Habitat for Humanity

Being able to work on a Habitat for Humanity project site was a great way for me to see how a house is built literally from the ground up. I had heard of Habitat for Humanity previously but was unfamiliar with how it actually operated and some of the tasks done by volunteers. The day that I volunteered was still fairly early in the project, I participated in nailing together load bearing walls, installing different forms of insulation materials, and transported part of the foundation. It was fairly strenuous work!

Hammering nails into exterior walls

One of the things I learned this day was how much work and man (or woman) power really went into building a house. Most of the tasks were fairly simple but were sometimes dangerous or required multiple hands. I was not aware until experiencing this that the future owner of the house puts in many hours working on their own home. It was great to be able to meet the woman who would be living in the house in just a few months. At the end of the day the benefits of this were two fold. On one hand, in a design perspective, it was good knowledge to discover where studs, nails, windows, etc., go in building a house from scratch, as well as what kinds of materials are used. In a more humanitarian viewpoint volunteering for this was such a fantastic opportunity to see how designers, architects, and various creators of the built environment can make an impact.

Myself and fellow designers after putting up an exterior wall

Seattle Design Tour

zHome

Set in Issaquah, Washington, the zHome site is a series of condominium style living spaces that combined produce zero net energy. Asides from being aesthetically pleasing both inside and outside, the zHome is in the top tier of sustainable living. In a world where custom features and high priced luxuries may come to mind when one thinks of "beauty" in terms of design, many individuals and families are starting to make a shift into sustainable energy. Given that this site is a pretty extreme case of this, as every single aspect goes beyond even the Energy Star rating that many appliances and home features are given, it opened my eyes in thinking of this kind of client and aesthetic.

zHome Courtyard

What seem like many small choices actually add up to an extremely efficient and money saving unit. For instance, geothermal wells are drilled 200 feet down to allow for maximum heat and a saving of energy. There is no ground water runoff; tiered beds of rock allow rain water to flow down and be held in a basin until it evaporates back into the atmosphere. These are just a few examples, but there are so many that in some cases the homeowner could actually attain a surplus of energy and eventually receive a profit.

Westlake Residence

This construction site was a valuable experience within itself, simply because we got to see a residence in its unfinished stages. Though it was unfinished the stage that it was in allowed me to see some of the design elements that would be used. There were five stories total, each with a separate function:

Ground floor: Art Studio

1st floor: ADA accessible apartment

2nd/3rd floor: 2 story one-bedroom apartment

4th floor: Penthouse suite

Rooftop Patio

I found it interesting that each floor had a different client in mind; the two story apartments are quite small at only 600 square feet, whereas the penthouse took up an entire floor. Gorgeous, large scale glass windows surround the entire site, which allows for stunning views of the Seattle center and the Space Needle. Saving money in other aspects in the design process allowed for the owner to install these pieces of glass, for instance most of the wood finishes were from the owner's actual property instead of being imported. Working around the building codes for such a small space seemed to be the biggest priority and hindrance in this space, and that is definitely something I will keep in mind for the future.

Example of one of the loft apartments

Street Bean Espresso and Shelter

Touring the New Horizons teen shelter was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. Established in 1978 this shelter allows for young people ages 13-22 a safe place off the streets to get food, rest, and positive socialization. The Director is planning a remodel to allow for their offsite coffee shop, which gives sheltered teens stable jobs, a place in their current building. Currently there is social area, laundry, kitchen, dining room, computer access, restrooms, and various couches for relaxing. The design challenges in this space are pretty unique, the main one being that having many walls is undesired as this would prevent volunteers from watching the teens.

Common living area of New Horizons

However, the space itself is very open and requires little maintenance. Creative design is already implemented in some spaces; outside in the "transition space" (which is really more like a garage) chalk paint is used on the walls as a means to deter from spray painting graffiti. As this is not currently a "residence", in the future having dorm style living quarters may be built in the upstairs portion. Learning about how this space functions helped me see residential design through a different lens, as opposed to just single family living spaces.

St. Ignatius Chapel

This was one of my favorite locations. It was built fairly recently, in 1994, and the idea behind the design was of "7 bottles of light, bound by a stone box". Not very large and set against the urban design of the rest of Seattle, the church is a unique feature on the Seattle University campus. It is not a literal design, but the way that daylight fades in and out of the interiors through colored glass is an experience within itself. There is a play with both direct and reflected light, sometimes light would be a clear crisp color and sometimes it would seem softer, reflected on another surface with a different kind of light.

Sketch of alter

The designer chose to use fairly simple materials in the building of this church, concrete is used the most but zinc, bronze, and cedar are also used throughout the interior and exterior. They are used simply; the focus is directed on the reliance of light to show movement and texture in the wall treatments. I found so many different angles to sketch, each vignette was different than the next but all employed the same simplicity of design that made this church beautiful.

Frye Museum

In the entry space of this museum, the outside is employed as part of the experience. I loved seeing this. Water features are used along the entrance to bring a sense of calmness to the guests. A visitor begins by walking up a ramp, a universal design element that allows everyone to enter by the same means. At the top of the ramp, golden "gates" allow access to an interior dome space that opens up to the rest of the museum. Standing inside the dome, daylight shines through an oculus at the top, which plays a part in allowing the audience to connect to the outdoor elements. Daylight is used as a way of moving people through the space, which is true in many other designs. This is a nice way of controlling circulation within the space.

Once inside, there is little daylight but lighting still guides the way. The works of art are highlighted in light, so as to draw attention. The layout is very successful because of its simplicity, the walls are white and the floors are a solid hardwood. Nothing distracts from the art. High ceilings allow for the space to appear larger, and also for bigger pieces to be able to fit in such a space where there is not an excess of square footage.

Interior gallery space

Job Shadow

Being able to Job Shadow at CollinsWoerman, an architectural and design firm, was definitely the most insightful part of the trip. Though it was only for a day, it was helpful to see the inner workings of a professional environment. I personally shadowed one of the interior designers on staff, Amanda, and it was interesting to take part in the projects and various everyday tasks that occur as part of the job. CollinsWoerman is unique in the aspect that each member of staff occasionally does tasks in other departments, for example Amanda was working on a graphic design project on the side in addition to her interiors.

The way that the firm was set up was very open and called for interdisciplinary collaboration; architects were set up next to designers, for example, based on the assignments they were simultaneously working on. It was obvious in the work that they produced that this was beneficial to everyone involved, instead of being separated by department. I would love to work in an environment like this one day, where individuals are less of a job title and more of a working member of a successful team.

Sketch Crawl

            I loved being able to sketch around the Seattle Center, there are many interesting buildings, landscapes, and venues that are unique to this location. I chose to draw mostly buildings as opposed to landscapes solely of greenery or pathways, as I prefer the architectural and linear elements that a building has. I tried to stay away from drawing the Space Needle or the museum of rock and roll, because I wanted to try something different and less topical. There were so many beautiful vignettes to choose from it was difficult to just pick a few. I do however love drawing scenery, and I'm fairly skilled with shading and cross hatching. Some of my sketches I kept as contours, to bring the focus to the lineage of the building, and also because I wanted to sketch as many subjects as I had the time for. I tried to focus on perspectives in these drawings but I think my focus should have been in employing color. I noticed colleagues of mine managed to layer colored pencils and markers; usually I stick to just one media. I think it would be beneficial for me in the future to try this technique.