GGN's Gustafson to give lecture

Gustafson

Internationally known landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson will give a lecture titled “Shaping Earth” at 6 p.m. Dec. 17 at Vashon Center for the Arts at 19600 Vashon Highway S.W. on Vashon Island.

The Vashon Island resident co-founded GGN in Seattle and GP+B in London. She has done projects in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia.

Her designs include the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London.

She is an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architecture, a medalist of the French Academy of Architecture and a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Tickets are $20 at http://www.vashoncenterforthearts.org. The lecture is part of the December Arts and Humanities Series.

Mayer/Reed has two anniversaries

Portland multi-disciplinary design firm Mayer/Reed is recognizing two anniversaries this year — a 30th and a 40th.

In a press release, the firm said it was established by Michael Reed in 1977 as a visual communications and product design studio. He formed a partnership 10 years later with Carol Mayer-Reed, who added landscape architecture and urban design.

Principals Kathy Fry and Jeramie Shane were added more recently to the studio, which has a staff of 28.

Mayer/Reed is celebrating the anniversaries with a photo exhibit titled, “Beyond Opening Day.” It examines how projects take on a life of their own through character-defining features that are captured by people who occupy the places.

Terrane provides new services

Terrane Land Surveying said it is offering settlement monitoring services that track settlement and deflection during new construction and renovation projects.

It said projects that require demolishing structures, excavation, driving piles and operating heavy equipment can impact nearby buildings and other permanent structures. The firm said the new services help teams in real time to meet local guidelines while avoiding unnecessary delays.

Terrane provides residential, commercial and land use surveying, settlement monitoring services and construction staking.

ASHRAE event set for Chicago

Registration is now open for the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Conference Jan. 20-24 at Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

The conference will focus on the latest topics in the building industry, through a technical program with more than 200 presentations and 300 speakers. It will also include tours, social events and a keynote message from Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO of GoldieBlox.

ASHRAE Learning Institute will offer two full-day, and five half-day seminars during the conference.

Register at http://tiny.cc/m9ynny/.

HDR opens new Los Angeles office

HDR has a new 28,000-square-foot office at Two California Plaza in the Bunker Hill District of downtown Los Angeles.

Managing Principal Usman Tariq is leading HDR's architecture studio in LA. Tariq has been with the firm for eight years, most recently as associate managing principal of the Washington, D.C., studio.

HDR said its projects include Link Union Station and the Emergency Security Operations Center.

Kip Field, the southern California area manager, is leading the LA engineering practice, which is working on highway and transit projects in Los Angeles County.

HDR provides engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services.

Schnabel opens office in Seattle

Glen Allen, Virginia-based Schnabel opened an office in Seattle at 4700 42nd Ave. S.W., Suite 570, to do ongoing dam safety work for several hydropower licensees in the Northwest and Alaska.

The geotechnical and civil engineering firm said it expects to get more work from those clients and go after other projects in the area.

The Seattle office will be headed by engineers Alex Rutledge and Robert Indri, who both have been with Schnabel's Greensboro, N.C., office for more than 10 years.

The office will provide dam and levee, geotechnical, and geostructural engineering services, supported by other employees at the firm. Schnabel said it plans to increase staff here over the next year. The telephone number is (206) 573-5190.

This is the 20th office for Schnabel, which has over 300 employees.

APWA Washington names new officers

The Washington chapter of the American Public Works Association announced its incoming 2018 officers and board of directors.

The officers are president, Scott Egger of the city of Lacey; vice-president, Lorelei Williams of the city of Seattle; secretary, Donald Huling of HWA GeoSciences; treasurer, Scott Sawyer of SCJ Alliance; and past president, Debbie Sullivan of the city of Olympia.

The board of directors is Jeff Brauns of the city of Newcastle, Josh Mattson of the city of Ellensburg, Lauren Loebsack of Link Transit, Patrick Skillings of Skillings Connolly, Dan Ford of the city of Pasco, Erik Martin of Lewis County, Janice Fahning of Snohomish County and Jesse Thomsen of Perteet.

15 spots open on design review boards

Seattle is seeking candidates to fill 15 upcoming openings on design review boards, which evaluate new buildings based on citywide and neighborhood guidelines.

The volunteer positions will start April 4.

The boards review mixed-use, multifamily and commercial projects. Openings are on the Southwest, Southeast, East, Downtown, Northeast, Northwest and West boards.

To download an application, go to http://tiny.cc/o00noy/. Send it with a cover letter and resume by Dec. 15 to Lisa Rutzick at lisa.rutzick@seattle.gov or to Lisa Rutzick, Design Review Program Manager, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, 700 Fifth Ave., Suite 1800, P.O. Box 34019, Seattle, Washington 98124-4019. Rutzick is at (206) 386-9049.

AIA-SMPS panel on future of marketing

The Seattle chapters of the AIA and Society for Marketing Professional Services will present a panel discussion Dec. 6 on “Boom Times and Industry Evolution.”

The event is from 4 to 6 p.m. at 1010 Western Ave. in Seattle. It will focus on marketing and business development in the future, and preparing for the rapidly evolving construction environment, with observations from AIA and SMPS fellows.

Speakers are Brodie Bain of Perkins + Will, Karleen Belmont of Pace Engineers, Susan Jones of atelierjones, Bill Strong of Bill Strong Consulting, Carla Thompson of Core States Group and Ron van der Veen of NAC Architecture. The moderator is Ted Sive of Ted Sive Consulting.

Tickets are $30 for members and $40 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/xremoy/.

AIA class on access and egress design

AIA Seattle will hold a program titled “Get In-Get Out: Circulation Design for Graceful Access and Egress” from 8 a.m. to noon Dec. 1 in Bertha Knight Landes Room of Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave.

Speakers are Duane Jonlin of the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections, Eduardo Signorelli of Code Unlimited and Seattle-based accessibility consultant Karen Braitmayer.

Cost is $114 for members and $208 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/2zgmoy/.

The program is part of the Code Evolutions series.

SDA event on safety programs

Doug Smith, director of engineering at Meng Analysis, will talk about safety programs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at Crowne Plaza Seattle at 1113 Sixth Ave. The Seattle chapter of the Society for Design Administration is presenting the dinner program.

Smith has 30 years of experience in design, construction and operations, and knows the value of safety programs to companies, clients and staff.

Topics include driver and job site safety, along with liability limits and the obligations of licensed professionals.

The monthly chapter meeting will follow Smith's presentation.

Cost is $35 for members, $40 for member firms and $50 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/rkwqoy/.

2 can join Seattle design commission

Seattle wants to fill two upcoming vacancies on the design commission, for an architect and an engineer to start in March.

The commission advises city officials on the design of city-funded capital projects or projects that impact city rights of way. It also advises the mayor, city council and city departments on projects or policies that impact the public realm. Commissioners are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council.

To be considered, send a letter of interest and resume by Dec. 1 to Mayor Burgess c/o: Michael Jenkins, Executive Director, Seattle Design Commission, Office of Planning and Community Development, 600 Fourth Ave., 5th Floor, P.O. Box 94788, Seattle, WA 98124 7088.

Nominations due for 2018 top engineer

ACEC Washington is requesting nominations until Dec. 1 for the 2018 Engineer of the Year.

You must be a member to submit nominations. For more information, go to http://acec-wa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Engineer-of-the-Year-RFN-2018.pdf.

Send the nominations to ACEC Washington, Attn: Engineer of the Year Selection Committee, 1621 114th Ave. S.E., Suite 115, Bellevue, WA 98004, or to Linda Roux, lroux@acec-wa.org.

The Engineer of the Year will be announced Jan. 19 at the ACEC Washington Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet.

Mount Baker home tour is Dec. 2

On Dec. 2, the Mount Baker Community Club will offer a tour of some of the neighborhood's historic and contemporary houses and a church, along with an Art & Craft Fair at its clubhouse.

The tour, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is of six houses built between 1910-2009 and a 1925 Italian Romanesque church. It begins and ends at the Mount Baker Community Clubhouse at 2811 Mount Rainier Drive S., which was designed by Charles Dose in the rustic Craftsman style typical of the 1910s. Tickets are $35 in advance, or $40 the day of the event and include free shuttle service, refreshments and the craft fair. Buy them at http://tiny.cc/2ufmoy/.

Landau Associates moves 2 offices

Landau Associates has relocated its offices in downtown Seattle and Portland.

The Seattle office is at the Financial Center at 1215 Fourth Ave., Suite 1215. The Portland office is at Crown Plaza at 1500 S.W. First Ave., Suite 1015. Telephone and email contacts remain the same.

Landau provides environmental site management and engineering, geotechnical engineering, and permitting and compliance services for site and infrastructure development.

SAF mixer Nov. 17 at MarketFront

Seattle Architecture Foundation will hold a “Makeover Mixer” from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 17 at Old Stove brewery at 1901 Western Ave. in MarketFront, the new addition to Pike Place Market.

Old Stove Brewing Co. and Adatto Construction are hosting the event.

Greg Bjarko of Bjarko|Serra Architects designed the restaurant and brewing space. He and staff from Adatto, the general contractor, will share insights about the new digs.

Tickets are $35, or $30 for members, and include two beers. Buy them at http://tiny.cc/ozkooy/.

The event is part of SAF's Design Soiree series, which helps support the foundation.

Marci Reed heads Architects Foundation

Reed

The Architects Foundation board of directors appointed Marci Reed as executive director of the foundation, the philanthropic partner of the American Institute of Architects.

Reed is responsible for programs and activities. She was chief officer of development and communications at Southface Energy Institute, where she directed management initiatives, oversaw fundraising and communications, and was a spokesperson.

Reed has been executive director of AIA Georgia, AIA Atlanta and the Architecture Foundation of Georgia.

In a press release, Reed said with a $1 million gift from AIA, the foundation can expand the Diversity Advancement Scholarship program for 2018-2019. It also will work to enhance preservation efforts and pursue additional programming.

SEL wins USEA Project of the Year

The U.S. Energy Association gave Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories the 2016 Project of the Year award for improving power systems in two villages in Brcko, a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In a press release, SEL said USEA chose it and the U.S. Agency for International Development to partner on the project because of the company's unique approach to distribution automation.

SEL said its Distribution Network Automation solution combines the intelligence of power system devices with secure communications to react quickly when faults occur, increasing safety and reliability without having to upgrade existing infrastructure.

Brcko suffered frequently from electricity outages caused by weather and technical malfunctions, but the SEL technology reduced outages by 51 percent, and shortened their duration by 58 percent.

The USEA said it will share the technology with other municipalities in southeast Europe. It provided support for engineering and training to integrate the technology into the Brcko network. SEL provided equipment, consulting support and engineering services.

ASHRAE launches training in Dubai

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers opened a Global Training Center in Dubai for members and other building systems professionals in the Gulf Region.

The center offers curricula-based training that is scalable based upon climate, culture, suppliers, energy sources, prices, codes and construction practices. Instructors are engineers familiar with the intricacies of the Middle East, ASHRAE said in a press release.

Walid Chakroun, Ph.D., and former chair of ASHRAE's Publishing and Education Council, said robust economic activity and challenging climatic conditions are increasing the demand for training in the Middle East.

Learn about new AIA documents

AIA Seattle will hold a program on the newly released documents at the heart of the AIA contract documents program from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Nov. 15 at MG2, 1101 Second Ave. in Seattle.

The A201-related AIA owner-architect agreements are revised on a 10-year cycle. This program will give attendees insight into the AIA's revision process, and a chance to learn about the revised owner-architect agreements.

Speakers are Andrew D. Mendleson of Berkley Design Professional, Wolf Saar of VIA Architecture and Lindsey Pflugrath of Craincross & Hemplemann.

Cost is $10 for members and $40 for non-members. Register at http://tiny.cc/e55loy/.