Historic property nominations due

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is seeking nominations by Jan. 18 to next year's Most Endangered Historic Properties List.

Go to http://www.preservewa.org/Nomination-Process.aspx to apply.

Properties and resources on the list get advocacy support from the trust. The goal is to remove the immediate threat and raise awareness.

Two properties that were on the list are Old City Hall in Tacoma, now slated for redevelopment, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Globe, which the Museum of History & Industry wants to move and restore.

The 2016 list will be announced in April at the annual RevitalizeWA Preservation and Main Street Conference.

SDA talk on HR set for Jan. 15

The Seattle chapter of the Society for Design Administration will hold a free roundtable discussion on best practices for updating employee handbooks and new employee processes at noon Jan. 15 at 123 Lake St. S. in Kirkland.

The speaker is Renae Howard of Watching the Bottom Line, which provides bookkeeping and administrative support.

The event was rescheduled from Dec. 9 due to a power outage. Go to http://tinyurl.com/nz4bqpe to register and for more information.

Landmark meeting on Lincoln High

Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board on Jan. 6 will consider the nomination of Lincoln High School at 4400 Interlake Ave. N. as a city landmark.

The meeting is at 3:30 p.m. in Room 4060 of Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 Fifth Ave.

The school was designed by James Stephen and built in 1907. It has been expanded over the years.

Written comments are due by Jan. 5 at Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle, WA 98124-4649.

The Johnson Partnership prepared the nomination application for Seattle Public Schools. The application is at http://tinyurl.com/qzt3x8h under “Current Nominations.”

Earthworm inspires winning UO team

A University of Oregon landscape architecture student team defeated professional competitors to take first prize in a global challenge to improve the food system.

The team won $10,000 and advances to the prototype round in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge. It will get business support, and a chance to win $100,000 and move the design to production.

The design would help farmers improve soil and decrease fertilizer use, the UO said in a press release. It is based in part on the earthworm's digestive system.

Team members Wade Hanson, Casey Howard, Matt Jorgensen, Alison Lewis and Krisztian Megyeri were in a class taught by landscape architecture instructors Anne Godfrey and Emma Froh.

Godfrey is seeking mentors for the next step of the challenge, and working with the Eugene-based Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network.

The challenge is a multi-year effort to encourage innovations inspired by nature. It was developed by the Biomimicry Institute and is sponsored by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, which has pledged $1.5 million over four years.

Plant design trends book is published

Cover photo by Rob Cardillo

“The Authentic Garden: Naturalistic & Contemporary Planting Design in Landscape Architecture” by Richard Hartlage and Sandra Fischer of Seattle-based landscape architecture firm Land Morphology was published by Monacelli Press last month.

The book looks at plant design trends in America, with examples from well-known designers and firms such as Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Thomas Woltz, Oehme van Sweden, Steve Martino, Ron Lutsko, Hoerr Schaudt, Christine Ten Eyck, Raymond Jungles, Andrea Cochran, Roy Diblik, Bernard Trainor, Nievera Williams and Olin.

The cover photo shows InSitu, a garden in Redding, Connecticut, designed by Land Morphology.

The book costs $50 and is available at Peter Miller Books, Elliott Bay Book Co. and Amazon.com.

Environmental Works marks 45 years

Seattle-based Environmental Works is celebrating its 45th year of providing community-based design.

In the last year, it has completed projects that provide over 1,200 people with supportive spaces to live, learn and work.

They include:

• Brender Creek: 200-bed project for seasonal farmworkers in Chelan County; with Washington Growers League and the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing

• The Pearl on Oyster Bay: 81 units for low-income seniors in Bremerton; with ABHOW and Beacon Development

• Sunny View Village: 26 family apartments on Whidbey Island; with the Housing Authority of Island County and Bellwether Housing

• Sail River Longhouse: housing for 60 people for the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay; with the Makah Tribal Housing Authority and Ally Community Development

Architecture billings hit bump in Nov.

Demand for design services dipped in November.

The Architecture Billings Index score was 49.3 in November, down from 53.1 the previous month, according to the American Institute of Architects.

The AIA index reflects the approximate nine to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.

AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said the volatility “could reflect the uncertainty of moving ahead with projects given the continued tightness in construction financing and the growing labor shortage problem gripping the entire design and construction industries.”

The South scored the highest at 55.4, followed by the West at 54.5, the Midwest at 47.8 and the Northeast at 46.2.

UW joins design, health research

The University of Washington College of Built Environments and School of Public Health will be part of a national research project on design and public health.

They are joining the American Institute of Architects' Design & Health Research Consortium.

The UW team is led by Andrew Dannenberg, affiliate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and urban design and planning, and Heather Burpee, research assistant professor of architecture.

Their work focuses on health in the built environment, and uses Seattle's Bullitt Center — the greenest commercial building in the world — as a laboratory.

UO moves program to Portland campus

The University of Oregon's Historic Preservation Program is relocating the master's degree program from Eugene to the UO in Portland beginning next fall.

UO said in a press release the 35-year-old program will benefit from the resources in Portland: collections, preservation groups and policy advocates, as well as historic districts and buildings. It will be in the White Stag Block, which the UO Foundation bought in November from Venerable Group in Portland.

Schacht honored by AIA Washington

Schacht

The American Institute of Architects' Washington chapter recognized Seattle architect Walter Schacht with its Jennie Sue Brown Award for advocating on statewide issues that impact the practice of architecture.

This lifetime achievement award is the AIA Washington Council's highest honor.

In a press release, Mike Slater, the council's immediate past-president, called Schacht “a champion of legislative victories in Olympia.”

Schacht has practiced architecture for almost 30 years, focusing on cultural, educational and civic projects. He has been a principal in Seattle-based Schacht Aslani Architects since 1996. He is an American Institute of Architects fellow, was AIA Seattle president in 2006–07 and received its community service award this year.

Schacht has been on the state Capital Projects Advisory Review Board since 2011, and chairs the design build best practices committee. He is chair of the Washington Architects & Engineers Legislative Council and held positions on the AIA Washington Council.

Ware Malcomb opens new studio

Ware Malcomb opened an architecture studio for commercial clients in its Mountlake Terrace office.

The studio will offer architectural design, interior design and branding services to real estate and corporate clients.

Jonathon Thomas will manage the studio. He joined Ware Malcomb's Denver office in 2010 and moved to the Irvine, California, headquarters in 2011. He was most recently a project designer.

Ware Malcomb has 17 offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Panama.

Wood Harbinger forms partnership

Wood Harbinger and Spec-X Solutions have formed a partnership they say will allow them to better serve clients.

Spec-X specializes in integrated technology, physical security, and low voltage design, consulting and planning. Wood Harbinger is a multidiscipline engineering consulting firm.

Spec-X staff will work at Wood Harbinger's Bellevue location. Both firms will maintain their ownership and leadership structure while consolidating the project delivery process.

In a press release, the firms said the partnership will help them better serve architects, owners and contractors in the Northwest and West Coast.

AIA Seattle offers travel scholarship

Submissions are due by Jan. 8 for AIA Seattle's 2016 Emerging Professionals Travel Scholarship.

The goal of the $5,000 scholarship is to expand opportunities for young professionals, encourage cross-cultural dialogue and share knowledge about architecture around the globe. It is funded by Seattle-area AIA fellows and by members.

The scholarship is open to AIA Seattle members or associate members who have graduated from an accredited architecture program within the last seven years.

Apply at http://tiny.cc/nvbb7x/.

Meeting Thursday on Overlake Village

The city of Redmond will hold an open house tomorrow on infrastructure plans for the southern part of Overlake Village — from Northeast 24th Street South to Northeast 20th Street.

The meeting is from 5 to 7 p.m. at Silver Cloud Inn, 2122 152nd Ave. N.E.

The city said in a press release that Overlake Village is turning into a mixed-use urban center with housing, jobs, services and transit. Light rail will arrive in 2023. The plan is designed to prepare the neighborhood to be transit-oriented.

The city wants input on street planning, the Northeast 24th Street corridor and stormwater management features.

Opening on board for Chinatown/ID

The city of Seattle has an opening on the International Special Review District Board, which reviews facade alterations, signs, new construction, changes of use and street improvements in the Chinatown/International District area.

Applicants must live in Seattle. Send a letter of interest and resume by Dec. 30 to rebecca.frestedt@seattle.gov or to Rebecca Frestedt, International Special Review District, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle, WA, 98124-4649.

AIASWW awards five scholarships

The American Institute of Architects Southwest Washington Chapter awarded scholarships to four high school seniors and a renewal scholarship to a past recipient who is pursuing an architecture career.

The scholarship winners are William Marsh, who attended Bellermine Preparatory School and will attend the University of Notre Dame; Savek Butorac, who attended Peninsula High School and will attend the University of Washington; Mary Grace Lewis, who attended Bellermine Preparatory School and will attend the University of Notre Dame; and Luis Servin, who attended Science and Math Institute and will attend Washington State University.

Nathaniel Gundersen received the renewal scholarship. He is a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The scholarships this year were funded by the AIASWW Luxuries of Life 2014 Auction, a grant from AIA National and a contribution from SSA Acoustics.

Arcade holds party at Filson on Friday

Arcade magazine will hold a party to celebrate its December issue from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Filson's headquarters, 1741 First Ave. S. in Seattle.

The issue — “The Creative Space-Time Continuum: Histories and Futures Inside the Rainier Oven Building” — will include feature contributors Erin Langner and Peter de Lory.

A $20 donation at the door covers beverages, light fare, entertainment by Mercy Merci and a copy of Arcade. The annual holiday auction of getaways and other items will also be held.

R.S.V.P. at http://tiny.cc/3z156x/.

InterPlan merges with Parametrix

Parametrix said InterPlan has merged with it, giving the firm a permanent presence in Utah.

InterPlan was founded in 2001, and specializes in transportation planning and traffic engineering for clients in Utah and the Rocky Mountain area.

The Utah office of Parametrix will become part of the firm's intermountain operations and be managed by Vice President Doug Camenisch. Andrea Olson will continue to do day-to-day management in Utah.

Parametrix was founded in 1969. It provides services in transportation, environmental planning and compliance, water, and community building in the western United States.

Jennifer Guthrie is LAF president-elect

The Landscape Architecture Foundation announced its 2015-2016 board of directors.

Kona Gray of EDSA is president, succeeding Mark Dawson of Sasaki Associates. Jennifer Guthrie of the Seattle-based landscape architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol is president-elect.

The nonprofit is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses on promoting landscape architecture and cultivating new design leaders.

TerraSond wins USACE contract

The Corps of Engineers awarded TerraSond an architect-engineer contract to do hydrographic surveying and mapping for USACE Walla Walla District projects in the Pacific Northwest.

This is TerraSond's second consecutive multi-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with the district.

The firm has been supporting the USACE since 1995 under nine multi-year IDIQ contracts, and has completed projects under regional contracts in USACE districts including Texas, Alaska and Washington.

TerraSond provides geospatial services in these sectors: oil and gas, pipeline, power, telecom, renewable energy, mining, shipping, dredging, construction and engineering, as well as for government agencies.