens when it’s cloudy? A lot of solar energy does make it through the clouds in Western Washington. zHome has a 40% water use. The landscape design used around the townhouses are that of drought-tolerant plants that won’t require any watering once they are established. Rainwater storage tanks are used to flush toilets and wash clothes year-round. Because so much time is spent indoors the air quality inside a home greatly impacts ones health. zHome increases air quality through proper ventilation and the use of low-toxicity materials. zHome has an amazing concept that is becoming the way of our future. Homeowners in the zHome community not only save money with the energy techniques used but they also have a very positive impact on our environment.