GRAY No. 31 by GRAY

NEW

INTERIORS // ARCHITECTURE // FASHION // ART // DESIGN

PACIFIC NORTHWEST DESIGN

NEXT HOT NEW NEXT HOT NEW NEXT

N O 31 : DEC. 2016 / JAN. 2017

THIS YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROUNDUP OF THE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

ISSUE No. 31 : $7 US; $9 CDN

DISPLAY THROUGH FEBRUARY 1, 2017 Printed in Portland, Oregon, USA

DESIGN MAVERICK:

Alan Maskin pushes Olson Kundig in bold new directions

inside a new fashion mecca

Wild design concepts from PNW visionaries

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witt, phase & notch by rich brilliant willing & david rockwell, 2016. part of a collaborative collection of LED pendants and sconces.

available exclusively at hive thru 2016

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rich-brilliant-willing flos erik jorgensen carl hansen vitra kartell bensen herman miller knoll artifort moooi and more!

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Photo Michel Gibert. 1Conditions apply, ask your store for more details. 2Program available on selected items and subject to availability.

French Art de Vivre

Nonchalance. Corner composition in leather, design Roche Bobois Studio. Agrafe. Cocktail table and end table, design Cristián Mohaded. Full Moon. Lamp and floor lamp, design Cédric Ragot. Manufactured in Europe.

SEATTLE - 1922 Fourth Avenue - Tel. (206) 332-9744 - seattle@roche-bobois.com - PORTLAND - 1025 SW Washington Street - Tel. (503) 459-0020 - portland@roche-bobois.com

∙ Complimentary 3D Interior Design Service 1 ∙ Quick Ship program available 2

www.roche-bobois.com graymag . com

WALL TILES FACES S3 NEGRO AND FACES S4 NEGRO FLOORING AC4 GENUINE 1L SONORAN BATHTUB CHELSEA TUB FILLER LOUNGE

info@porcelanosa-usa.com | www.porcelanosa-usa.com

PORCELANOSA SEATTLE 88 Spring Street, Suite 120 Seattle, WA 98104 206.673.8395

PRADO sofa with cushion & EVERYWHERE sideboard. Design: Christian Werner. LUMIÃ&#x2C6;RE NOIRE floor lamps. Design: Philippe Nigro. www.ligne-roset.com

VANCOUVER 1706 West 1st Ave Vancouver, BC V6J 0E4 Tel. (604) 683-1116 www.livingspace.com

SEATTLE 112 Westlake Avenue North Seattle, WA 98109 Tel. (206) 341-9990 www.facebook/lignerosetseattle.com

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cont 26

december.16– january.17

14. hello

46. people

HOT NEW NEXT 26. fashion

50. fashion

The ones to watch.

A fashion designer and a jeweler open a chic new shop.

30. interiors

See a Middle Eastern restaurant’s party-inspired makeover.

32. scene

Happenings.

36. retail

Eighth Generation’s new shop puts Native-made design in the spotlight.

40. urban design

James Corner reveals the grand plan for Seattle’s waterfront.

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Rising-star studio Knauf and Brown is obsessed with beauty at every level. A jet-setting Seattle rapper designs the perfect carry-on bag.

52. made here

North Drinkware’s handmade glasses blew away Kickstarter.

54. art

Jolinda Linden has the head of a scientist and the heart of a sculptor.

56. fashion

A head-turning new jewelry collection exudes a primal beauty.

58. fashion

Joey Rodolfo launches a company built on fiber-tech innovation.

60. architecture

Snøhetta reconnects visitors to the United States’ second-largest waterfall.

62. concept

Plans are afoot to transform a polluted lot into a creative community center.

64. architecture

Creative ad agency Swift’s new office design upends the expected.

70. construction

Powers Construction turns shipping containers into stunning site offices.

72. people

Architect Matt Aalfs leads the charge for thoughtful preservation.

74. interiors

Ankrom Moisan’s new hospitalityfocused spinoff is no ordinary studio.

tents 100

76. concept

One designer shakes up the funeral industry with a case for compost and good design.

78. people

Explore the maverick mind of Olson Kundig’s architect-artist Alan Maskin.

84. architecture

B+H Architects’ concept for a Dallas building remakes the skyscraper.

94. architecture

An architect couple takes us on a tour of their own home.

100. interiors

A Burnaby church puts its faith in contemporary design.

108. scene

GRAY celebrates standout moments at this year’s IDS Vancouver and previews IDS Toronto.

118. made here

Recycled wooden chopsticks as design material? Why not?

120. tribute

The late legend Bing Thom shares wisdom on architecture and life.

126. resources

Design professionals, furnishings, and suppliers featured in this issue.

130. obsession

Designer and stylist Laura Melling talks textiles.

120

✤

On the Cover

Inside Seattle’s new Rizom boutique, ground zero for independent fashion design. Stylist and model Hanna Yohannes wears a top by Silvae, skirt by Giu Giu, and jewelry by Faris. SEE PAGE

26 Photographed by AVI LOUD

104. architecture

Office 52 thinks outside the box. graymag . com

hot new next

hello

An influx of easy-to-use new technologies and digital apps has given rise, in recent years, to the sense that anyone can be a designer. I’m all for the democratization of design, but a sexy rendering does not a designer make. Designers are a special breed. Those who really make an impact on our world have the skills and the training, sure, but they’re also fueled by a potent, and sometimes peculiar, mix of passion, curiosity, and sheer doggedness. “I will go to sleep with a pen I just bought because I love looking at it so much.” Who does that? That would be D. Calen Knauf, the 32-yearold cofounder of Knauf and Brown (see page 46 for more about the burgeoning Vancouver studio). “I have really strong emotional reactions to objects,” he says. No kidding. We launched our annual, star-making Hot New Next issue theme three years ago to celebrate Pacific Northwest designers whose innate drive to create yields the region’s most innovative and definitive buildings, objects, furnishings, interiors, public spaces, and more. This year, as always, we’re spotlighting emerging talents alongside more established stars who continue to revolutionize the scene with fresh, surprising work. We’re thrilled to see that many whom we introduced as up-and-comers in our pages years ago have now officially arrived. Fashion designer Suk Chai, art/design collective Electric Coffin, interior designer Michelle Dirkse . . . the list goes on. We’re grateful to shine a spotlight on the PNW’s amazing design community, whose impact and influence are now extending around the globe. GRAY turns five this year. It’s been quite the ride. In the past year alone, we’ve brought onboard some crazytalented team members (hello, associate publisher Dixie

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WILLIAM ANTHONY

the ones to watch

Duncan and editor Jennifer McCullum!), doubled our distribution, and moved into glam new offices in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. As we grow, we’re thrilled to also expand the ways we highlight the best and most pioneering design coming out of the PNW. This spring, we’ll launch the inaugural GRAY Design Awards—honoring the finest in architecture, interiors, fashion, furniture, and more—and unveil the winners at a party in August that will turn the typical awards gala on its head. After all, there’s so much to celebrate here. Big thanks to our readers, advertisers, and partners for all the support and love you’ve shown GRAY over the years. Here’s to another great year of design!

Jaime Gillin, Director of Editorial + Content Strategy jaime@graymag.com

AndrĂŠ sofa, $1699; Wilder cocktail table $399; Gate rug, $2299. University Village 2675 NE University Village Street, Seattle roomandboard.com

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™

CEO/FOUNDER + PUBLISHER Shawn Williams DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL + CONTENT STRATEGY Jaime Gillin jaime@graymag.com SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Stacy Kendall EDITORS Rachel Gallaher Jennifer McCullum COPY EDITOR Laura Harger CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Courtney Ferris Brian Libby Alexa McIntyre Nicole Munson Nessa Pullman CONTRIBUTORS Tim Aguero Megumi Shauna Arai Jeremy Bittermann Rosemarie Buchanan Hank Drew Rachel Eggers Haris Kenjar Andrew Latreille Robin Laurence Brian Libby Avi Loud Ryan Patterson Rafael Soldi Ryan Tam Kaity Teer Nate Watters Renske Werner Lindsay J. Westley

Chuck Close Photographs was developed by Terrie Sultan, Director, Parrish Art Museum, and Colin Westerbeck, independent curator. The exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Lannan Foundation; Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation; Louise and Leonard Riggio; The Muriel F. Siebert Foundation; Pace Gallery, New York; Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman; Jennifer Rice and Michael Forman; Marie Josée and Henry R. Kravis; The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; Joseph M. Cohen; Andrea Krantz and Harvey Sawikin; Gretchen and Andrew McFarland; Arthur Loeb Foundation, and those who wish to remain anonymous donors. The presentation at the Henry is organized by Sylvia Wolf, John S. Behnke Director, with support from ArtsFund, The Boeing Company, the Lannan Foundation, and the T. William and Beatrice Booth Exhibition Fund.

Image: Chuck Close. Robert. 2001. Daguerreotype. Private Collection. Image courtesy of the artist.

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ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dixie Duncan dixie@graymag.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Craig Allard Miller Mary Ellen Kennedy ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Tracey Bjerke NEWSSTAND MANAGER Bob Moenster PUBLIC RELATIONS U.S. & Canada: Paxson Fay P.A. TO THE PUBLISHER Tally Williams

ADVERTISING dixie@graymag.com EVENTS + NEWS events@graymag.com SUBMISSIONS submissions@graymag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@graymag.com GENERAL INQUIRIES info@graymag.com

No. 31 Copyright ©2016, ©2017. Published bimonthly (DEC, FEB, APR, JUNE, AUG, OCT) by GRAY Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint or quote excerpts granted by written request only. While every attempt has been made, GRAY cannot guarantee the legality, completeness, or accuracy of the information presented and accepts no warranty or responsibility for such. GRAY is not responsible for loss, damage, or other injury to unsolicited manuscripts, photography, art, or any other unsolicited material. Unsolicited material will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. If submitting material, do not send originals unless specifically requested to do so by GRAY in writing. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GRAY, 5628 Airport Way S., Ste. 190 Seattle, WA 98108 Subscriptions $30 us for one year; $50 us for two years.

Subscribe online at graymag.com

Passionate about design? Shop the world’s largest assortment of authentic modern furniture. Stop by today or schedule a complimentary design session at dwr.com/studios. SEATTLE 1918 First Ave. NEW | PORTLAND 825 NW 13th Ave.

THE BEST IN MODERN DESIGN W W W.DWR.COM | 1.800.944.2233 | DWR STUDIOS Shown: Striad™ Chair and Ottoman by Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub for Herman Miller®. © 2016 Design Within Reach, Inc. graymag . com

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THE PREMIERE WOOD DESIGN, BUILDING, AND MANUFACTURING EVENT SERIES WITH 4 EVENTS OVER 10 DAYS

| contributors |

MEGUMI SHAUNA ARAI megumiarai.com pg 54

ROSEMARIE BUCHANAN pg 54, 60

HANK DREW hankdrew.com pg 130

ROBIN LAURENCE pg 120

AVI LOUD aviloud.com pg 26, 50

RAFAEL SOLDI rafaelsoldi.com pg 94

RYAN TAM pg 100

KAITY TEER pg 52, 70

NATE WATTERS natewatters.com pg 36, 58, 72

RENSKE WERNER renskewerner.com pg 46, 130

conversations at wood week LIVING WITH WOOD DESIGN FORUM

February 24, 2017 at Museum of Vancouver BC Wood will host a dynamic discourse with some of the Pacific Northwest’s top design talent. Join us for an inspiring panel discussion moderated by GRAY. We’ll delve into the topics of wood and design. The panelists will share their experiences on the process of design as it relates to the products we live and interact with, rather than the structures we inhabit.

SEE SUBMISSIONS FROM A STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION FEATURING INNOVATIVE HOME DÉCOR PRODUCTS AND FURNITURE MADE FROM WOOD. IT’S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH TALENTED YOUNG DESIGNERS AND GET THE DISCUSSION GOING!

For more details and ticket information:

woodweekbc.com

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Interior Design Show Vancouver

DESIGN GROUP

GAUGE DESIGN GROUP offers a broad range of interior solutions, including custom

cabinetry, millwork, furniture and metal fabrication, in addition to its national award-winning monumental stairs. The Gauge team has a 38-year history of delivering world-class design to high-profile residences and commercial buildings alike.

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pacific northwest architects The following architecture and design firms are among the best in the region. They also support GRAY’s effort to advance the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant design community. We’re proud to call them our partners. Look to them first for your next project. Visit their portfolios at graymag.com or link directly to their sites to learn more.

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AKJ Architects LLC

BattersbyHowat Architects

Baylis Architects

BC&J Architecture

Ben Trogdon | Architects

BUILD llc

Chesmore Buck

David Coleman Architecture

David Pool Architecture pllc

Emerick Architects

First Lamp

Giulietti | Schouten AIA Architects

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davidcoleman.com

firstlamp.net

baylisarchitects.com

buildllc.com

davidpoolarchitecture.com

gsarchitects.net

Guggenheim Architecture + Design Studio

Hacker

Johnston Architects

KASA Architecture

Lane Williams Architects

Malboeuf Bowie Architecture

Measured Architecture

One SEED Architecture + Interiors

RUF Project

Scott | Edwards Architecture

Stephenson Design Collective

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HELLIWELL + SMITH Blue Sky Architecture Inc blueskyarchitecture.com

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measured.ca

seallp.com

lanewilliams.com

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Integrate Architecture & Planning

Iredale Architecture

Janof Architecture

Lanefab Design / Build

LEVER Architecture

Lyons Hunter Williams : architecture

prentiss + balance + wickline ARCHITECTS

rho ARCHITECTS

Richard Brown Architect, AIA

Tyler Engle Architects

William Kaven Architecture

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2 0 2 9 2 N D AV E . SEAT T L E , WA 9 8 1 2 1 T. 2 0 6 . 4 48 .3 3 0 9 WWW. AL C H EM Y C O L L EC T I O N S .C OM

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NEW NEXT HOT NEW NEXT HOT NEW NEXT NEW NEXT hot new next

ALL YEAR LONG, WE’VE BEEN SAVING UP THE MOST PROVOCATIVE DESIGN WORK FOR OUR ANNUAL HOT NEW NEXT ISSUE.

RYAN PATTERSON/OLSON KUNDIG

Here, we single out the bold projects and innovative ideas that are making a splash— and the fearless people behind them. Some are just starting out. Others have reached iconic status yet continue to jolt the industry. We anticipate that we’ll be seeing their impact on design in the PNW, and worldwide, for years to come. Turn the page and dive in.

Seattle architect and Olson Kundig co-owner Alan Maskin takes an illicit wade in the Frye Art Museum’s reflecting pool. In 1997, Maskin renovated the museum with architect Rick Sundberg. Read more about the prolific design innovator on page 78.

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hot new next

fashion

the art of dressing well Rizom—Seattle’s new mecca for independent designers—ups the fashion ante.

Written by JAIME GILLIN Photographed by AVI LOUD Styling and modeling by HANNA YOHANNES

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The Only Human pullover dress is a one-off piece sold at just one store: Rizom, the new venture from designers Deborah Roberts and Faris Du Graf. Abigail Buzbee, Roberts’s former intern, created the dress as a design-school final project— and Rizom promptly snapped up Buzbee’s whole collection, excited to support her emergent career. “There’s just one of each piece,” explains Roberts, “and when it’s gone, it’s gone.” Lace top by Silvae (Seattle); blue cotton pullover dress by Only Human (Seattle); and Mobile earrings by Faris (Seattle). Boots, stylist’s own.

fter participating in a dozen pop-ups across the country, Seattle designers Faris Du Graf (founder of the jewelry line Faris; above left) and Deborah Roberts (founder of the women’s clothing brand Silvae) began to fantasize about opening an actual, permanent store together. They wanted more opportunities to interact directly with customers and to “sell experiments: the things we create in our studios that never make it to the racks or the wholesalers,” says Du Graf. Their shop, Rizom, opened in September 2016 to offer women’s clothing and accessories by independent designers, most represented nowhere else in Seattle. “Fashion is not an art form that’s much practiced here,” acknowledges Du Graf. “We are creatures of comfort in this city. But there’s nothing wrong with dressing up. Some people view it as consumerist— but in reality, you’re supporting small business. And it makes you look good!” » graymag . com

hot new next

fashion

“It’s all about artful dress.” — DEBORAH ROBERTS, FOUNDER, SILVAE, AND CO-OWNER, RIZOM

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“We look for versatility, things that look minimalist at first glance but then reveal their artfulness,” says Roberts of Rizom’s buying philosophy. “We stock stuff we want to wear ourselves.” THIS PAGE: Metallic lilac wrap sweater by Pari Desai (Los Angeles); blush slip dress by Collina Strada (New York); and silver Tula earrings, Link necklace, and Lure ring by Faris. Boots, stylist’s own. OPPOSITE: Metallic bronze column dress by Pari Desai; dark green mohair coat by Silvae; and silver Tula earrings and Link necklace by Faris. h

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hot new next

interiors

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PARTY VIBES

Written by STACY KENDALL Photographed by AARON LIETZ

The dark and moody trend in the Portland restaurant scene isn’t going anywhere—but sometimes we crave something a little sunnier. Enter Tusk, the hotly anticipated East Burnside restaurant from chef Sam Smith and Joshua McFadden and Luke Dirks of Submarine Hospitality. The bright interiors channel a Southern California vibe, with whitewashed millwork, brass and copper accents, and caramel-hued leather banquets bringing in warmth. The ceiling features a custom dowel design through which light filters like sunshine through a pergola. The look is not exactly what you’d imagine for a Middle Eastern restaurant—and that’s by design. “The owners wanted to do something unexpected, something light and airy,” says designer Jessica Helgerson. “The image they gave us,” adds Em Shephard, senior designer at Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, “was a rock ’n’ roll party mood—a place where the music is a little louder than elsewhere.” And yes, the restaurant’s namesake is that Fleetwood Mac album and song. What’s left to say but that we love it? (Tusk!) h

Portland’s new Tusk does an epic knee-slide onto the city’s restaurant scene with fresh interiors and a California-inspired rock ’n’ roll vibe courtesy of Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. A 1969 photograph of Keith Richards by Michael Cooper presides over a room decked out with brass Schoolhouse Electric fixtures, mint green–framed chairs from Industry West, factory stools from Makr, and a slatted ceiling.

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hot new next

scene

CURVES AHEAD THE PORTLAND ART MUSEUM HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW GLASS-WALLED EXPANSION, THE ROTHKO PAVILION, NAMED IN RECOGNITION OF THE ARTIST’S EARLY TIES TO THE CITY AND MUSEUM. DESIGNED BY VINCI HAMP ARCHITECTS, IT WILL FEATURE NEW GALLERIES AND RARELY SEEN WORK ON LOAN FROM ROTHKO’S CHILDREN. GROUNDBREAKING IS SCHEDULED FOR 2018.

gray loves

One of the standout debuts at this year’s Studio North at IDS Vancouver was the CNC-routed, ash-topped Cusp coffee table from Portland-based Bosque Design. Lauren Hackett founded the studio in 2015 after securing a degree in architecture. “I’m influenced by designers like Eileen Gray, who built her career by combining architecture and furniture design, and always pushed boundaries,” says Hackett. bosque-design.com

NOW OPEN:

BRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

KATE DUNCAN LOFT

NOW OPEN:

THE SANTA ROSALIA GUEST HOUSE Artist-and-architect couple Cat Clifford and Aaron Bush recently opened the Santa Rosalia Guest House in Edmonds, Washington, a sleepy Seattle suburb. The three-room inn welcomes visitors via Airbnb and also hosts artists from around the country for short-term residencies that treat the building itself as a canvas. The first, by Dallas-based artist collaborative the Color Condition, turned the inn’s façade into an exuberant temporary installation made of plastic tablecloths, tent fabric, and construction fencing. thesantarosalia.com

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Designer and woodworker Kate Duncan has just launched her first showroom in Vancouver’s ever-hip Gastown neighborhood. The two-story, 1,400-square-foot space (open by appointment only) serves not only as a showcase but as a muse for the adventurous designer. “It’s a big, blank industrial canvas,” says Duncan, who also hosts events in the space. “I need cabinets in the showroom, so first I’m having fun by prototyping a new line of case goods and custom hardware. I’m like a kid in a candy shop—I just can’t sit still!” kateduncan.ca

HOTEL LUCIA Portland

HOTEL DELUXE Portland

SENTINEL Portland

HOTEL MURANO Tacoma

HOTEL MAX Seattle

HOTEL THEODORE Seattle - Summer 2017

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hot new next

scene

NOW OPEN:

THE END Washington’s Bainbridge Island hasn’t been known as a design hot spot. But in May 2016, The End, a hybrid shop and gallery, planted its stylish flag downtown. The brainchild of designer Brandon Perhacs, the boutique offers pieces by local and international designers and artists including Felicia Ferrone, 22 Design Studio, Katherine Michaels, and PyroPet. Starting in spring 2017, the adjacent Black Room gallery (so called for its dark Tyvek curtain walls) will host frequently rotating art exhibits. perhacs-studio.com

MICHAEL DURYEA

NOW OPEN:

OAK + FORT HOME Lovers of minimalism, get ready to freak out. In October 2016, Canadian contemporary clothing company Oak + Fort launched a collection of home and lifestyle goods as chic and versatile as its clothing. Oak + Fort Home’s first in-house– designed fall-winter ’16 collection includes throw pillows in rich shades of gray, white ceramic vases, streamlined dinnerware, and more. oakandfort.ca

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Designed in Italy Handmade in Lahore, Punjab “And what is good, Phaedrus, And what is not good — Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?” from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

hot new next

retail

Artist, activist, and entrepreneur Louie Gong stands in Eighth Generation’s new flagship store in Pike Place Market. The wood patterning around the checkout counter was fabricated by Julia Haack and inspired by cedar-strip canoes made by Gong’s uncle. The rustic wood pillars and stamped concrete floor are original to the space, a former parking garage. »

“WE WANT TO AID THE PERCEPTION OF NATIVE PEOPLE AS THREE-DIMENSIONAL.” —LOUIE GONG, ARTIST AND ENTREPRENEUR

MAN ON A MISSION

Written by RACHEL EGGERS : Portrait by NATE WATTERS

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hot new next

LOUIE GONG WASN’T ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR A RETAIL SPACE. After seven years of operating Seattle-based Eighth

Generation—selling Native American–designed products that merge modernism and pop culture with traditional Coast Salish art—as an online-only shop, Gong was satisfied with his company’s growth and influence. But then came an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. A 1,300-square-foot shop in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market was available. “I’d always said the Market was the only place I’d open a retail space,” says Gong, who’s of Nooksack, Chinese, French, and Scottish heritage. He was drawn to the apt location—smack in the center of Coast Salish territory—and the chance for the Market’s 10 million annual visitors to see, as Gong puts it, “Native people kicking ass” right next to the famous flying fish and colorful produce.

Gong’s “Guardians” painting anchors the shop’s 600-square-foot meeting room, available for community rental (top left). Among Eighth Generation’s offerings are hats, greeting cards, prints, wood-framed sunglasses, cedar-andmaple iPhone cases, and wool blankets.

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The shop, which opened in August 2016, has spare, gallerylike interiors designed by Michelle Dirkse to artfully spotlight the wares on offer: designs from Gong’s studio and items born from collaborations between Native artists and local companies. For Gong, the shop’s success is measured not only in sales figures, but also in progress toward Eighth Generation’s dual educational and economic missions: telling a positive, genuine story about Native people, and helping to shape a marketplace where Native—not “Native-inspired”—artists control their own complex narrative. He sees those goals met every day, one visitor at a time, whether it’s a local stopping by to chat or an out-of-town visitor discovering something completely new. With a physical space, “the message is absorbed quickly,” he says. “And this is only the beginning.” h

HARIS KENJAR

retail

Architecture: Olson Kundig, AIA Commendation Award; Photography: Michael Burns

DOVETAILGC.COM

hot new next

urban design

SEATTLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GAME-CHANGING WATERFRONT PLAN Written by COURTNEY FERRIS : Portrait by TIM AGUERO

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JAMES CORNER FIELD OPERATIONS

“WHAT DISTINGUISHES OUR WORK AND OUR APPROACH IS THAT WE’RE RATIONAL AND PRAGMATIC AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE SEEK POETIC WONDER AND UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES. WHEN YOU PUT THOSE QUALITIES TOGETHER, YOU CAN DO GREAT THINGS.”

—JAMES CORNER, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

New York City–based landscape architect James Corner, founder of James Corner Field Operations, stands in front of the new Elliot Bay Seawall, currently under construction. Over the past six years, Corner and his multidisciplinary design team have collaborated on the Seattle waterfront project with a number of other firms, including the Miller Hull Partnership, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Berger Partnership, Mithun, and Schemata Workshop. The project includes a new surface-level street, expanded parks and open space, and improved connections to the bay. » graymag . com

hot new next

urban design

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COURTESY THE MILLER HULL PARTNERSHIP

the city peppered Pier 62/63 with movable yellow lawn chairs. More recently, they’ve staged waterside games, activities, and performances. Corner calls these “quick win” projects: although temporary, they bring people to the water’s edge and give them unique opportunities to watch the site evolve. “All of a sudden, the piers begin to be social, and people like the idea that the waterfront can be engaging and interactive. The chairs were a very cheap, fast investment, but a transformative one in terms of building a sense of positive aspiration for the project.” Building a community of people who truly care about a public project is critical to its long-term success. “Creating parks costs a certain amount of money, but even more citizen investment is required to maintain and operate these places,” Corner says. “It’s important to have people who are passionate and committed to a project even after it’s built and opened. They become stewards for its upkeep.” »

JAMES CORNER FIELD OPERATIONS

ime and time again, grand infrastructure projects have proven their ability to capture people’s imaginations and help them collectively envision the future of their cities. Consider San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Chicago’s Millennium Park, and New York City’s beloved High Line. Seattle’s ongoing waterfront revitalization project is the latest to join the ranks of high-caliber projects that strengthen urban identity through iconic and inspiring design. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, the New York City–based firm responsible for the High Line (the elevated linear park developed atop an abandoned railway viaduct), the Seattle waterfront project eventually will stretch along Elliot Bay from Pioneer Square to Belltown, forging a stronger connection between downtown and the water’s edge. The long-awaited removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct—currently scheduled for 2018—and the rebuilding of the Elliot Bay Seawall, both seismically unstable, will open up more than 20 acres of people-friendly public space that will, upon completion around 2022, include a pedestrian promenade, sweeping elevated pathways, and a new habitat beach. Large works commissioned from renowned artists such as Ann Hamilton and Buster Simpson will act as constellation sites along the waterfront, drawing people in and through the new spaces. In a city facing immense growth and development pressures, this commitment to preserving the waterfront—one of Seattle’s most valuable assets—as a civic park, one meant to be shared by the entire community, demonstrates that thoughtful design can positively influence and shape the life of a city. Six years after the project officially launched, much of the conceptual design work is now complete, and various sites along the corridor are either under construction or slated for further refinement. Like many long-haul, large-scale projects, the vision for the waterfront is grand and meant to be implemented over time. In the meantime, Corner’s team and Friends of Waterfront Seattle (the nonprofit partner to the City of Seattle) have enacted a series of interventions to develop the corridor into a lively and dynamic public realm during construction. In 2012,

ABOVE: Pike Place MarketFront, designed by Seattle architecture firm Miller Hull, is expected to finish construction in early 2017. The expansion of the historic Pike Place Market will include a bustling public plaza, retail space, low-income housing for seniors, a neighborhood center, and a connection to the waterfront via the proposed Overlook Walk. BELOW: Public amenities are abundant in the plan, ranging from the whimsical (slides and porch swings along the walkways) to the functional (protected bike lanes with pedestrian crossings).

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GRAY caught up with Corner during a Seattle site visit this spring to discuss his vision for the waterfront and the value of broad urban redesign.

How do you decide which elements of a site’s history to integrate into a redesign? When we worked on the High Line, the first thing that I thought was “This is a magical site. Whatever we design here should not kill that charm but amplify it.” We tried to grow something that was authentic. In Seattle, we’ve picked up certain local elements—the views and vistas, the atmosphere, the sense of scale—and put them into the design. We’re attempting more than just a representational invocation of history; we’re not saying, “Because it’s rusty, let’s work with rust,” or “Because it’s built on pilings, let’s use pilings.” We’re reaching for a more nuanced use of characteristics that are latent in the site itself. For example, we’re not trying to represent Seattle weather; we’re trying to amplify the effects of the weather by using materials that reflect in interesting ways when they’re wet.

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Tell me about some of the most intriguing features of the project. There’s the Overlook Walk, which connects Pike Place Market to the Aquarium and waterfront and was inspired by the Olympic Sculpture Park, with its dramatic pathways and terraces marching down to the water. I’d also point to the cantilevered sidewalk on top of the seawall, which is embedded with glass blocks that allow light to penetrate into the fish-migration corridor below. I’m excited about the reflective kiosks, designed in collaboration with nArchitects, which feature large, faceted mirror panels that reflect sky, water, weather, people, and the city. Taken together, the redesign of the waterfront will create a whole new face for Seattle, a “front porch” where the city will meet the bay in a dramatically public and convivial way. How do we implement long-term visions for our cities that are farsighted yet also adaptable to their ever-changing nature? To weather the pressures of time, a design needs to make very strong moves. Something about it must capture people’s imaginations and build enough excitement that they say, “Those elements, those ideas—they’re the things

we cannot lose. They’re essential to the project.” If a design doesn’t have logical, coherent, compelling elements, it can quickly unravel. There is a lot of talk in Seattle right now about growth, livability, and the city’s future. What role will the waterfront play in creating a more resilient and sustainable Seattle? It’s recently been documented—in reports by the Urban Land Institute and the American Planning Association, for example—that investments in new public spaces—especially those that reshape an entire district or city, over and over again prove themselves to be well spent. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg’s philosophy was that if you fund big, transformative projects, the economic yield you get from new residents, new businesses, and new visitors can go into the public coffers and be used to improve other programs in the city, such as libraries and social services. We called it a virtuous cycle, and you can see it playing out in the same way on the Seattle waterfront. Not only will the redesign have myriad social, ecological, and experiential benefits, but it will create significant economic gains—which can in turn be used to fix the city. h

JAMES CORNER FIELD OPERATIONS

What excites you most about the waterfront’s future? The socialization that will occur here. You’ll see mixtures of people from all cultures, all ages, and all economic groups out sharing, enjoying, and participating in life at the water’s edge— ultimately, that’s what it is all about.

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Just south of the aquarium, Union Street Pier will replace the current Waterfront Park Pier, offering a larger public open space with an expressive water feature that, when empty, can double as an amphitheater for events and performances. OPPOSITE FROM LEFT: The rebuilt Pier 62/63 will provide flexible-use green space and make room for activities such as impromptu sports and live concerts. A floating dock will provide moorage for visitors arriving by boat.

“WE’RE TRYING TO DESIGN, FURNISH, AND EQUIP THESE SPACES IN WAYS THAT ENCOURAGE SOCIALIZATION. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE JUST NICE SPACES; THEY’RE DESIGNED TO BE STAGES WHERE LIFE CAN TAKE PLACE ON THE WATERFRONT.” —JAMES CORNER, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

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CHASING BEAUTY

Two skatepunks launch an aesthetics-obsessed Vancouver design studio where no detail—no matter how minor—is overlooked. Written by RENSKE WERNER

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“Beauty is our goal,” says Knauf and Brown cofounder D. Calen Knauf (below left). “We make objects that affect the user positively, so much so that you don’t ever want to throw them away.” OPPOSITE: The duo’s new LED Allumette floor light, crafted from an Ibeam and water jet–cut bent aluminum, was designed to be “approachable,” says Knauf, in both its form and its manufacturing. “We are producing this light ourselves, so we designed it to look good even though we’re making it with mostly off-the-shelf materials.”

shelving system with stout ash legs and thin steel shelves produced in 2013 by the Taiwanese brand Esaila. When asked to explain exactly what makes Knauf and Brown designs stand out, Brown simply says: “The fact that we made them.” He exchanges a look with his partner and adds: “I think that is actually a really valid answer.” Both Knauf and Brown are fascinated with research on human attraction to and repulsion from certain colors and contrasts. “These are ideas we constantly ponder when creating a design. I have really strong emotional reactions to objects,” says Knauf. “I will go to sleep with a pen I just bought because I love looking at it so much.” The pair is currently at work on a new collection, including a mirror and a credenza, which will launch in February 2017 at Stockholm Design Week. Whatever the piece, Knauf and Brown’s focus is on functional design—less visual clutter, more beauty. Sometimes that means simply embracing the essence of a material or the unpredictable outcome of a new production process. After all, says Knauf, “there is beauty in process, which has an attractive rawness. The look of our products doesn’t come from a coat of paint or a try-hard designy trick. It comes from within.” »

IMAGES COURTESY KNAUF AND BROWN

onrad Brown and D. Calen Knauf started talking about form and function, aesthetics and minimalism, when they met skateboarding in downtown Vancouver more than a decade ago. It’s a conversation that the duo, who founded the creative studio Knauf and Brown in 2013 as industrial design students at Emily Carr University, continue to this day. “We just never stopped,” says Brown as he leans away from his desk, adjusts his backward-facing baseball cap, and glances out the window of their East Vancouver studio. Any object, even the most utilitarian, can spark up their debates over what works—and what doesn’t—about its form. “They say that form should follow function,” Brown says, “but in our opinion, the aesthetic itself has an underrated function: it makes us feel something.” Knauf and Brown chase down that something when creating their designs. Many times, their process starts with a dialogue about a product that they cannot find in the existing sea of furniture and accessories. “A nice TV stand, for example,” says Knauf. “It’s too low-brow a product for many designers, but you still need one.” Such gaps in the market birthed their first design hit: Heavystock, a modular

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Knauf and Brown’s new Bead vases, which they’ll release in mid-2017, consist of tubes roughly welded to plates. Their forms were inspired by a metal object of unknown purpose that the designers picked up at a thrift store only because they liked its shape.

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The studio’s Overcast Light, set to release in early 2017, is made out of recycled paper sourced from a friend’s print shop, which the designers rip up, turn into a fibrous paste, spread over a hand-carved mold, and air dry. h

“We don’t design by absolute rules, because the world is a fluid place.” —CONRAD BROWN, DESIGNER

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fashion

Seattle rap MC Thig Gishuru (below) recently launched the apparel and accessories company Selany. Products include a unisex top made by Ebbets Field Flannels and a versatile canvasand-leather carryall (left).

HAVE BAG, WILL TRAVEL

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Photographed by AVI LOUD

EARLY THIS YEAR, MUSICIAN THIG GISHURU HOPPED CREATIVE GENRES with the launch of

Selany, an accessories and apparel company offering durable, stylish pieces. After spending several months in 2015 shuttling across the country, Gishuru—lead MC of Seattle rap group the Physics—had an epiphany. “I spent so much time packing and going through airport security lines, but I realized I didn’t have a carry-on bag versatile enough to carry my laptop, camera, shoes, and other items I need readily available,” he recalls. So Gishuru decided to make his own. He sketched his ideal bag—a canvas-and-leather carryall that can be worn as a backpack or a tote, with a laptop-sleeve pocket and zip side pocket—and then collaborated with a small manufacturer to produce it. He unveiled Selany (the name is an amalgam of Seattle, L.A., and N.Y., the cities he frequents most) in January 2016, offering a small collection of locally made bags, unisex tops, and baseball caps. Though the media might seem distinct, Gishuru weaves a connection between music and design. “As a musician, I piece together complementary elements to create songs that stand alone as works of art,” he says. “I’ve approached every piece in this collection with a similar intention.” That’s what we call hitting all the right notes. h

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5th Avenue | Seattle

Tu r g e o n R a i n e . c o m

Tahitian and South Sea pearls with diamond beads • Bracelet in 18kt yellow gold and leather with champagne colored diamonds • Rings: Natural color, pavé set diamonds and rectangular cut, blue-green tourmaline graymag . com

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made here

HOW TO RAISE A GLASS Matt Capozzi and Nic Ramirez dreamed up their new venture, North Drinkware, in—of course—a bar. Avid craft beer drinkers with day jobs in product design and development, they found mass-produced glassware lacking. “We wanted to create an artisan glass that uses local materials and reflects the energy and passion brewers devote to their beer,” says Capozzi. Teaming up with Capozzi’s wife, Leigh, the Portlanders put their idea on Kickstarter in February 2015, seeking $15,000 to launch a collection of pint glasses imprinted on the base with a miniaturized, geologically accurate model of Mt. Hood. The trio surpassed their goal within hours,

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eventually netting more than half a million dollars in 32 days. The campaign’s wild success challenged them to scale up their production. Artists at Elements Glass hot shop pioneered a two-day, 15-step process fusing ancient and modern glass-blowing techniques—transferring USGS topographical data into a 3-D printer, for example, to create the glasses’ stainless-steel molds. In addition to Mt. Hood, the current line features pint glasses and tumblers featuring Half Dome and Mt. Rainier. Products planned for early 2017 will spotlight peaks in Colorado and Vermont, states that share equal reverence for craft beer, mountains, and makers. h

COURTESY NORTH DRINKWARE

Written by KAITY TEER

Aikon Lounge design by Marike Andeweg | Cloud , Jewel, Spark cushions, and Dalt tables design by Studio Foorumi | BimBom design by Claire Vos Teeuwen and Roderick Vos | Wicker design by Frederik Roijé

Designers on staff at both graymag . com locations.

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art

ART & SCIENCE

Written by ROSEMARIE BUCHANAN : Portrait by MEGUMI SHAUNA ARAI

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LIKE AN ALCHEMIST, Bellevue, Washington– based ceramicist Jolinda Linden is obsessed with experimentation. With a simple tweak in protocol—bumping up the heat in her kiln or adding powdered carbon to her material palette, for example—she can shift the shades or surfaces of her textural, iterative works. “My art’s like a scientific study,” she says. “It comes from a decade of figuring out, anticipating, and recording results.” Rigorous methods and self-imposed constraints (she uses just five tools and two colors, black and white) enable her to investigate and expand the limits of porcelain’s properties. Linden has had her hands in clay since she was five. “I made tile-like pieces as a kid,” she recalls. “I’ve always been intrigued by what you can evoke from a flat piece.” After earning a science degree, she first focused on crafting handmade giftware and then turned her attention exclusively to fine art, creating sculptural series that each test the potential of a single technique. This year’s series, “Reaction,” deploys a method she calls “smashing”: she melts glass onto cupped squares of porcelain in a superhot kiln, then rapidly cools it so the glass crackles. Other works in the series investigate what happens when natural materials such as copper are placed onto glass smashings in the kiln (answer: a deep aqua-blue pool at the center of each tile). “I push materials to their limit,” Linden says of her experimental process. “I’m seeing nature and its variances in each piece that survives, and in each piece that cracks or explodes.” h

ERIC B. PETERSON

LEFT: Artist Jolinda Linden sits amid pieces from her new “Reaction” series, in which glass is adhered to porcelain—resulting in highly textured sculptural works—via a technique she calls “smashing.”ABOVE: “Loss in Process,” 2016 (detail). BELOW: “Hot Spot,” 2016 (detail).

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PUT A ROCK ON IT

FROM LEFT: The Manifestation Ring from BLK HEX pairs stabilized green maple with a quartz topper and metal beading. The new Traveler’s Pendant suspends milky quartz from a simple leather cord. The two-finger Breaker Ring shows off the company’s punk-meets-pretty aesthetic.

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ONE EVENING, Seattle graphic designer Brandon Ilenstine’s wife, Diane, mentioned in passing that she’d like a ring topped with a large crystal. Brandon hadn’t made jewelry before, but he took it as a challenge. He asked Diane to sketch out her vision, and the pair talked about form and materials for several months before hitting the studio together to craft the ring, a jagged blue quartz embedded in ebony. Afterward the couple continued to tinker with quartz, amethyst geodes, and hand-carved exotic-wood bases. At first it was a hobby, but soon friends and strangers started to ask where they could purchase the pieces. “When we realized that so many people liked what we were making, we felt the universe was pushing us to do more,” Brandon says. The duo cofounded BLK HEX jewelry studio in August 2016, posting pictures of their eye-catching creations on Instagram as they created them. In early September, they ventured into bracelets and necklaces with wrapped-leather details that expand on the company’s found-in-nature aesthetic. For the Ilenstines, BLK HEX isn’t just a business; it’s a reflection of themselves. “We’re not afraid to stand out, to be weird or different,” Brandon says. “People often say, ‘Wow, that looks good on you, but I could never wear it.’ We’d love to change that perception. Everyone can be bold if they allow themselves to be.” h

DANNY PALLISSIER

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

artisan landscape design & services parterreseattle.com 206.527.4334 graymag . com

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“THE FUTURE OF APPAREL IS IN FABRIC INNOVATION.” —JOEY RODOLFO, DESIGNER

Fashion industry veteran Joey Rodolfo (below) launched the new Buki Brand in October 2016. Eschewing the breakneck pace of the traditional fashion cycle, Buki will issue just two collections each year, in colorways that complement one another across seasons.

NANOTECHNOLOGY, MEET FASHION Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Portrait by NATE WATTERS

SEATTLE ENJOYED A SERIOUS SPORTSWEAR MOMENT IN THE ’80S, when the city spawned national

brands Unionbay, Generra, and Brittania. Today the quintessential togs are resurfacing—but this time, there’s less acid wash and neon and a lot more innovation. Here to up the fashion ante is recently launched Buki Brand, the brainchild of veteran Seattle designer Joey Rodolfo. Last year, shortly after leaving his decade-long position as senior vice president of men’s design at Tommy Bahama, Rodolfo targeted a niche in the market: stylish, highly functional pieces that bridge sportswear and streetwear. Buki fills that gap with both men’s and women’s staples that compose a modern capsule wardrobe as well suited to the office as to the gym. “It’s no longer enough to just have a closet full of great clothes. People want extra benefits,” Rodolfo explains. Typical high-performance clothing offers those benefits— UV protection, say, or wrinkle resistance—through chemical dips or sprays applied to the surface of the cloth. Buki, in contrast, knits into its fabric a cutting-edge reengineered acrylic fiber, created with nanotechnology by one of Japan’s most innovative mills—“embedding thermal regulation and cooling properties into the clothing itself,” says Rodolfo. The resulting pieces “have the softness of silk, but they’re much more durable. Once people put Buki on, they don’t want to take it off.” h

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The forthcoming Willamette Falls Riverwalk in Oregon City, Oregon, will restore public access to and views of the falls. Designed by international architecture firm Snøhetta and slated to begin construction in 2018, the Riverwalk will feature walkways, overlooks, educational displays, and gathering spaces to attract and engage visitors.

HISTORY IN THE (RE)MAKING Written by ROSEMARIE BUCHANAN

dition journals in 1806. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the cataract (in Oregon City, just south of Portland) was a vital power source for the Territory of Oregon and, later, the state’s growing lumber, farming, and industrial economies. With the boom came construction, and soon a row of paper and textile mills entirely walled off public access to the falls. Today the mills are gone, but Willamette Falls is still proving attractive. In 2014, the Willamette Falls Legacy Project launched a $60 million effort, in partnership with the site’s owner, which will restore public access to the falls for the first time in more than 150 years. Central to the plan is the Willamette Falls Riverwalk, an architectural intervention that will let visitors experience the falls and their namesake river up close. Conceived by international architecture firm Snøhetta in collaboration with Portland design studio Mayer/Reed and Canadian firm DIALOG, the Riverwalk, now in the concept design phase, will integrate parts of the site’s abandoned industrial buildings, such as the foundation of a woolen mill built in 1864. “We’re seeking to peel back the layers to reveal the geology, industry, economic history, and beauty” of the falls, notes Michelle Delk, lead designer and director of landscape architecture at Snøhetta. “Rather than taking an additive approach, we aim to carefully reveal the majesty of this site.” h

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RENDERINGS COURTESY SNØHETTA

WILLAMETTE FALLS AND ITS BOUNTY WERE NOTED BY MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK in their expe-

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concept

GAS TO GRASS Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

Mini Mart City Park is the brainchild of Seattle-based arts triumvirate SuttonBeresCuller, which is remaking a former gas station lot into a pocket park and community center.

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SUTTONBERESCULLER, 2014; RENDERING COURTESY GOCSTUDIO

WOULD YOU PAY $25 FOR A CAN OF TOXIC DIRT SCRAPED OFF A VACANT LOT?

You might if it helped to revive an urban landscape long left for dead, which is what Seattle-based arts collective SuttonBeresCuller wants to do. They devised the unconventional fundraising technique in early 2015 to bring awareness to their latest project: Mini Mart City Park, a proposed community arts center and green space in the industrial Georgetown neighborhood. Selling the handsomely packaged cans of dirt is more than a stunt, of course. “It lets people know that they are involved, that they are stewards of the land and stakeholders in the cleanup of this site,” says John Sutton, who has been working on the concept with longtime artist-collaborators Ben Beres and Zac Culler for more than a decade. In 2008, the trio secured the brownfield site in south Georgetown but had to level the existing gas station due to contamination and other issues. Eight years of bureaucratic hoops and massive environmental remediation ensued before they enlisted local architecture firm goCstudio to help design the project. Mini Mart City Park will feature a 1,100-square-foot building to host classes, events, and art shows, as well as a public park for the underserved neighborhood. The team has raised $500,000 to date, mostly from grants (plus those dirt cans), and construction is projected to start in spring 2017. “From the early stages of the design process, we’ve always referenced the typology of old filling stations,” says architect and goCstudio cofounder Jon Gentry, who points out how welcoming their form could be. “Their large overhangs invite you in. So this structure feels familiar, but it has visual cues that tell you something unique is happening here.” h

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architecture

swift changes An ad agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new office in fast-evolving Slabtown honors the past even as its creative staff dreams up the future. Written by BRIAN LIBBY

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For creative agency Swift’s new office in a defunct warehouse in Portland’s Slabtown district, Beebe Skidmore Architects and developer Project PDX opted for a hybrid architectural approach, marrying pristine and rough surfaces and old and new forms to honor the neighborhood’s industrial character. The sawtooth roof is custom-built with Kawneer storefront glazing; the skylights are from Architectural Specialties.

DESIGN TEAM

architecture: Beebe Skidmore Architects construction: Yorke & Curtis General Contractors structural engineering: Grummel Engineering civil engineering: 3J Consulting landscape architecture: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects JEREMY BITTERMANN

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The Swift workspace invites conversation and connection through generous common spaces and circulation areas. On the original timber ceiling are LED linear tubes by Cree, arranged in two Xs over the reception desk to â&#x20AC;&#x153;mark the spot,â&#x20AC;? according to architect Heidi Beebe. The stairs are wrapped in flush birch plywood stained glossy black.

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COURTESY SWIFT; PORTRAIT: JESSICA HILL

o one would have protested if the former factory and warehouse at 17th and Overton had been demolished. The concrete-block structure in Northwest Portland’s Slabtown neighborhood was nearly windowless, and after four expansions over the years, its interior was a gloomy warren. You wouldn’t peg it as the future home of Swift, an advertising agency built around ideals of openness and collaboration. But Swift and its architects, Heidi Beebe and Doug Skidmore of Beebe Skidmore Architects, saw an opportunity to pay tribute to Slabtown’s industrial past by creating a compelling hybrid of old and new design. Swift, which has grown steadily over the past decade with its digital campaigns for the likes of Starbucks, Google, and Nestlé, wanted an open office space designed to foster interaction. “We wanted everyone on one floor, all together,” says Swift cofounder Alicia McVey, “and we wanted to use the raw bones of the space. We didn’t want to do anything just for design’s sake—instead we took the existing structure and put our own mark on it.” The resulting design harmoniously weaves crisp new features through the rough original space. New glass cubes cantilever over the sidewalk from the old warehouse’s concrete-block base, while skylights on the sawtooth roof (smaller extant ones as well as large new ones) draw light deep into the interior, illuminating the massive original glulam ceiling beams. “We didn’t just stick new objects onto the old building,” reflects Skidmore. “They’re very embedded.” Practical considerations and »

FROM TOP: The building’s exterior is an eye-catching interplay of simple geometric forms that recall children’s blocks, even as the original warehouse remains discernible. Heidi Beebe and Doug Skidmore of Beebe Skidmore Architects stand outside the new office.

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an understanding of the old building remained paramount throughout the design process. To decide where to carve out new windows, for example, the architects looked not for the most symmetrically perfect spot, but for areas where the aged concrete was weakest. Inside, clusters of desks give way to a vast common area not unlike a college dorm lounge, with a well-stocked kitchen and lots of cushy sofas. The architects, who put a premium on open sightlines, used frameless glass to keep workrooms visually accessible. Rooms that need to be quiet or soundproof were placed along the edges and corners wherever possible “to keep the open, central flow of space,” Beebe explains. McVey says

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employees now talk face to face much more often, and the common area, including a 500-square-foot conversation pit, encourages impromptu collaboration. “An unusually large amount of space is given to circulation and movement,” says Skidmore, and that inspires people to get up from their desks. “The place is a beehive of activity.” Since moving into the warehouse in the spring of 2016, Swift’s employees have taken to the new space in a big way. “Now we have more spontaneous conversations, and people are happier because of the light and the personal connections we’re making,” says Swift cofounder Liz Valentine. “There’s a natural flow.” h

COURTESY SWIFT

BELOW: At the center of Swift’s suite is a custom-built conversation pit, nicknamed “the colony” by agency staff. Located near a 12-footwide media wall—an assemblage of nine wall-mounted monitors— it hosts all-team meetings, presentations, and project reviews. OPPOSITE: The office contains seven private meeting rooms, dubbed “nests,” each devoted to a specific team’s ongoing project.

“NOW WE HAVE MORE SPONTANEOUS CONVERSATIONS, AND PEOPLE ARE HAPPIER BECAUSE OF THE LIGHT AND THE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS WE’RE MAKING. THERE’S A NATURAL FLOW.”

JEREMY BITTERMANN

—LIZ VALENTINE, COFOUNDER, SWIFT

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construction

box office Written by KAITY TEER : Photographed by ANDREW LATREILLE

LUMINOUS, EXPRESSIVE, METICULOUSLY CRAFTED: THESE AREN’T TERMS TYPICALLY USED TO DESCRIBE CONTRACTORS’ WORKSITE OFFICES. But Patrick Powers, owner of Vancouver-based Powers Construction, wanted the best for his project managers, who spend long days overseeing the company’s residential and commercial work on building sites. “Working out of a truck or a cold, damp, shoddily built trailer with a tiny window”—the typical arrangement— “is uncomfortable, inefficient, and depressing,” he says. Determined to come up with a better option, four years ago he transformed a 20-foot-long shipping container into two mobile offices, outfitting the interiors with whitewashed siding, raw mild steel tiles, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in ample light and gave managers expansive views of surrounding jobsites. Client and employee reactions to these beta offices were so overwhelmingly positive that this past summer, Powers converted a 40-foot shipping container into an additional 16-foot office and a 24-foot head office featuring a boardroom table for client meetings, sliding glass walls with assemblies he rigged out of Rollerblade wheels, and a graffiti installation by local creative studio Chairman Ting Industries. His crews affectionately nicknamed them the “site cans,” but there’s nothing canned about their intent: “They’re a nod to the caliber of the architects, designers, clients, and contractors we work with,” Powers explains. “They make a tremendous impact on the overall tone of our projects.” h

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“IT’S THE LAYERS OF TIME THAT MAKE CITIES LIKE ROME, NEW YORK, AND SAN FRANCISCO GREAT. WE SHOULDN’T LOSE THOSE LAYERS IN SEATTLE.” —MATT AALFS, BUILDINGWORK

A MATTER OF PRESERVATION

One man bucks Seattle’s new-build development spree. Written by STACY KENDALL : Portrait by NATE WATTERS

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OPPOSITE: Architect Matt Aalfs in the historic Seattle building he’s transforming into Metropole Hotel. THIS PAGE, FROM TOP:

The bright-blue exterior of the Skyway Library, one of Aalfs’s newest civic projects, recalls the color of the sky just before sunrise. Union Stables, an office and mixed-use building in downtown Seattle, was a former Weinstein A+U project.

IMAGES COURTESY LARA SWIMMER

SURE, SEATTLE’S RAPID URBAN GROWTH HAS BROUGHT GEODESIC ORBS AND OTHER SHINY STUFF TO DOWNTOWN—but it’s also prompted many to advocate

for meaningful preservation of the older city landscape. Architect Matt Aalfs is one of those speaking up. In March 2016, Aalfs launched BuildingWork, leaving behind a nearly 17-year career at the well-established Seattle firm Weinstein A+U, where he focused mainly on civic and adaptive reuse projects. A conscious uncoupling, some might call it: Aalfs had just turned 50 and was ready to flex his muscles as an owner. Aalfs himself describes his decision as opting for a nimble speedboat over a big ship. Aalfs subscribes to a contemporary model of architectural progress, which clearly delineates what’s new in a building from what’s not. Architects who don’t, he observes, “quickly get into Disney territory. To make something that pretends to be old—that’s not interesting to me. It doesn’t tell a story. What is interesting is marrying old and new systems. Preserving historic character while accommodating a building’s use for current times is an exciting design challenge.” Due to his specialization in historic renovations, Aalfs carried over a handful of projects when he left Weinstein, including two boutique hotel developments that will boost Pioneer Square’s renaissance. Both Metropole Hotel and the J&M Hotel are being carved out of long-abandoned spaces in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood—the former in a building that has sat vacant since a fire ripped through the interior in 2006, and the latter in a onetime Gold Rush hotel and brothel whose upper floors fell into dereliction back in the early ’70s. BuildingWork’s client for both projects is the Seattle-based development group Seneca Ventures, which formed the J&M

Hospitality Group in 2015 to operate both hotels. The J&M is slated to open in late 2017 and Metropole in spring 2018. Designer and developer are working with the city and neighborhood preservation boards, as well as the National Park Service, to hit historic preservation benchmarks in the renovations. Where some architects see the preservation review process as a bureaucratic mire, Aalfs praises the guidelines. “To protect buildings as common cultural resources, there’s a need for governmental influence. In a way, these places belong to everyone,” he says. “It’s the layers of time that make cities like Rome, New York, and San Francisco great. We shouldn’t lose those layers in Seattle.” h graymag . com

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DESIGN STORIES

COURTESY SERGIO ZHURBIN, ANKROM MOISAN ARCHITECTS

Written by LINDSAY J. WESTLEY

WHEN A DESIGNER FLYING UNDER THE OFFICIAL TITLE “DUTCHESS OF MISCHIEF” IS RUNNING YOUR PROJECT, you know you’re under the wing of no ordinary studio. Indeed,

Ankrom Moisan Architects’ new hospitality-focused spinoff, The Society, does things very differently. “We’re a collective of architects, designers, and brand strategists, yes—but we’re also stylists and curators. We even have a poet on staff,” says Karen Bowery, The Society’s aforementioned Dutchess and lead provocateur. Though the 12-person team launched only in September 2016, conceptualizing and designing interiors for hotel developers, Ankrom Moisan, and other architects, they already have seven projects in the works—a restaurant, a retail space, and hip, millennial-focused hotels across the country with Instagram-ready elevator photo booths and rooftop shuffleboard courts. Their quick ascent supports Bowery’s assertion that “hospitality design is no longer about presenting a certain décor: say, ‘Scandinavian modern’ or ‘rustic lodge.’ People want authentic experiences. In short, they want to be told a story.” h

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The Society, a hospitality-focused offshoot of Ankrom Moisan Architects (based in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco), launched in September 2016. Its concept for the Moxy San Diego, pictured here, includes a lobby splashed with black-and-white “dazzle camouflage,” a bold graphic originally used on ships during World War I.

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DEATH BECOMES HER

Katrina Spade pivoted from working in the field of architecture to drafting a surprising new model to deal with burial and mourning.

“THE LAST THING WE DO ON THIS EARTH IS POISON IT,”

says Katrina Spade, referring to the by-products of most traditional burial methods in the United States. A trained architect and now founder and executive director of the nonprofit Urban Death Project in Seattle, Spade spends a lot of time thinking about what happens to our physical bodies when we die— and, specifically, how we can improve upon heavily polluting business-as-usual burial practices. Millions of tons of concrete, hardwood, and metal go into the ground as caskets and vaults. Hundreds of millions of pounds of carbon dioxide are released into the air during cremation, and uncounted millions of gallons of toxic embalming fluid are used every year, eventually seeping into ground water. Spade offers an alternative. In her plan, named Recomposition, bodies become compost for gardens in city-based facilities. Her ethos is part revolutionary architect, part environmental activist, and part funeral-industry disruptor. “Uninspiring funeral homes, industrial crematories—they don’t hold a lot of meaning,” says Spade. “But the death experience is designed by the living, and we can take charge of it.” Her proposal, which blew past its initial $75,000 goal to reach $91,000 on Kickstarter in early 2015, envisions a library branch– like system of Urban Death facilities in city neighborhoods. Each building will house a central core surrounded by a

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winding ramp. During the funeral ceremony, friends and family of the deceased, carrying the linen-wrapped body, will lead a procession to the top of the building. There the mourners will lower the body into the core, where, over the course of several months, it will decompose amid wood chips, straw, and other organic material, resulting in nutrient-rich compost. Families will be encouraged to take some away, and the rest will enrich the facilities’ park-like sites and the soil throughout the urban area, “folding the deceased back into the fabric of the city,” says Spade. If you think this is just a pipe dream, Spade has gotten international attention for her idea and has been working full time on it for the past two and a half years, funded by a fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation. She’s garnered the support of noted architectural firm Olson Kundig—the firm hosted Spade for a week this past spring and lent its input into the system prototype design—and the Washington State University soil science department, which will collaborate with Spade on a pilot program to refine the Recomposition system and test remaining questions regarding the human composting process. Spade hopes to build the first prototype this coming spring. “Death is mysterious and miraculous, and it deserves a lot more care and ritual than we give it now,” says Spade. “Architecture and design can play an important role in that.” h

RENDERINGS COURTESY KATRINA SPADE FOR THE URBAN DEATH PROJECT (TOP LEFT AND OPPOSITE) COURTESY OLSON KUNDIG FOR THE URBAN DEATH PROJECT (TOP RIGHT)

Written by STACY KENDALL

Katrina Spade envisions environmentally friendly Urban Death facilities that will turn the deceased into nutrient-rich compost. OPPOSITE LEFT: An Urban Death Project promotional postcard design. OPPOSITE RIGHT: Construction of the Recomposition prototype, developed with the Washington State University soil science department and architecture firm Olson Kundig, is planned to begin March 2017 (pending funding). THIS PAGE: Spade envisions mourners carrying the linen-wrapped body of their loved one to the top of the ramp and then nesting it within a bed of wood chips. Over the course of several months, it will decompose, descending as it does so to the bottom of the facility. By the time the process is complete, the body will be transformed into nutrient-rich compost, ready to nourish a private garden or public park.

“DEATH IS MYSTERIOUS AND MIRACULOUS, AND IT DESERVES A LOT MORE CARE AND RITUAL THAN WE GIVE IT NOW.’’

—KATRINA SPADE, FOUNDER, URBAN DEATH PROJECT

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unmasked He’s worked quietly at Olson Kundig for more than 24 years. Now we shine the light on visionary architect Alan Maskin. Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

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IMAGES COURTESY OLSON KUNDIG

THIS PAGE: A sketch of the Acid Ball, a competition proposal for a public art installation in a new waterfront park in Bellingham. The holes in the steel dome—an industrial artifact from a defunct local toilet paper factory—map out the stars as they appeared in the sky on the night the factory closed. OPPOSITE: One of five intricate renderings Maskin and his team created for “Welcome to the 5th Façade,” a dystopian architectural tale that won first place in a prestigious storytelling competition in March 2016.

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aping up at Picasso’s Cubist masterpiece “Guernica” as a 10-year-old in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the future architect Alan Maskin felt acute shock and wonder. The seminal antiwar mural, nearly 12 feet tall and twice as long, captures the horrors of the Spanish Civil War in a tangled mass of distorted faces and agonized animals. Young Maskin was no stranger to provocative art, often frequenting galleries in the company of an artistic aunt. But still, Picasso’s statement hit him deeply. “It really left an impression on me,” he recalls. “I didn’t know art could elicit the emotions I was feeling. It was my first introduction to art as a form of activism.” More than five decades later, Maskin, one of five owners and principals at Seattle’s preeminent architecture firm Olson Kundig, is still fueled by art. Known for designing imaginative museums, inventive exhibitions, and standout public spaces around the globe, Maskin nonetheless tends to fly under the radar of Olson Kundig’s starchitects—a position he says has suited him well. “I’m pretty shy,” he admits with a laugh. “But this firm isn’t about any single individual. We all participate in one another’s careers.” That’s a diplomatic answer, but coming from Maskin, who values teamwork and collaboration as the highest tenets of any project, the sentiment is real. Yet recent years have seen Maskin claim his own spotlight, pursuing new creative exploits and leading the firm beyond traditional architecture into the worlds of narrative, installation,

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and conceptual art. In 2012, he and his colleague Blair Payson worked with the Seattle-based Degenerate Art Ensemble, crafting a hinged kinetic table that the performance group can assemble into various configurations in its stagecraft. The previous year saw the launch of the experimental [storefront] project, in which Olson Kundig rented a 1,300-square-foot space in Seattle’s Pioneer Square and offered it to the community for events and installations. Over a two-year period, they hosted 18 events, ranging from pop-ups and workshops to “online dinner parties” and a mini-mushroom farm that grew 200 pounds of food. During its run, artists and architects, curators and restaurateurs, creatives and writers—and the occasional confused-looking visitor wandering in off the street—mingled in a fruitful creative stew. “The notion that architects can make culture within their community resonated strongly with us,” Maskin says. In March 2016, his story “Welcome to the 5th Façade” won first place in the online architecture forum Blank Space’s annual Fairy Tales storytelling competition. Rooted in science fiction, the piece—studded with five breathtakingly melancholic renderings fusing charcoal drawings with photography and CGI—is the tale of a dead architect who wanders a futuristic city landscape. It’s based on Maskin’s investigations of the rarely seen upper layer of cities, especially rooftops, and the tale has now been turned into a surrealistic animated short, narrated by Maskin in a steady, measured tone. Maskin’s beginnings were rather more ordinary. He grew up on Long Island, a creative child who loved drawing and who was galvanized by his beloved aunt’s early recognition that he was a true artist. An admittedly “terrible” student, Maskin nonetheless secured a spot at the State University of New York College at Buffalo, where he studied art education and then decamped to Boston (an openly gay man in the early days of the liberation movement, he “wanted to be in a city where I could live in the open”), landing a job teaching art at a daycare. Simultaneously, though, he became intrigued with architectural drawings, especially the work of Étienne-Louis Boullée, »

LEFT: Maskin atop the steel dome at the Frye Art Museum, the project that kickstarted his passion for museum design. ABOVE LEFT AND RIGHT: An upscale food court in South Korea, with interiors inspired by Edward Hopper paintings and Wong Kar-wai’s film In the Mood for Love, will open in the coming months. In August 2016, Maskin won first prize in the Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation’s competition for the new Kindermuseum.

PORTRAIT COURTESY RYAN PATTERSON/OLSON KUNDIG; RENDERINGS COURTESY OLSON KUNDIG

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an 18th-century French architect whose intricate conceptual sketches of buildings and monuments enthralled the young artist. “I fell in love with architectural drawings, in particular section drawings, before I fell in love with pure architecture,” Maskin recalls. “I looked at those images and I knew I wanted to draw every single day—and get paid for it.” Happenstance led him onward. “Several parents of kids at the daycare center were architects, and one of them said, ‘Alan, you should do three things. First, go study architecture at the University of Washington. Second, take advantage of their foreign study program—it’s the best in the world. Third, apply for a job at Olson Walker [an early incarnation of Olson Kundig].’ I did all three, and now I’m an owner of the firm.” Maskin pauses to think for a moment, then smiles. “Of course, I interviewed for the job five times before I was actually hired.” “I had been at the firm about six years when Alan came on board,” recalls co-owner and principal Tom Kundig. “His artistic reputation preceded him. Everyone knew he had an amazing hand and could draw like the wind.” Maskin also had another trick up his sleeve: he was the firm’s sole sketcher who knew AutoCAD, then a new technology, so he found himself working with a mouse and keyboard as often as with a pencil and pad. One of his first big projects was the renovation of Seattle’s Frye Art Museum in 1997. Collaborating with former firm owner and principal Rick Sundberg, who led the project, Maskin and his team helped shape the design of the Frye’s new entry arcade and rotunda; a new café, shop, and galleries; an education building; new

museum rules in favor of highly interactive learning. The 8,000-square-foot project features an enormous Ark through which children can run, scale climbing nets, and play with wooden animals and puppets representing figures from the ancient flood tale. The Ark project garnered many awards and sailed Maskin’s career into global waters—he designed the Secret Garden, a public park atop a 12-story department store in Uijeongbu, South Korea; the new campus for the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, California; and another South Korean rooftop park based on Aesop’s “City Mouse, Country Mouse.” For a man without children, Maskin is acutely in tune with the way kids interact with their surroundings. “I love using abstraction in spaces for children,” he says. “I trust their ability to fill in the blanks. They are definitely smarter than we give them credit for being.” Aside from creating wonders for the new generation, Maskin is looking to the future in a highly technical way. Given rapid advances in holography, virtual reality, and 3-D filmmaking, the landscape of design is poised for a seismic shift over the next decade. Despite his lifelong passion for hand drawing, Maskin embraces the potential of digital tools. “You don’t want to fight new technologies. You want to use them as tools,” he advises. Which is

R O F E G A GN R I U S E O C D F T OU TO B N A U O Y A M S US A Y HAVE TO O M R O E EN H N T A T A S E H “IT TAK TO REALIZE W TO CREATE.” ANYONEAT THEY WANT AND WH —

offices; and a small urban garden. “That project was a game changer,” Maskin remembers. “I fell in love with museums as a building typology. For a firm that does 55 percent residential work, museums and other cultural spaces are a way to introduce our design ethos to the public. During the lifetime of any house, maybe 100 people will see it. I’m designing buildings that are projected to host over a million visitors a year.” As Maskin rose through Olson Kundig’s ranks, he gravitated toward commercial projects, leading teams that dreamed up unique visual and interactive experiences. In 2007, they designed the Noah’s Ark exhibition for the Skirball Cultural Center, a new museum for children and families in Los Angeles. “We were not one of the 12 national firms invited to submit” a design, Maskin says, “but we just went ahead and sent one. Eventually, we won the project.” The proposal forwent the traditional “no touch!”

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precisely what he is supporting at Olson Kundig. Designers at the firm are experimenting with ways to harness new tech as they make projects, tell stories, and craft visual space―using digital VR models in tandem with CGI, for example. Applied to commercial buildings and museums, the tools’ possibilities are seemingly endless, and they’ll grant minds like Maskin’s still more creative space to roam. New tech, he predicts, “will change design practice because it can exponentially change the way we perceive space.” One low-hanging fruit to pluck, he points out, is to equip clients with VR headsets and walk them through their projects before they’re built—picking out furniture, art, and finishes and saving lots of time and money in the process. “But new technology promises so much more,” Maskin says. “It’s a way for architects to distinguish themselves and be inventive in their use of visual storytelling. It’s going to be a really exciting moment in design history.” As a man whose work pushes forward a 50-year-old-firm on a daily basis, there’s no doubt that Alan Maskin’s work will be remembered as among the best of its era. h

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ROOM TO GROW Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

COURTESY B+H ARCHITECTS

“TRADITIONALLY A DEVELOPER BUILDS A TOWER WITH A ‘ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL’ MENTALITY. Tenants move in and occupy a certain number of floors, each of which has the exact same footprint,” says Doug Demers, principal designer at B+H Architects. “That’s a 20-year-old concept.” Demers and his team at B+H Architects’ Center for Advanced Strategy in Seattle are taking a new tack. “We’re trying to provide new options for growing businesses.” Created for Dallas-based real estate developer Harwood International and dubbed the “Un-Tower Tower” by associates at B+H, this 20-story building in downtown Dallas provides flexible office spaces in differing configurations ranging from 6,400 to 22,750 square feet. A strong example of the user-driven architecture coming out of the Northwest, this building provides rapidly growing businesses the potential to stay in the same place as they expand, while enhancing downtown Dallas’s visual appeal. Amenity spaces (restaurants, outdoor areas) are provided at the connecting levels between the stacked blocks, and the parking structure is clad with green walls and a heat-deflecting screen system, true boons in this steamy city. “It’s exciting to work with developers who want to create vibrant urban campuses,” Demers notes, “especially in a city where street-level activity has been historically ignored.” h

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DAVID ROBINSON

THE STORY BEHIND DAVID ROBINSON STUDIOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAPTIVATING FIGURATIVE SCULPTURES.

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OPPOSITE: Chair, composite bronze maquette, 2014. CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: Sculptor David Robinson working on the bronze

casting for Critical Mass, a private commission. Gaze, bronze, 2015. Device and Desire, one of Robinson’s signature pieces.

It is almost impossible for sculptures by David Robinson to go unnoticed—not least

because they often reach heights of up to 25 feet. What’s even more striking, however, is how his figures, crafted in bronze, silver, and iron, are suspended in elegantly wrought tension. Robinson Studio Gallery’s epic works, often created in collaboration with architects and landscape designers, have graced private and public spaces for more than 25 years. GRAY goes into the studio with Robinson to better understand his artistic process. What drives your creativity? In a culture increasingly obsessed with efficiency, pragmatics, and low-cost production, the artist lives in a vocational state best described as a temporary stay of execution. Most days, simply staying aware of the enormous privilege of being a practicing artist is a good creative fuel supply. As an art student, I was told that the figure was dead, yet I remained captivated by the work of Giacometti, Moore, and Marini, and their endless capacity for iterations of the figure in space. I suppose I just stubbornly believed in the figure’s enduring potential—and I still do. Tell us about the commission process—how do your sculptures go from concept to final form? First I like to see the site, and then go back to the studio to reflect on initial concepts and create maquettes, sketches, and a proposal. The conversation with my client then unfolds from there. The most successful pieces emerge when I feel a strong connection to the client. It’s not a rare occurrence—after all, if you’re in dialogue with a client, there’s already an overlap in your respective visions. A commission is more than a mere transaction; it’s a uniquely human interaction, using art as a transcendent communiqué.

KEN MAYE

How do you define success? The most exciting thing about commissions is how clients present you with ‘problems’ you didn’t know you had. Finding unanticipated solutions—that’s success to me. I love the saying attributed to American playwright Edward Albee: ‘There are two things that ruin artists—success and failure.’ In truth, I’d like the resilience to fail a thousand times in the pursuit of one good work.

PHOTO CREDITS

What career achievement are you proudest of? I had major cardiac surgery a year ago, so I spent a lot of time in the Vancouver General Hospital. And then a few months ago, through the gift of a private donor, I was commissioned to do a piece for the hospital’s seven-story atrium. It’s incredibly gratifying to be able to give back to the hundreds of people who spend their days in that facility. The feedback during this process gave me that ‘aha’ experience of realizing how art can truly be a gift. h robinsonstudio.com graymag . com

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LANI MCGREGOR

THE DIRECTOR OF PORTLAND’S BULLSEYE PROJECTS DISCUSSES HER COMPANY’S COMPELLING, COMMUNITY-FOCUSED VISION.

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THIS PAGE: Slovenian designer Tanja Pak’s glass table, settings, and clouds moved directly from her Bullseye Projects artist residency into the “White” exhibition, part of Bullseye’s biennial BECon conference. OPPOSITE FROM TOP: Works by Anna Mlasowsky (foreground), Matthew Szösz, (center), and Abi Spring (back wall) were featured in the group “Origins” show. Lani McGregor is the director of Bullseye Projects. Each gallery exhibition includes interactive opportunities for visitors of all ages to learn about the methods and ideas behind the glass.

As the experimental “skunkworks” wing of a factory started

by artists 42 years ago, Portland’s new Bullseye Projects is on a mission to spotlight the artistic and design potential of kilnformed glass—and to do it in the most accessible and inviting way possible. Through themed exhibitions in its 9,000-squarefoot Pearl District gallery, artist residencies that encourage innovation, studio commissions, and hands-on family programming, Bullseye Projects redefines the gallery experience and pushes the limits on what glass can do.

PORTRAIT: ANNA CAITLIN HARRIS; ABOVE: DAN KVITKA

In January 2015, you re-launched the former Bullseye Gallery as Bullseye Projects. What changed besides the name? After almost 20 years of running a gallery that did all the “traditional” things—art fairs, local and international exhibitions, museum shows—we were increasingly frustrated that so many people were intimidated by the typical gallery experience. We wanted to take the stuffiness out of engaging with art. The new Bullseye Projects achieves that with programming, hands-on classes for families, and our interactive, multimedia exhibitions, which always include ways for visitors to physically engage with the work. When we reopened, we replaced our wooden door with a cast glass door with a clear glass “lens” in the middle. It’s symbolic of our overarching mission: transparency and openness to new ideas and ways of seeing. Bullseye Projects also oversees an artist residency program and a fabrication studio. How are these activities related? The Portland residencies are opportunities for pure exploration. We offer four residencies a year, and they’re open to anyone—an artist wanting to look into painterly methods of glass working, say, or a ceramist looking to bring translucency to a sculptural form. We’ve even hosted group residencies with architects. Sometimes, when the opportunity arises, resident artists translate their discoveries into commissioned work for architects and designers through our fabrication studio. It’s not required, but we’re always looking for those opportunities. Tell us more about your children’s programming. We’ve worked with kids and kiln-glass for over 20 years, mostly in an informal way. Two years ago, we formalized the program and created a scaled-down glass lab with tiny safety glasses and low tables and stools, and we invite families in for hands-on studio sessions. Kids are naturals working with glass—they’re fearless and relentlessly open-minded. They approach glass in a way that challenges us as adults to be similarly bold. h bullseyeprojects.com graymag . com

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MEGHANN CIKANEK

THE MANAGER OF SEATTLE’S DALTILE GALLERY REVEALS WHAT’S NEW AND WHAT’S NEXT IN STYLISH SURFACES.

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Since it first opened in 1968, Seattle’s Daltile Gallery has

led the way in offering local designers one of the Northwest’s largest selections of quality tile. Renowned for its industry leadership, the 35,000-square-foot Seattle branch was the first of Daltile’s 250 locations to offer slab as well as tile. Thanks to an extensive R&D department, the 70-year-old company, one of the nation’s oldest and largest tile manufacturers, is still breaking ground in the industry. Seattle Gallery manager Meghann Cikanek pulls back the curtain on Daltile’s offerings for the design trade, and reveals what’s next in tile. What makes Daltile exceptional? We are customer-focused and dedicated to producing products that enable clients to turn their design visions into reality. Our professional design consultants are approachable, helpful, honest, and knowledgeable. We are committed to being a resource that provides the A&D community with all of the tools that they need to make their project a success, as well as providing continuing education to the professional design community. OPPOSITE: Daltile’s large format Natural Stone Hexagons shown in Limestone Chenille White bring texture and pattern into any space. THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Multitude

Domino Black hexagonal wall tile features a 3-D pinstriped graphic. Annapolis is a modern take on subway tile. Daltile’s Dignitary series adds beauty and depth to floors and walls. The brand’s Marble Black & White Blend mosaic merges modern and traditional style.

Tell us about a new collection or trend you’re excited about. Interesting shapes are all the rage right now, and our new stone hexagons can be easily incorporated into many different applications. Large format tile is becoming increasingly popular for both floors and walls, and our new Multitude textured large format wall tile is an amazing way to incorporate texture and pattern on that coveted grand scale. As far as technology, we are able to produce extremely realistic “hardwood” planks, which are made out of porcelain and a welcome alternative to real hardwood in Seattle’s damp climate. What advice would you give someone contemplating starting a tile project? Any insider tips for avoiding rookie mistakes? Begin the tile selection early to ensure you get exactly what you want. Find a reputable tile contractor who takes pride in their work—and who takes proper measurements. Design for YOU, not someone else, and ask yourself how often you want to remodel, as this can help determine how timeless or trendy you should be. When selecting tile accents, go big or go home! Make your accent a focal wall instead of a small accent strip. Or keep it simple and select a beautiful field tile and utilize an assortment of shapes and sizes to add interest. h daltile.com graymag . com

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JAMES TUFENKIAN THE FOUNDER OF TUFENKIAN ARTISAN CARPETS BUILDS A RUG EMPIRE BY MERGING BUSINESS SMARTS WITH STRONG ETHICS.

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With a goal to revitalize the ancient art of Tibetan carpet weaving for modern tastes, James Tufenkian founded Tufenkian Artisan Carpets in 1986. In this endeavor he took a bold leap: embracing high-end design and making corporate social responsibility the founding pillar of his business. From the start, Tufenkian provided artisans in Nepal, and later in Armenia, with work related to all steps of the rug-making process, from sheep herding to rug weaving. Thirty years and nine stores later, including an 8,000-square-foot showroom and outlet store in Portland’s Pearl District, Tufenkian Artisan Carpets offers hundreds of styles, designer collaborations, and a customization program. Tufenkian sheds light his company’s fiber innovations, his travel inspirations, and the Northwest’s unique aesthetic. What role does the Pacific Northwest play for Tufenkian? I grew up in Seattle and Salem, Oregon, and my brother and sister live in Portland, so I visit the Northwest often. It’s an important market for us—our Pearl District store is the company’s largest showroom and the adjacent Tufenkian outlet is the only one in the world. I’m also proud that our Portland showroom has the company’s most experienced sales staff, with a combined 50 years in the industry. I regularly purchase merchandise exclusively for the Portland shop, and enjoy creating specialty pieces such as the ‘tiger’ rugs that have proven wildly popular in the PNW. Have you noticed any design trends distinctive to the Northwest? People in the Northwest have a strong affinity towards nature and color, and our wide range of rug designs offers choices that meet both demands. Certainly we can’t overemphasize the importance of the maker culture here, which imparts a love for handmade pieces of all kinds. How do your trips to Armenia and Nepal inspire your designs? Even in our hyper-connected world where information is so accessible, we are constantly inspired by traditional folk culture. You can feel energy through playful brushstrokes and optimism through bold patterns. We include both in our collections, balancing them with soothing, traditional, all-over patterns.

OPPOSITE: Luminance Rusty Slate, designed by James Tufenkian, is an example of a nature-inspired rug that’s proven especially popular in the company’s Portland showroom. THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Tufenkian’s Shoreline Oatmeal rug in a residence designed by Claire Redsun. A portrait of James Tufenkian, who founded Tufenkian Artisan Carpets in 1986.

What’s next for Tufenkian? We have several new and exciting techniques, finishes, and materials in the works, including developing our own proprietary blend of high-quality bamboo silk, which produces exceptionally attractive carpets with a unique sheen and texture. We’re also launching new colorways in our popular Strata collection by Clodagh, which forges luxuriously thick Tibetan wool into rhythmic, linear, intensely textural rugs. h graymag . com

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MODEL HOME

Architects Joe Malboeuf and Tiffany Bowie prove that modern design can be affordable—and their own residence is Exhibit A.

Written by BRIAN LIBBY : Photographed by RAFAEL SOLDI

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, arrestingly eye-catching and highly

sustainable projects—such as the chevron-clad Palatine Passive House and a sculptural trio of stacked townhomes on 18th Avenue—began to attract notice around town. Before then, the architects behind these gems, Tiffany Bowie and Joe Malboeuf, were barely known in Seattle. Suddenly the couple, who’d started their firm, Malboeuf Bowie Architecture, in 2011 after relocating from New York City, were on the map. The pair first met while studying for master’s degrees in architecture at San Diego’s New School of Architecture and Design; he’d lived in Michigan and London, she in San Francisco and Vancouver, B.C. But in Seattle, where they were drawn by family and the chance to “really build our company from the ground up,” says Malboeuf, the designers feel that they’ve found themselves— as well as a deep connection to the landscape. “We have momentum as a firm,” Bowie says, “and we feel like we’re part of the Cascadia building community. We really gravitate toward wood and other natural materials available in the Northwest.” »

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Architects Joe Malboeuf and Tiffany Bowie (left) recently renovated their own home, a ’50s ranch house in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. A new Douglas fir ceiling—“our biggest splurge,” says Bowie—plays well with the refinished original oak floors. The couple made the walnut-topped coffee tables themselves and sourced the rug from West Elm and the couch from Modern Design Sofas.

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architecture: Malboeuf Bowie Architecture construction: Blue & Yellow graymag Builders . com

“WE SEE STUFF IN TOWN AND THINK, ‘WE CAN DO IT BETTER.’ A LOT OF GOOD LIGHT OR CIRCULATION OR USES CHEAP MATERIALS OR IS POORLY WAY TO MAKE HOUSES THAT ARE AFFORDABLE FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

Malboeuf and Bowie take a holistic approach to design and building. Reflecting their reverence for materials and making, they often act as their own contractor (through a separate company they founded in 2012, Blue & Yellow Builders) or even as a developer of houses and multifamily residences. “It’s easiest to get projects done in the way we want to do them,” Malboeuf explains of their entrepreneurial approach, which allows them to prioritize craftsmanship and fine-grade detail while eliminating middlemen and targeting cost-saving opportunities. At the same time, acting as their own contractor helps assure that investments in green and passive-house features, from green roofs to radiant floors and robust insulation, don’t get eliminated from their projects. “We’re micromanagers

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and control freaks,” Bowie admits, but it’s all in service of their overriding ideal: green design within affordable budgets. The couple’s most personal design-build project is their own home, a 1950s ranch house constructed as officer housing at the U.S. Army’s now-defunct Fort Lawton. Once teeming with shag carpet and mold, the home has been transformed, via Malboeuf Bowie’s trademark blend of elegantly clean lines and natural materials, into an open, light-filled oasis. To create spaces suited to modern living, the architects removed a wall between the kitchen and living room, refashioned the unfinished basement into a guest suite, and combined two bedrooms on the main level into a single master suite, leaving the third for their daughter.

STUFF GOES UP THAT DOESN’T HAVE EXECUTED. WE CAME UP WITH A AND WELL DESIGNED.”

—TIFFANY BOWIE, ARCHITECT

A new Douglas fir–clad ceiling and a dark stain on the original oak floors lend the interior rich natural warmth, and a plethora of small visual gestures brightens the space: a panel of geometrically patterned wallpaper enlivens the end of the hallway leading to the bedrooms; herringbone-patterned tile in the bathroom and a honeycomb-tiled backsplash in the kitchen add subtle texture. The mostly white surfaces and walls set off the couple’s art collection, including work by Lynda Cole, an acclaimed encaustic painter (and Malboeuf’s mother). Malboeuf and Bowie have a number of projects in the works beyond their own walls, too. The forthcoming 14th Avenue Townhomes, for example, feature individual green roofs atop each of the four units. To keep costs down, the Keyhole House

FROM LEFT: An encaustic artwork by Malboeuf’s mother, Lynda Cole, hangs above a CB2 cabinet. Malboeuf and Bowie designed and built the walnut dining table at the Seattle Wood Technology Center (part of Seattle Central Community College). Hexagonal Ann Sacks backsplash tiles in the kitchen are paired with white Abodian cabinets, quartz countertops from ProGranite Surfaces, a Grohe faucet, a Fisher & Paykel refrigerator, a Bosch dishwasher, and a Bertazzoni gas range.

reuses an existing foundation and includes an accessory dwelling unit that can be rented out. As they undertake their latest design efforts, the revamp of their own home—the firm’s first renovation, after a fleet of new construction projects—remains both a touchstone and a turning point in their firm’s evolution. The experience taught them, Bowie explains, that “you have to be flexible and quick on your feet,” and that no matter how perfect an architect’s plan might be, “there’s always some structural, budget, or supply issue once you get into the thick of construction.” It’s precisely this ability to follow their vision, even amid the twists and turns of do-it-yourself design and construction, that makes Malboeuf and Bowie an up-andcoming Seattle dream team. » graymag . com

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RIGHT: The hallway draws the eye with bold Ferm Living wallpaper from Clever Spaces. BELOW: The architects transformed their unfinished basement into a guest suite, reconditioning the original brick fireplace, creating a new exterior door, building a new wall with a sliding door to separate the media area from a bedroom and living area, and creating a new bathroom and an enclosed laundry room. The shelving is Crate & Barrel and the Organic chair, designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, is from Vitra.

FAR LEFT: The master suite, created by fusing two old bedrooms, includes a Blu Dot bed, an encaustic canvas by Malboeuf, and a West Elm side table. LEFT: The bathroom includes a half-wall of glazed brick tile from Design and Direct Source. h

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sunday service

Studio Illa turns church design on its head with a minimalist lobby for a new generation of worshippers. Written by JENNIFER MCCULLUM : Photographed by RYAN TAM

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“I STARTED BY LOOKING AT WHAT A CHURCH IS,” says designer Josie Smith, principal of newly launched Studio Illa in Vancouver. Her latest project is a redesign of the 3,000-square-foot lobby of the Cariboo Road Christian Fellowship in Burnaby. The project’s ethos, both secular and spiritual, was easy to discern. “It’s a structure where people come together, united by one purpose: their faith,” says Smith. “That idea of convergence drove how I carved out the space.” Breaking away from the wooden pews, red carpets, and stained glass of conventional churches, Smith’s design is an air- and light-filled space that incorporates clean geometric shapes, a layered neutral palette, and natural materials. At the main entrance’s wall of windows are two deep wooden frames constructed of 18-foot-long fir panels by Lock & Mortice (whose co-owner, Josiah Peters, is Smith’s husband) that communicate a sense of shelter and strength. “The simple rectangular shapes create quiet private areas within the public gathering space, reinforcing the idea that members can confide in someone or ask for help here,” says Smith. A smaller touch, also designed to create a feeling of connection, is a set of custom mobile coffee carts fabricated by Lock & Mortice. “Rethinking something as simple as the way that the church offers coffee and tea was interesting,” says Smith. After worship, congregants usually left the sanctuary and headed out to a single stationary coffee service. Smith opted to replace that bottleneck with three ash-wood cubes that can be wheeled anywhere in the room, encouraging individual interactions and increasing engagement with the greater space. “People assume that a place of worship is sterile,” she says. “You walk in, you have to be quiet; there are all these rituals. In reality, there’s a deeper relationship that happens here. When people can connect with one another and also with the space itself, that’s pretty powerful.” »

Tasked with renovating the lobby of the Cariboo Road Christian Fellowship in Burnaby, British Columbia, designer Josie Smith (opposite) aimed to create a space conducive to both large and small gatherings. Wood-framed “quiet shelters” by the windows offer a peaceful spot for contemplation and connection.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A bioethanol fireplace by the Bio Flame creates an informal hearthside space in the lobby. Light-gray Joel Lounge Chairs by Coalesse are sheltered under wooden frames engineered and built by furniture and design studio Lock & Mortice. Lock & Mortice also crafted the hexagonal ottomans. The coffee urn cords drop down the center of the mobile cubes to prevent tripping and visual clutter, and they plug into any of the floor outlets that punctuate the lobby. The sugar, milk, and coffee urns are arranged atop the cubes in a way that encourages people to circulate around them. h

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ADORE US ON Facebook.com/KimCrawfordWines Please enjoy our wines responsibly. graymag . com

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DINA AVILA

Isaac Campbell and Michelle LaFoe, husband-and-wife founders of the Portland-based firm Office 52 Architecture, take an immersive, artistic, and highly collaborative approach to their work.

POWER COUPLE

Rising above 16 other high-profile firms, Portland-based Office 52 Architecture lands the commission for Carnegie Mellon’s new Scott Hall. Written by BRIAN LIBBY

OFFICE 52’S PORTLAND OFFICE RESEMBLES AN ART STUDIO AS MUCH AS AN ARCHITECTURE FIRM. Study

maquettes, oil pastel drawings, material samples, paintings, 3-D computer renderings, and stacks of sketchbooks line the shelves and worktables. The mixed media express just how deeply the firm dives into a new project, and its passion for leaving no conceptual stone unturned. “When we’re designing, we use pencil, paint, fiberboard, wood clay, paper, and computer. We move seamlessly between analog and digital,” says Michelle LaFoe, who founded the firm in 2010 with her husband, Isaac Campbell. Currently anchoring the small office is a model of the project set to catapult Office 52 into the international spotlight: Carnegie Mellon University’s Sherman and Joyce Bowie Scott Hall, a nano-bio-energy technologies building in Pittsburgh that’s currently completing construction. The 109,000-square-foot campus building includes wet and dry laboratories, office and collaboration spaces, a café, and a cleanroom facility. The firm won the commission in a 2011 competition among 17 invited

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firms—many larger and better known than Office 52—by presenting a design solution no one else had formulated. The site was a challenge, to say the least—a steep, Z-shaped plot wedged amid four existing buildings. “But we saw those constraints as opportunities and advantages,” says Campbell. Instead of one seven-story building, as a study commissioned by the university had suggested, Office 52 and its project partners, including Stantec and Arup, created two interlocking geometric forms, one perched on the hillside and the other placed beneath a green roof in an adjacent courtyard. The elegant resolution not only cut construction costs, but also improved interstitial connections with the nearby buildings. Scott Hall’s façade is a curtain wall coated with ceramic glass frit rendered in abstract geometric patterns based on the shape of photonic quasicrystals—a treatment dreamed up by LaFoe, who has studied visual art as well as architecture and often treats materials in unexpected ways. The glass reduces solar gain and glare into the building yet appears translucent from a distance. On the south and west sides, dichroic glass »

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LEFT: Office 52’s studio teems with architectural models, sketches, glass and material samples, and more— evidence of the design process shaping its new education and techresearch center commission, Sherman and Joyce Bowie Scott Hall at Carnegie Mellon University, which will be finished in spring 2017. BELOW: Scott Hall is set on a complicated, steep site, with an irregular footprint wedged among four existing buildings. The building’s four-story north wing perches over a ravine atop a series of sculptural steel columns; the remaining third of the building is tucked under an adjacent courtyard.

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“WHEN WE’RE DESIGNING, WE USE PENCIL, PAINT, FIBERBOARD, WOOD CLAY, PAPER, AND COMPUTER. WE MOVE SEAMLESSLY BETWEEN ANALOG AND DIGITAL.”

—MICHELLE LAFOE, ARCHITECT

IMAGES COURTESY OFFICE 52 ARCHITECTURE

sun shades, coated in thin layers of metal oxide, change color depending on the point from which they’re viewed and the angle of the sun. The glass was created using nanotechnology— “bringing the science that’s happening in the building onto the building as an architectural metaphor,” says Campbell. Campbell and LaFoe’s outside-the-box thinking continues to win them new commissions, including a winery master plan, private residences, and, most recently, Tykeson Hall, an innovative, interdisciplinary new campus center for the University of Oregon’s College of Arts and Sciences in Eugene. They’ve also recently launched O52 Lab, a studio-within-a-studio that takes on smaller-scale commissions, such as architectural installations and temporary spatial interventions. Meanwhile, Scott Hall is beginning to buzz with activity as its classrooms and labs fill with students and researchers, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s been enormously well received on campus,” says Campbell. “It’s full of people using the building exactly how we hoped they would—working collaboratively in groups, mixing hard work, social activity, and research. After all, it’s in informal social activity that serendipity happens, when people suddenly realize they’re coming at the same problem from different angles and they need to work together.” h

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#GRAYATIDSV

SHOW OFFS

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IN ADDITION TO AUDIENCE GIVEAWAYS, OUR AUDIENCE SEATING PARTNER, IKEA CANADA, DONATED A LARGE PORTION OF THE CHAIRS TO ONE OF ITS FAVORITE CHARITIES, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY GREATER VANCOUVER, AFTER THE SHOW. THEN THE GIVING SNOWBALLED— LEFTOVER LUMBER AND FLOORING MATERIAL (GENEROUSLY SUPPLIED BY KRAUS) WERE ALSO GIVEN TO HABITAT.

GRAY Stage designer Amber Kingsnorth (left) wowed us with a space that was not only unexpected but designed for major impact. ABOVE: Taking everyone at the show by surprise was our secret Green Room, behind the GRAY AREA wall, a creative space dreamed up by the minds at Seattle’s Electric Coffin.

STAGE DESIGN “Design Rebel” was the theme of our IDS Vancouver stage, and bringing it to vibrant life was Amber Kingsnorth, founder of Vancouver-based MaK Interiors, and her business partner and husband, Colin Billinghurst. Together they conceptualized a larger-than-life presence for GRAY on the IDS floor. Built by Matthew Durocher and his team at Enduring Construction, the bright, eye-catching stage also relied on help from PiTCH PR, Marble Coin Creative, Levey Industries, IKEA Canada, Vancouver Special, Kraus, Colorhouse Paint, Seen Signs, East Van Vinyl, and Greenworks Building Supply. All the folks who made it happen deserve a huge hand.

ANDREW LATREILLE; PORTRAIT COURTESY AMBER KINGSNORTH

Once again showcasing the Pacific Northwest’s design prowess, IDS Vancouver 2016 also spotlighted leading design from around the world, featuring global stars such as Tom Dixon and Yukio Hashimoto. GRAY, in partnership with Kabuni, provided a platform at the expansive show for area designers, products, emerging talent, and thought leaders such as architect Chris McVoy and interior designer Alessandro Munge. Below we offer snapshots of GRAY’s doings at the show and a big shout-out to our incredibly talented contributors and participants. Read our full IDS rundown at graymag.com/IDSV.

THREE GREAT REGIONS ONE GREAT SCORE

92 POINTS

Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

2014 Pinot Noir, Natalie MacLean, April, 2016

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“Rebellion was the theme, and since I’m always inspired by mixing patterns, we couldn’t resist taking that idea to the next level. Colin is a genius at pattern creation, and we were inspired by an ’80s vibe and the resurgence of what I like to call ‘Saved by the Bell’ motifs. They make us smile.” —AMBER KINGSNORTH,

GreenWorks Building Supply provided vibrant paint from Portland-based Colorhouse Paint, and cool custom vinyl from Levey Industries made the stage really pop. RIGHT: People couldn’t stop talking about the stunning coral chairs by Danish design company HAY, provided by Vancouver Special.

OPENING NIGHT GRAY UPPED THE ANTE FOR OPENING-NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT BY INVITING PORTLAND-BASED PSYCHEDELIC ROCK BAND THE VERNER PANTONS (CHECK OUT THAT DESIGN-INSPIRED NAME!) TO THE STAGE. AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME, GRAY PRESENTED FIVE EXHIBIT-SPACE DESIGN AWARDS—THE CONCRETE, WOOD, AND BLACKENED-STEEL FORMS WERE CUSTOM MADE BY VANCOUVER ARTIST STEVEN POLLOCK. THE WINNERS WERE BARTER WITH MATTHEW MCCORMICK, CÒMH A (PICTURED), DINA GONZÁLEZ MASCARÓ, LIVINGSPACE, AND THE RUBINET FAUCET COMPANY. PEOPLE’S CHOICE WENT TO KALU INTERIORS.

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MĀK INTERIORS

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Interior Jan 19-22 Design 2017 Show Toronto

Nika Zupanc.

David Adjaye.

Trade Day

IDS17 International Guest of Honour

Ed Reeve

International keynotes. Professional seminars. Trend-setting installations. Pull ahead of the competition.

Presented by

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Thurs Jan 19 Opening Night Party Open to the Public

Registration Now Open Fri Jan 20 Sat Jan 21 Professional Public Day General Trade Day Admission Presented by

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Sun Jan 22 Public Day General Admission

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HEADING EAST

See the best of design at Interior Design Show Toronto, happening January 19â&#x20AC;&#x201C;22, 2017. GRAY is again a proud media sponsor of this action-packed weekend when the whole city celebrates design. Featured amid the exhibitors on the enormous show floor are curated sections such as Studio North and Prototype (featuring independent and emerging designers) and The LAB (featuring the latest and greatest home technologies). With premium exhibitors, stellar speakers, and the party on Opening Night alone attracting 5,700 design revelers, this is the place to be to kick off the 2017 year in design. Âť

1. Tambour credenza, EQ3, eq3.com. 2. Tuscan Dawn quartz, Caesarstone Canada, caesarstone.ca. 3. Revival collection, Neue Floors from Nadurra, neuefloors.com. 4. Pink fiberglass credenza, MORE (new from Semihandmade), morecontract.com.

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DXV presents the Seagram ® Freestanding Tub and Contemporary Floor Mount Tub Filler.

A TIME. A PLACE. A MOVEMENT. Palm Springs Reimagine the Modern Movement. Discover the entire luxurious collection of bathroom products at dxv.com.

IDS TORONTO – Booth # 1510 & 1610

This DXV bathroom was designed by Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry.

CLASSIC

GOLDEN ERA

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1. Parallel Series lights, Hennepin Made, hennepinmade.com. 2. Curve sconce, Lightmaker Studio, lightmakerstudio.com. 3. Galaxy Silver table, Sacha Grace, sachagrace.com. 4. Washington Skeleton Aluminum side chair, David Adjaye for Knoll, knoll.com.

DAVID ADJAYE, THIS YEAR’S IDS INTERNATIONAL GUEST OF HONOR, IS AMONG THE WORLD’S LEADING ARCHITECTS. HIS TALK WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE

CAESARSTONE STAGE ON TRADE DAY (FRI., JAN. 20), WHICH WILL ALSO FEATURE GLOBALLY-RECOGNIZED CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS JAIME HAYON AND NIKA ZUPANC. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY’S AZURE TRADE TALKS WILL FEATURE TRENDS AND DESIGN TIPS FROM AMANDA NISBET AND SCOTT MCGILLIVRAY. h

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The new Vancouver startup ChopValue turns discarded wooden chopsticks, collected from Asian restaurants around Vancouver, into a composite material that it uses to create modern home accessories including shelving units, coasters, and table tops.

CHOPSTICKS RESCUE Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

THERE’S A DARK SIDE TO SUSHI. HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED

what happens to the bamboo utensils we so blithely throw away after devouring our meal? It’s a question University of British Columbia doctoral candidate Felix Böck has thought about a lot over the past couple of years. In the course of his research at UBC’s Department of Wood Science, he’s discovered that up to 100,000 disposable chopsticks end up in Vancouver’s landfills every day—and that’s just one city’s tally. Appalled at this waste, he’s now investigating ways to give chopsticks a second life. In spring 2016, Böck’s research group launched ChopValue, a program that provides free recycling bins to local restaurants and collects their used chopsticks on a weekly or biweekly basis. The group processes the utensils—cleaning the sticks and then bonding them together with resin into tiles under heat and pressure—which they then craft into home accessories such as trivets, coasters, and hexagonal shelving units. The winner of GRAY’s inaugural Pitch Tank program (a Shark Tank–style ideas competition) at IDS Vancouver in September 2016, ChopValue impressed our panel of judges enough to beat out five other worthy contenders—ranging from a company designing affordable prefab building units to an artists’ collective developing a compound for creative retreats (see them all at graymag.com/pitch-tank). A month later, ChopValue wrapped up a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising $16,678 CAD to support the manufacture of their already popular products. We can’t wait to see what they’ll make next. h

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IS Sofa Inoda + Sveje

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Diamond dust-and-concrete jewelry konzukshop.com/stellar

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When septuagenarian architect Bing Thom passed away in October 2016, he left behind a rich portfolio of cultural, educational, and community projects that transformed their sites—and their cities—for the better. His firm’s bold redesign for Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., features an iconic, dramatically thrusting roofline. The building helped invigorate the city’s Southwest quadrant when it opened in 2010. “Architecture,” Thom firmly believed, “is in service of humanity.”

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A Legend, Lost GRAY pays tribute to the life and work of renowned architect Bing Thom.

NIC LEHOUX

Written by ROBIN LAURENCE

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In October 2016, as we were putting the finishing touches on our profile of Bing Thom— one of Canada’s most lauded and respected architects—we received word that he’d passed away, having suffered a brain aneurysm while on a trip to his native Hong Kong. After careful consideration, the GRAY team decided to move forward and print the narrative in full, without recasting or amendment. We think writer Robin Laurence beautifully and sensitively captures Thom’s personality; his love of his work, and its inherent possibilities, positively radiates off the page. Retirement was not in the picture, he told Laurence: “Things are just getting more exciting and interesting.” His words are poignant now—but they’re also an inspiring testament to the value of doing work you love. Thom is gone now, but the firm he built nearly 35 years ago continues to carry out his vision of a humanistic architecture that serves the public good. We offer this story in tribute to Thom and the place-defining buildings he’s designed around the world. In memoriam: Bing Thom, 1940–2016

ing Thom Architects’ Vancouver studio is tucked into a hillside at the north foot of the Burrard Bridge. Outside the building, the roar of heavy machinery signals the rapid redevelopment of the area. Inside, however, all is quiet and contemplative. Thom, at 75, embodies similar dichotomies—energy and composure, extroversion and introspection, emotion and intellect. Leading the way through his light-filled, multilevel office—which combines retrofitted warehouse spaces with a purposebuilt addition—he speaks of his need for solitude yet amiably recounts well-peopled stories of his acclaimed career and his global travels. He has meditated twice daily for nearly five decades, saying, “I am what I am today because I meditate,” and he sails alone, savoring the challenge of reading the wind and water. Meanwhile, he points out models of an array of international projects now in the works. A library in Washington, D.C. An arts building on a university campus in Edmonton. A 550-foot residential tower in downtown Vancouver. And those are just a handful of the projects underway in his Vancouver

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and D.C. studios. His Hong Kong office is designing the Xiqu Centre, a prestigious arts venue dedicated to Chinese opera, as well as an academic center for the University of Chicago on a former military site overlooking Hong Kong harbor. Over the past decade, Thom has also been responsible for other celebrated place-making buildings, such as Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. The varied works reveal his breadth of visual expression, from the swooping to the compact, the curvilinear to the rectilinear, and the inward-focused to the outward-reaching. Asked if there is a particular look to his buildings, Thom replies, “There’s a feeling. If there’s a look, then I’ve failed.” Inspired by his longstanding meditation practice, he aims to create a particular atmosphere through his architecture. “The most important thing is to give people a sense of stability and peace— and also hope and flow. There’s always daylight, natural air, natural materials.” Thom’s response to a site is predicated not only on its natural environment, but also its cultural or political history. “Why is this building at this place at this time in »

THOMAS BILLINGSLEY, COURTESY BING THOM ARCHITECTS

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this situation?” he asks. “I look for continuity, but I also look for uniqueness.” These qualities, he adds, “are not in contradiction with each other. They’re parts of the whole.” He cites the Taoist symbol for yin and yang, in which black and white interpenetrate and yet remain separate. “They’re not melded into gray; they are opposite, but they’re held within a whole.” Thom’s sense of both separation and wholeness infuses his personal and professional lives. Born in Hong Kong in 1940, he moved to Vancouver at the age of nine. He recalls the move as emotionally traumatic—the sense of being always an outsider is “very much part of my psyche,” he says. Still, he has turned that feeling to his professional advantage, explaining that he does his best work “sitting on the edge,” outside the mainstream, where he can observe and draw his own conclusions. Case in point: the University of Chicago Center in Hong Kong, currently under construction. It’s a challenging site not only due to its location on the steep, wooded slopes of Mount Davis, but also because of the history-laden World War II–era military installations that pepper the grounds. After the war, the site became “the Hong Kong equivalent of Guantánamo Bay,” Thom explains. Those accused of spying or being enemies of the state during the Cold War and the Cultural Revolution were held here in harsh and inhumane conditions. Thom opted to retain the old detention facilities rather than demolish them. “They’re part of the history of colonialism and postcolonialism, Cold War and post–Cold War in Hong Kong, which you have to come to grips with and have a dialogue about.” When completed in summer 2018, the 52,000-squarefoot elongated glass “tree house” will be suspended in the forest canopy. “We are floating the building on top of the former prisons and turning some of the cells into classrooms,” Thom says. The site’s traumatic history and its modern-day

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repurposing are “not in contradiction,” he says, again invoking the yin-and-yang symbol. The project embodies “a holistic attitude toward existence. It doesn’t bury the past; it deals with the past. But it also deals with the future. It’s not about fusion; it’s about values that are in conflict but have to be held as a whole.” Another breathtaking Hong Kong commission reveals Thom’s response to entirely different requirements and conditions. The Xiqu Centre—intended as a modern home for Chinese opera—sits upon a tabula rasa of a site, but its function encompasses a vast and significant artistic history. Scheduled for completion in 2018, the Xiqu Centre will incorporate public leisure space, educational facilities, two auditoriums, and a teahouse. It takes inspiration from traditional Chinese motifs such as the moon gate, although Thom stresses that its design is an expression of feeling rather than a set of literal references to historical form. “The skin of the building is rippled, like curtains,” he says of the vertical aluminum fins that clad the exterior. Partings in the “curtains” frame windows and the towering entrance. During the day, the interior will bathe in natural light; at night, light will emanate outward from the structure, evoking a lantern. “It’s a very unusual building that doesn’t look like a building,” Thom says. “It’s kind of a mysterious object.” The center’s big main floor will function as a public square, an allusion to the historic practice of siting Chinese opera houses on civic plazas or private courtyards. The plan enables commercial use of the structure’s main floor in order to support educational and cultural functions on its upper tiers. Thom sees these multiple purposes as a metaphor for the versatility of Chinese opera performers, who combine the attributes of singers, actors, dancers, and acrobats. “What is the essence of Chinese opera?” he asks. “It has nothing to do with the stage set; it has everything to do with the holistic human being.” Over the past decade, Thom’s international commissions have enhanced his standing in Vancouver, and his firm continues to produce startlingly fresh work for clients across the globe. Retirement appears nowhere in the yin-and-yang dualities of Thom’s professional life. “I have lots to do,” he says. “Things are just getting more exciting and interesting.” h

EMA PETER

A significant addition to the newly developed downtown of the fastestgrowing municipality in British Columbia, the Surrey City Centre Library, completed in 2011, functions as a bright and welcoming gathering space for the community. The interior consists of a series of tiered spaces organized around a central atrium, all warmly illuminated by big windows and skylights.

COURTESY BING THOM ARCHITECTS

The Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong, slated for completion in 2018, both symbolizes the rich cultural heritage of Chinese opera and promotes its importance as a contemporary art form to new audiences. The center, conceived as a space for contemplation and celebration, is clad in aluminum fins that evoke curtains. Visitors flow into the building through partings in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;curtains.â&#x20AC;? That sense of flow, or qi, continues throughout the curvilinear forms and paths of the complex.

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| resources | 26. FASHION Collina Strada New York collinastrada.com

James Corner Field Operations New York, NY fieldoperations.net

SuttonBeresCuller Seattle suttonberesculler.com

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Rizom Seattle rizom.us Silvae Seattle silvae.co

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52. MADE HERE Elements Glass Portland elementsglass.com

Tusk Portland portlandtuskpdx.com

North Drinkware Portland northdrinkware.com

32. SCENE Bosque Portland bosque-design.com

54. ART Jolinda Linden Bellevue, WA jolindalinden.com

Kate Duncan Loft Vancouver kateduncan.ca Oak + Fort Home Vancouver oakandfort.ca Portland Art Museum Portland portlandartmuseum.org The End Bainbridge Island, WA perhacs-studio.com The Santa Rosalia Guest House Edmonds, WA thesantarosalia.com 36. RETAIL Eighth Generation Seattle eighthgeneration.com Michelle Dirkse Interior Design Seattle michelledirske.com 40. URBAN DESIGN Friends of the Waterfront Seattle friendsofwaterfrontseattle.org

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56. FASHION Blk Hex Seattle @blkhex 58. FASHION Buki Seattle bukibrand.com 60. ARCHITECTURE DIALOG Vancouver dialogdesign.ca Mayer/Reed Portland mayerreed.com Snøhetta snohetta.com Willamette Falls Legacy Project Oregon City, OR rediscoverthefalls.com 62. CONCEPT goCstudio Seattle gocstudio.com Mini Mart City Park Seattle minimartcitypark.com

Beebe Skidmore Architects Portland beebeskidmore.com Cree lighting.cree.com Project PDX Portland projectpdx.com Swift Portland swift.co 70. CONSTRUCTION Powers Construction Vancouver powersconstruction.com 72. PEOPLE BuildingWork Seattle buildingwork.design 74. INTERIORS Ankrom Moisan Portland ankrommoisan.com The Society Portland welcometothesociety.com 76. CONCEPT Urban Death Project Seattle urbandeathproject.org 78. PEOPLE Olson Kundig Seattle olsonkundig.com

Bosch bosch.com CB2 Vancouver cb2.com Clever Spaces cleverspaces.com Crate & Barrel Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver crateandbarrel.com Design and Direct Source Portland designanddirectsource.com Fisher & Paykel fisherpaykel.com Grohe grohe.com Malboeuf Bowie Architecture Seattle mb-architecture.com Modern Design Sofas Seattle moderndesignsofas.com ProGranite Surfaces Mukilteo, WA progranite.net West Elm westelm.com Vitra vitra.com 100. INTERIORS The Bio Flame thebioflame.com Coalesse coalesse.com Studio Illa Vancouver illa.studio Lock & Mortice Vancouver lockandmortice.com

84. ARCHITECTURE B+H Architects Seattle bharchitects.com

104. ARCHITECTURE Office 52 Architecture Portland office-52.com

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Bertazzoni bertazzoni.com Blu Dot bludot.com

CÒMH A Vancouver comh-a.com

Dina Gonzalez Mascaro Vancouver dinagm.ca East Van Vinyl Vancouver eastvanvinyl.com Electric Coffin Seattle electriccoffin.com Enduring Construction Vancouver enduringconstruction.ca Greenworks Building Supply Vancouver greenworksbuilding supply.com Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver habitatgv.ca IKEA Canada ikea.com/ca Kabuni Vancouver kabuni.com Kalu Interiors Vancouver Kraus krausflooring.com Levey Industries leveyindustries.com Livingspace Vancouver livingspace.com MaK Interiors Vancouver makinteriors.ca Marble Coin Creative Vancouver marblecoin.com Matthew McCormick Vancouver matthewmccormick.ca PiTCH PR Vancouver pitchpr.ca The Rubinet Faucet Company Vancouver rubinet.com Seen Signs New Westminster, B.C. seensigns.com Steven Holl Architects stevenholl.com Steven Pollock Vancouver woodstonedesign.ca Studio Munge studiomunge.com

20 YEARS OF LUXURY LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT

W W W.TE RRAI N SE ATTL E . CO M 206 444 5088

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| resources | Vancouver Special Vancouver vanspecial.com

AD INDEX 131. AGS Stainless AGSstainless.com/CEU

63. greenfab Seattle greenfab.com

83. Resource Furniture Vancouver resourcefurniture.com

The Verner Pantons Portland thevernerpantons .bandcamp.com

24. Alchemy Collections Seattle alchemycollections.com camerichseattle.com

16. Henry Art Gallery Seattle henryart.org

9. Roche Bobois Seattle and Portland roche-bobois.com

114. SCENE Adjaye Associates adjaye.com

107. American Indian College Fund americanindiancollege fund.org

4. Hive Portland hivemodern.com

15. Room & Board Seattle roomandboard.com

112. IDS Toronto interiordesignshow.com

Caesarstone Canada caesarstone.ca

117. American Standard americanstandard.ca

6. Schuchart/Dow Seattle schuchartdow.com

Djuna Day Studio djunadaystudio.com

2. ATG Stores atgstores.com

EQ3 eq3.com

88. Bullseye Projects Portland bullseyeprojects.com

119. KONZUK konzukshop.com

127. The Burrard Vancouver theburrard.com

119. Kozai Modern Vancouver kozaimoderntrade.com

59. Chown Hardware Portland and Bellevue, WA chown.com

35. Lapchi Rug Design Studio Portland lapchi.com

Hennepin Made hennepinmade.com Khalil Jamal khaliljamal.com Kroft Toronto kroft.co Lightmaker Studio lightmakerstudio.com More Contract morecontract.com Nina Cho ninacho.com Neue Floors neuefloors.com Sacha Grace sachagrace.com

90. Daltile Seattle daltile.com 86. David Robinson Vancouver robinsonstudio.com 81. Design Lecture Series Seattle designlectur.es 17. Design Within Reach Seattle and Portland dwr.com

119. Karcher Design karcher-design.com 103. Kim Crawford kimcrawfordwines.com

11. Ligne Roset Seattle ligne-roset-usa.com Available through: Livingspace Vancouver livingspace.com 71. Lundgren Enterprises Seattle lundgrenenterprises.com 119. Madera Furniture Company Tacoma, WA maderafurnitureco.com

Semihandmade semihandmadedoors.com

8. Distinct Interiors Vancouver distinctinteriors.net

118. MADE HERE ChopValue Vancouver chopvalue.ca

39. Dovetail General Contractors Seattle dovetailgc.com

53. McKinnon Furniture Seattle and Bellevue, WA mckinnonfurniture.com

115. DXV American Standard dxv.com

61. OOLA Distillery Seattle ooladistillery.com

113. EQ3 Multiple locations eq3.com

111. Opus Hotel Vancouver opushotel.com

105. EWF Modern Portland ewfmodern.com

127. Paper Hammer Seattle paper-hammer.com

75. Fort George Brewery Astoria, OR fortgeorgebrewery.com

57. Parterre Seattle parterreseattle.com

105. Gary Gladwish Architecture Seattle 2garc.com

10. Porcelanosa Seattle porcelanosa-usa.com

120. TRIBUTE Bing Thom Architects Vancouver, Washington, D.C., and Hong Kong bingthomarchitects.com 130. OBSESSION Laura Melling Vancouver lauramelling.com

19. Gauge Design Group Seattle gaugegroup.com

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109. Meiomi meiomi.com

33. Provenance Hotels provenancehotels.com 75. Ragen & Associates Seattle ragenassociates.com

99. Seen Signs Vancouver seensigns.com 55. The Shade Store Seattle and Portland theshadestore.com 85. Strathcona Beer Company Vancouver strathconabeer.com 127. Terrain Seattle terrainseattle.com 85. Tirto Furniture Seattle tirtofurniture.com 51. Turgeon Raine Jewelers Seattle turgeonraine.com 92. Tufenkian Portland tufenkianportland.com 132. Urban Hardwoods Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles urbanhardwoods.com 18. Wood Week BC Vancouver woodweekbc.com

| market | THE ULTIMATE BUYER’S GUIDE

Kat & Maouche Traditional Techniques + Modern Design Specializing in authentic vintage Moroccan rugs. Each is carefully sourced and chosen for its expressive modern style and cultural significance. 33 N.W. 4th Ave., Portland katandmaouche.com Instagram @katandmaouche

WildCraft Studio WildCraft offers immersive adult education in craft, textiles and Native art, with regionally-focused expeditions exploring the wild foods, plant medicines and geologies of the Pacific Northwest.

Stillwater Dwellings Rooted in contemporary Pacific Northwest design, Stillwater Dwellings’ homes are built using a systems-based sustainable construction method that provides design flexibility and cost predictability. The Stillwater team is with you every step of the way, from determining building site feasibility to personalizing finish options. Start with one of over 20 floor plans available, or have us design a custom home just for you.

Locations in Portland and White Salmon, WA Register for 2017 classes wildcraftstudioschool.com

3950 6th Avenue N.W., Seattle, WA 98107 | (206) 547-0565 stillwaterdwellings.com

Porcelanosa

Porcelanosa is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of tiles, bathroom collections, kitchen cabinetry, mosaics, and hardwood in the industry. Porcelanosa is known for making its advanced design innovations readily available to both consumers and the A&D community. (206) 673-8395 porcelanosa-usa.com

Driftwood Modern Driftwood Modern offers a carefully curated collection of authentic midcentury modern fine art and furniture. Located just 15 minutes north of Seattle in charming waterfront Edmonds, we provide pieces of interest, quality, and integrity. Beauty in our lives! (360) 298-1246 driftwoodmodern.com

not2big® React. Reduce. Rethink. Recycle. Relax. At not2big, we build modern artisan furniture and accessories one piece at a time. Handcrafted and individually numbered, no two pieces are exactly alike. Our designs combine the warmth of wood with a creative mix of other materials to produce timeless furniture that is functional and beautiful. Whether you choose an in-house design or a custom piece, it will be a true original. Our goal is to inspire, delight, and surprise, bringing our clients a personalized experience and providing them with a unique product not available anywhere else. We’re rethinking how furniture is made. (425) 503-0710 | not2big.com

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hot new next

obsession

WHY I COLLECT HANDMADE TEXTILES

LAURA MELLING, INTERIOR STYLIST AND DESIGNER As told to RENSKE WERNER : Photographed by HANK DREW

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WHAT’S YOUR DESIGN OBSESSION? Write to us at submissions@ graymag.com See others at graymag.com/obsession

STYLED BY LAURA MELLING

In 2012, I was honeymooning in Bali and fell for a beautiful handmade ikat blanket. That was the start of my obsession. I’d just finished my degree in textile design and was thrilled to be in a place where textile crafts are so interwoven into the culture. Every time I’ve traveled since then, I’ve explored local traditions—weaving, knitting, silk-screening—and I usually take home souvenirs. On a family road trip through Iceland, I found a perfect gray-black sheepskin; in a village near San José del Cabo, Mexico, I bought a gorgeous rug from a woman who wove in a hut, surrounded by her four children. Handmade textiles bring me back to special travels, but they’re also an essential part of any project I design. They’re both the starting point and the finishing touch because they have an amazing ability to draw you into a space. h

RAILINGS 101: AIA-APPROVED ONLINE COURSE OFFERS INSIGHTS FOR EVERYONE Whether you’re an architect, builder or homeowner – improve your “Railing IQ” with a quick and easy online course! Though railing systems are an integral part of building safety and add aesthetic value, they can often be overlooked in the grand scheme of a project. When budgets tighten at the end of a build, project managers sometimes shortchange railings – only to incur other costs associated with hiring a local fabricator or using inferior materials. Including custom-made, prefabricated railings in a project not only ensures uniformity and a high-level of consistent craftsmanship, it practically guarantees it. Specializing in prefabricated, custom stainless steel railing systems, AGS Stainless has been beautifying homes worldwide for nearly three decades. Stainless steel’s durability is uncompromising and its distinct luster provides a striking visual impact... but don’t just take our word for it, learn all you need to know about railings yourself with our online Continuing Education (CEU) course approved by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

CONTINUING EDUCATION 1 AIA LU/HSW Learning Objectives: 1. Explain the advantages of a prefabricated custom railing system and an all stainless steel railing system. 2. Compare and contrast the railing system materials used for posts, top rails, and infill. 3. Describe common challenges with locally fabricated metal rail systems. 4. Evaluate how stainless steel railing systems meet health, safety, and welfare requirements.

Learn more at:

AGSstainless.com/CEU

or call 206-842-9492 or toll free 888-842-9492 Rainier cable railing with ﬂat stainless steel top rail and barrel nut ﬁttings

Photography by @Spacecrafting | Sustainable 9 Design + Build Copyright AGS Stainless, Inc. 2016 graymag . com

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