FUTURECAST
INTERIORS // ARCHITECTURE // FASHION // ART // DESIGN
PACIFIC NORTHWEST DESIGN
N O 41 : AUG. / SEPT. 2018
THE DESIGNERS CHANGING THE FACE OF OUR CITIES TIMBER TOWERS VIRTUAL REALITY FALL FASHION
HOW THE DESIGN COMMUNITY IS TAKING ON HOMELESSNESS
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N O 41
THE FUTURECAST ISSUE
16. hello
Think big.
NEWS
31. happenings
Design news and events.
36. hot new next
A sneak peek at the regional winners of our inaugural design competition before they take the GRAY Stage at IDS Vancouver.
PEOPLE 45. hospitality
Restaurateur I-Miun Liu celebrates his Asian heritage through contemporary design contexts... and cocktails.
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50. profile
72. collection
54. Q&A
URBAN DESIGN
See how West of West, transplants to PDX, are opening the “sealed envelopes” of Stumptown’s historic office buildings. UW lands award-winning educator and researcher Renée Cheng as its next dean of the College of Built Environments.
FASHION 65. profile
With a roster of celebrity clients under his belt, Portland designer Christopher Bevans is leading the charge for technical fabric innovation and all-purpose pieces.
From watches to shoes, locally made accessories loom large on our editors’ fall fashion radar.
79. development
Sure, skyscrapers are made of metal and concrete... but wood?.
86. construction
Tech company Katerra is betting on being the construction industry’s first big disruption.
90. civic
Architecture firm Weber Thompson proves that great things can happen when environmental stewardship becomes a shared design goal.
tents 79
92. civic
How the design community is taking on the homeless crisis.
TECH 97. sound
Portland’s Parallel Studio takes experiential design to the next level through sound.
100. virtual reality
Virtual reality is currently a hot topic in tech—and the design world is donning its goggles and diving in.
102. sourced
Products that will have you dreaming of the future of design.
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INTERIORS + ARCHITECTURE 109. architecture
Indie rock and obscure film inspire an angular beauty on Bellingham Bay.
114. hospitality
This isn’t your grandfather’s social club. The Collective ditches the exclusive atmosphere for live rock bands, a climbing wall, and Northwest-inspired décor.
118. workspace
See why a Portland finance startup is banking on good design.
BACK OF BOOK
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✤
On the Cover
Framework, the first wood high-rise building in the US. SEE PAGE
79 Rendering courtesy LEVER ARCHITECTURE
127. resources
Design professionals, furnishings, and suppliers featured in this issue. graymag . com
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| hello |
Alex Hayden 1967–2018
makin’ it happen
As this issue went to press we learned of the passing of our dear friend and long-time contributor to GRAY, photographer Alex Hayden. He worked locally and nationally on commercial and editorial projects, and was an ardent supporter of the design community. He was an incredible talent who made our stories better. A light has gone out. Rest in peace, XLAL—this issue is dedicated to you.
I was probably 10 or 12 years old when my life changed forever. I watched a rerun of Gilligan’s Island, an episode in which the castaways built a pedal car out of bamboo and other found objects. This was the first time it occurred to me, an artsy-craftsy kid, to think big—car-sized big! Inspired, I pulled together a brain trust of neighborhood friends to springboard off the idea. Our rallying cry: “Wheels of our own!” “Okay,” I told my friends. “The show proves it can be done, but how can we improve the idea to best fit our needs and make our car look cool?” We were talking about a full-sized automobile, not the mini pedal cars we’d cruised around the park in as toddlers. As I recall, our group came up with some great ideas, but I lost my pit crew when they realized how hard it would be to actually execute our plans. I decided it was a good thing to know when to quit and moved on. My esteem for the creative genius of innovators is deeply rooted. They have both brilliant ideas and the stick-to-it-iveness needed to turn those ideas into reality—to explore, make mistakes, retool, and ultimately make things happen. Even now, I’m like a school-aged fan club president when I get to meet such people in person. If I had a locker, the inside would be plastered with pictures of them.
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This issue is like that. Michael Green, Thomas Robinson, and others ran with the idea of building timber skyscrapers. Ethan Rose has taken site-specific sound sculptures to the next level. Renée Cheng is at the leading edge of pioneering research that uses emerging tech to transcend the usual physical aspects of design. Here we’re sharing their stories, and the stories of many more creatives, each of whom is changing the face of our cities through design. This is our futurecast. By the time you’re done reading this edition, you’ll be fans, too. Call me and I’ll make you an official member of the club. Enjoy, Shawn Williams Publisher
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N O 41
THE FUTURECAST ISSUE ™
CEO/FOUNDER + PUBLISHER
Shawn Williams
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
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MANAGING EDITOR
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DIGITAL CONTENT / SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
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COPY EDITOR
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PRODUCTION + EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
| Solid Color, Surface-printed Wood Grain or Clear Blades
Rachel Eggers Brian Libby Nessa Pullman Renske Werner Amanda Zurita
CONTRIBUTORS
Austin Lane Day Iain Heath Andrew Pogue Elizabeth Varnell Ian J. Whitmore INTERNS
Claire Butwinick Teal Chinn Nohea Puulei Jamie Reed Lauren Wilcox
California: Alan Braden alan@graymag.com Canada: Kyle Gray kyle@graymag.com
Oregon: Craig Allard Miller craig@graymag.com Oregon: Lisa House lisa@graymag.com ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER
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No. 41. Copyright ©2018. 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. If submitting material, do not send originals unless specifically requested to do so by GRAY in writing.
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| contributors |
AUSTIN LANE DAY austinlaneday.com pg 45
RACHEL EGGERS pg 109
BRIAN LIBBY brianlibby.com pg 79, 100
ANDREW POGUE andrewpogue.com pg 109
NESSA PULLMAN pg 75
ELIZABETH VARNELL pg 50
RENSKE WERNER renskewerner.com pg 74
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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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4D Architects
AKJ Architects LLC
Artisans Group
Atelier Drome
babienko ARCHITECTS pllc
Baylis Architects
BC&J Architecture
Ben Trogdon | Architects
BjarkoSerra Architects
Board & Vellum
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Best Practice
bestpracticearchitecture.com
COLAB Architecture + Urban Design colabarchitecture.com
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David Coleman Architecture
David Hopkins Design
Designs Northwest Architects
FINNE Architects
First Lamp
Giulietti | Schouten AIA Architects
Hacker
Hoshide Wanzer Architects
Integrate Architecture & Planning
KASA Architecture
Lane Williams Architects
Lanefab Design / Build
davidcoleman.com
finne.com
hackerarchitects.com
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davidhopkinsdesign.com
firstlamp.net
hw-architects.com
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gsarchitects.net
integratearch.com
lanefab.com
Emerick Architects
Eerkes Architects
Eggleston | Farkas Architects
Graham Baba Architects
Guggenheim Architecture + Design StudioH2D Architecture + Design
Janof Architecture
Johnston Architects
eerkesarchitects.com
grahambabaarchitects.com
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eggfarkarch.com
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Leckie Studio Architecture + Design Lyons Hunter Williams : architecture leckiestudio.com
lhwarchitecture.com
emerick-architects.com
h2darchitects.com
JW Architects jwaseattle.com
Nathan Good Architects
nathangoodarchitects.com graymag . com
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Openspace Architecture
Richard Brown Architect, AIA
Risa Boyer Architecture
RUF Project
Scott | Edwards Architecture
SkB Architects
Steelhead Architecture
Stephenson Design Collective
Studio Zerbey Architecture
Tyler Engle Architects
William Kaven Architecture
Workshop AD
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rufproject.com
steelheadarchitecture.com
tylerengle.com
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rbarch.com
seallp.com
stephensoncollective.com
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risaboyer.com
skbarchitects.com
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ARCHITECTURE / Hoedemaker Pfeiffer PHOTOGRAPHY / Kevin Scott
pacific northwest interior design The following 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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Full service kitchen/bath design.
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Maison Inc
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INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
futurecast Avenue Road’s new Vancouver showroom, designed by Toronto’s Abraham Chan Design Office (ACDO).
“I believe in investing in people and their long-term potential as energy-givers, problem-solvers, and truth-seekers.” —KIM KOVEL, SENIOR MATERIAL & COLOR INNOVATOR, NIKE
NEWS RICHARD POWERS
Written by JAMIE REED
graymag . com
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| news |
In March, the opening of furniture showroom Avenue Road added another dash of style to Vancouver’s design-centric Gastown district. Housed in a century-old building, the shop offers a range of products, from lighting and textiles to bespoke kitchens. Contrast is seen throughout the space, where designer Jaime Hayon’s sleek furniture is placed against textural Moss & Lam ceramic wall art—all framed within the building’s original Douglas fir columns and beams.
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BRANCHING OUT
It may have originated in Hong Kong more than a decade ago, but with a mission that includes sustainably sourced materials, energy-efficient processing and manufacturing, and a dedication to reforestation, furniture company TREE fits neatly into the Northwest’s eco-conscious ethos. Last October, TREE opened its first U.S. showroom in Tacoma, Washington, offering eco-chic products from furniture to kitchen accessories. A second branch sprouted in Bellevue in April.
FAMILY FIRST
Casual sophistication meets sustainability at the Pacific Northwest’s first Cisco Home store. Opened in Bellevue, Washington, this past July, the family-owned Cisco Brothers furniture company provides domestically produced pieces made from environmentally friendly materials, with lines including Cisco Essentials, Environment Furniture, and the John Derian Collection. »
FROM TOP: RICHARD POWERS; POPPI PHOTOGRAPHY; DUNJA DUMANSKI
ELECTRIC AVENUE
S P I R E S E AT T L E . C O M
LIVE INSPIRED
An ambitious partnership of art and architecture is rising at the intersection of Seattle’s legacy and its unbridled future. Tall and slender, SPIRE is both light and space expressed through landmark design, uncompromising specifications, panoramic vistas and a collection of curated amenities. The center point of urban attractions and natural environments — it is quintessentially, Seattle. Make it yours in 2020.
Offered by Seattle Realty One, LLC. Seller reserves the right to change the product offering without notice. E&OE.
| news |
A noteworthy source of classic modern furniture for almost 20 years, Seattle’s Inform Interiors has relocated to the landmark 1916 Colman Automotive Building on Capitol Hill. Offering high-end furnishings from designers Ingo Maurer and Tom Dixon, among others, the recently renovated 2-story space will display Thomas Laird’s magisterial limited-edition book Murals of Tibet this August.
TAKE A SEAT
For designer and woodworker John Rousseau, of BC-based John Rousseau Design, good design means comfort. T he goal of designing furnishings that are both beautiful and comfortable led him to create new walnut and leather sling chairs, which he launched this summer. “Walnut wears evenly and has a special resonance under a searching hand.”
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BUCKING CONVENTIONS
Interior Design Show Vancouver is the spot for inspiring design on the West Coast. Bringing together cuttingedge exhibitions, some of the biggest names in the business— such as Karim Rashid and Brian Gluckstein—offsites, and parties that won’t quit, IDSV is the epicenter of the design world in September. New this year are installations from NYC-based Snarkitecture and Seattle’s Electric Coffin, as well as the Mix, which pairs two LA-based designers and Vancouver-based Hinterland Design and Ben Barber Studio. Look for GRAY at the GRAY Stage! h
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CHRIS KOEHLER; DANA MOONEY; JOHN ROUSSEAU
STYLE PROFILE
Architecture: SKB Architects; Photo: Lara Swimmer
| news |
HOT NEW NEXT
COMPETITION
the finalists
Shark Tank–style program this spring to offer contestants in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver the chance to present a rapid-fire pitch for their new design-related concept or product to GRAY’s panel of expert judges and a live audience. The three winners—Rainier Industrial Art, Brad Sliger, and Concealed Studio—will join us this September on the GRAY Stage at IDS Vancouver to compete for a cash prize and the recognition of truly being the next big thing in Pacific Northwest design. Turn the page to learn about each finalist, and we’ll see you in Vancouver!
Presented by
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IAN J. WHITMORE
OUR 2018 FUTURECAST ISSUE BRINGS YOU THE BIGGEST BREAKING NEWS IN DESIGN, SO THERE’S NO BETTER PLACE TO CELEBRATE THE REGIONAL WINNERS OF OUR INAUGURAL HOT NEW NEXT DESIGN COMPETITION. GRAY debuted the dynamic
Rachel Gallaher, GRAY’s senior editor, introduces the judges (from left), Kim Kovel (Nike), Liz Boscacci (Design Within Reach), Jeffrey Valles (Chown Hardware), Linda Lowry (DSA Solutions), and Amy Leedom (Paxson Fay), during the Portland event, held at Design Within Reach.
Š 2018 Design Within Reach, Inc.
The best in modern design.
Discover works by these designers and others at our stores. Stop by today or book a complimentary design session in advance at dwr.com/studios. 825 NW 13TH AVE., PORTLAND | 503.220.0200 1918 FIRST AVE., SEATTLE | 206.443.9900
www.dwr.com
| news |
HOT NEW NEXT
COMPETITION
RAINIER INDUSTRIAL ART
April 16, 2018 // Portland // Design Within Reach Finalist: Rainier Industrial Art, Rainier Clouds
SILVER LININGS Written by JAMIE REED
NOTHING—EXCEPT MAYBE A TYPICALLY CLOUDY NORTHWEST DAY—DAMPENS OFFICE AESTHETICS MORE THAN DULL FELT ACOUSTIC PANELS. While they
may help tamp down noise in the workplace, they tend to fall short of visual inspiration. During GRAY’s Hot New Next competition in Portland this past April, Tukwila, Washington– based Rainier Industrial Art pitched a new idea to brighten up offices: Rainier Clouds. This prototype for architectural hanging fabric sculptures, which lends shape and movement to a space while also reducing ambient noise, is formed with the most advanced 3D freeform tube-bending technology in North America, which allows the Clouds to be shaped with a variable radius to fabricate custom pieces. The innovative technology used to create the Clouds also makes them easy to assemble: they arrive in frames that snap into six different forms, each named after a type of cloud formation. There are seven color options for the Clouds’ noise-dampening fabric,
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“Beyond Rainier Clouds being a compelling product offer, I connected with the founders’ passion and vision and their combination of fun and function.” —KIM KOVEL, SENIOR MATERIAL & COLOR INNOVATOR, NIKE
which zips into place over the frame and permits buyers to customize their purchase to best match their offices’ décor. The Rainier team hopes to scale the product from office spaces to public venues such as museums and galleries, and it’s that ambition, paired with the Clouds’ combination of form and function, that won over the judges. “I believe in investing in people and their long-term potential as energy-givers, problem-solvers, and truth-seekers,” says judge Kim Kovel, Nike’s senior material and color innovator. “Beyond Rainer Clouds being a compelling product offer, I connected with the founders’ passion and vision and their combination of fun and function.” The forecast is looking bright for the Clouds, and GRAY wishes them the best of luck for their presentation on the GRAY stage at IDS Vancouver this fall. »
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| news |
HOT NEW NEXT
COMPETITION
GEEKEY
June 14, 2018 // Seattle // Hotel Max Finalist: Brad Sliger, Geekey
MULTI-TALENTED Written by JAMIE REED
“I’M IN SHOCK,” says Brad Sliger, the Woodinville,
Washington–based creator of Geekey, the multi-use tool that won GRAY’s Hot New Next design competition in Seattle this past June. “Going through all the phases of the contest, and being able to present to the judges, was a real treat.” Sliger’s Geekey—a compact stainless-steel form that looks much like a regular house key—offers users more than 16 creative functions. The metal injection-molded tool, with measurements in both imperial and metric, can be used as almost every hand tool imaginable, from protractor to wire stripper to screwdriver to bottle opener. The Hot New Next judges challenged Sliger, along with five other contestants, to discuss business development plans, market demands, patents, profit margins, and viability. His winning presentation drew laughter from the Pacific Northwest design crowd when he explained one of Geekey’s standout functions: you can use it as a smoking pipe. “Geekey’s presentation and product
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“Geekey’s presentation and product appealed to each of our professions and our expertise as judges.”
—LEANNA HAAKONS, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, BLACK HAWK FINANCIAL
appealed to each of our professions and our expertise as judges, and we appreciated the well-rounded, comprehensive business plan,” said judge Leanna Haakons, founder and president of Black Hawk Financial. The next lock for Geekey to pick? Full-scale production. Sliger, who works out of Woodinville’s Carve Design studio, plans to ramp up the next iteration of Geekey, with the help of the judges, within the next 12 to 18 months. The updated tool will target a different set of task-oriented clients, have a slightly smaller form, and offer new features that, at press time, could not be disclosed to the public. Sliger’s design pursuits stem from his study of the Pacific Northwest landscape, which serves as an endless source of inspiration. “I’ll never run out of new ideas,” he says. »
M E TA L L O 1 0 0
CLASSICAL ELEGANCE Discover a new collection of Italian-designed washstands featuring our unique ENGLISHCASTâ„¢ material. Visit us at IDS Vancouver, Booth 1233, September 20-23. To find a showroom, visit www.vandabaths.com B AT H T U B S | B A S I N S | F U R N I T U R E | FA U C E T S | A C C E S S O R I E S
A DISTINCTIVE
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| news |
HOT NEW NEXT
COMPETITION
CONCEALED STUDIO
July 10, 2018 // Vancouver // Montauk Sofa Finalist: Concealed Studio
BRIGHT IDEA Written by STACY KENDALL
CONCEALED STUDIO HAD THE JUDGES OF VANCOUVER’S ROUND OF HOT NEW NEXT SEEING THE LIGHT—specifically
one light fixture, its custom-designed 5.3 Architectural Panel. It won both the judges’ and the audience’s pick that evening, and it proves that upcycled materials and refined design are an über-successful match. In cloudlike geometric forms, the piece produces both soft light and shadow with its folded paper peaks and valleys, all encased in a wood frame. Each light is handmade by the studio cofounders, Cheryl Cheng and Mario Sabljak, who came up with the design after a custom project left them with a mound of scrap paper ten months ago. Sabljak has been making handmade pieces in residential and commercial environments for 15 years, while Cheng, with a background in interior design and art, has been captivated by paper folding since her youth. “I am fascinated by how someone can take a square piece of paper and make a rose, for example,” she said. “The
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“You can see the human element in the layer upon layer of paper. It’s delicate and beautiful—something you can spend time with.”
—BONNE ZABOLOTNEY, VICE PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC & PROVOST, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN
form’s strength is not glue; it’s how the paper fits together, and the layers, that gives it strength.” Indeed, the judges focused on the artful paper layers, and praised the firm’s use of castoff materials. “The full upcycling of materials is so important,” said judge Bonne Zabolotney, vice president, academic and provost, of Emily Carr University of Art + Design. “You can see the human element in the layer upon layer of paper. It’s delicate and beautiful—something you can spend time with.” Sabljak and Cheng plan to design a ceiling fixture next, along with a battery-powered light. “We feel like we came to this event already winners, because we got feedback from the judges. If people get inspired through sharing design, that’s a win-win for everyone,” notes Sabljak. h
GRAY STAG KENYONT HOT NEW NEX DESIGNER BAN AFTER PART EXHIBIT AWARD FIELD GUID Join us at the largest interior design show on the west coast!
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futurecast
PEOPLE
AUSTIN LANE DAY
“People don’t want to be separated from everyone else. Whether it’s where you live or the culture you’re from, we all need good food and drinks and art. Those are the gateways. They introduce culture to other people.” —I-MIUN LIU, RESTAURATEUR
I-Miun Liu, owner of Seattle bar-and-lounges East Trading Company, on Capitol Hill, and the Dynasty Room, in the International District.
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| people |
Electric Coffin created custom art pieces for I-Miun Liu’s East Trading Company bar. On the wall, an 8-foot-tall resin bottle of baijiu features a depiction of a sea monster attacking a ship. Behind the bar, the Chinese zodiac wheel can be spun to allow guests to leave their cocktail choice up to fate.
SIGNATURE COCKTAIL
Written by JENNIFER MCCULLUM : Photographed by AUSTIN LANE DAY
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Each element of the bar’s wall was designed or recontextualized by Electric Coffin specifically for the space. The Seattle design firm was inspired by the old posters that cover the walls of back alleys in Shanghai.  graymag . com
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“MY MISTAKE WAS I LOOKED AT IT IN THE DARK,” says
restaurateur I-Miun Liu of his first walk-through of the space that would become the Dynasty Room, his newest Chinatown bar, set in the former Four Seas restaurant space on Seattle’s King Street. “There were no lights in there. But when I turned on the flashlight on my cell phone and saw all the historic character, suddenly the place had potential. We weren’t creating something from nothing. There was a story here.” That story goes far beyond the six establishments—including Oasis Tea Zone—that Liu has opened in the past 17 years throughout Seattle’s Pioneer Square, International District, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. It begins in 1985, when the four-year-old Liu arrived in the Pacific Northwest from Gwangju, South Korea. Liu’s parents, both Chinese, met in Korea and ultimately moved Liu and his siblings to Washington, where they settled in Edmonds and opened the family’s first Chinese American restaurant. “Back then, what you see now, with places like Dough Zone or Din Tai Fung, just wasn’t as popular,” Liu says. “My parents were great cooks, but they had to cater to the kung pao chicken lunchtime-special kind of customer.” Their restaurant offered a full entrée, two sides, and an appetizer for just $3.75. “My parents didn’t speak English that well, so price was the social currency, how you attracted customers and kept them coming back.” Liu witnessed a similar kind of transaction at other restaurants owned by burgeoning Asian immigrant communities in Seattle, where face-to-face meetings were sometimes as valuable as the menu. “Spots like the old Four Seas rallied people to come to agreements, to have a forum. The way you
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got people on board about an issue was to have dinner with them,” he says “That is how neighborhoods are created.” With both the Dynasty Room, Liu’s reincarnated cocktail bar, which opened this past April, and East Trading Company, a true neighborhood watering hole on Capitol Hill that opened its doors just two months later, Liu hopes to recreate that sense of community while introducing elements of his own experiences as an Asian immigrant to broaden its scope. “People don’t want to be separated from everyone else,” Liu observes. “Whether it’s where you live or the culture you’re from, we all need good food and drinks and art. Those are the gateways. They introduce culture to other people.” To help with these introductions, Liu enlisted Seattle-based multidisciplinary design firm Electric Coffin to create unique environments for both bars, drawing on his own personal history as well as the mood of the bars’ neighborhoods. The Dynasty Room honors the 40-year history of the Four Seas restaurant while creating a contemporary experience that both Eastern and Western cocktail drinkers can enjoy. A sanctuary-style foyer, complete with the sounds of chanting bonchon bells and a 14-foot-tall Electric Coffin–designed cardboard sculpture called Wolf Temple, welcomes guests into the space. The old Four Seas bar counter, accented with Naugahyde elbow rests, acts as a historic touch point, as does the restaurant’s original woodwork, preserved in paneling behind the bar and atop the interior columns that structure the space. “People who had been to the original Four Seas come in and can’t tell which parts are old and which are new, which feels great,” Liu says. At East Trading Company, in the former Sun Liquor Distillery & Bar space on East Pike Street, the focus turns from history to Liu’s own biography, with multiple design elements reflecting his ethnicity and personal experiences. From an 8-foot-tall resin bottle of baijiu, a Chinese grain alcohol that makes Liu smile and recall a particular night out in his youth, to the kung fu–inspired graphics Electric Coffin wove throughout the bar in a nod to Liu’s love of the genre and his competitive background in martial arts, every part of the space is meant to evoke traditional Eastern cultures in contemporary context. “It is an immersive space that pulls from the narrative of East meets West, with I-Miun’s personal experiences woven into that narrative,” says Electric Coffin’s Patrick “Duffy” De Armas. “It truly reflects him and his story.” h
“I wanted to create something that people would be proud of in Chinatown. There’s been feedback about gentrification or ‘whitewashing,’ but those criticisms were made without knowing my background or the background of the places.” —I-MIUN LIU, OWNER OF DYNASTY ROOM & EAST TRADING COMPANY
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: A dragon sculpture on the wall of the Dynasty Room—designed by Seattle firm Electric Coffin, with architecture by Board & Vellum—was discovered in the former Four Seas restaurant space and renovated to take pride of place in the new bar. A gold-leaf graphic designates the bathroom, where Electric Coffin created a fully immersive collage out of old magazines and other materials gathered up around the bar’s home International District. Cocktail names and ingredients are inspired by the Chinese zodiac. OPPOSITE: I-Miun Liu.
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SCALING UP Written by ELIZABETH VARNELL
SHADE LOOMS LARGE IN THE WEST OF WEST OEUVRE.
It’s a key element of the five-year-old architecture firm’s bid to stoke a quiet West Coast design revolution from its warehouse office in Portland’s east side. Its founding architects, Jai Kumaran and Clayton Taylor, relocated here from Los Angeles in January 2016, and now the pair are at work on residential and conceptdriven retail projects as well as major commercial commissions. On their current slate: connecting the city’s vibrant culture with two iconic office buildings, the Wells Fargo Building—tower renovations will be complete next fall, and a revamp of the adjacent Exchange Block structure wraps in spring 2020—and the nearly completed PacWest Center, both near the Portland waterfront. They’re focusing on hometown ventures because, as Kumaran explains, “we can have more of an impact in our own community.” As West of West celebrates its two-year anniversary
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in Stumptown, the architects are crafting a practice rooted in the city’s creative ethos. Taylor and Kumaran are tackling one of this century’s most perplexing design problems: how to open the “sealed envelopes” of the boxy office buildings that dominate most downtowns. “Corporate culture has changed, and there’s a wealth of older buildings that can be turned around,” says Kumaran. Rather than hovering above the city, West of West’s reworked lobby and plaza designs link skyscrapers to street-level life through well-planned gathering places. Taylor explains that the goal of many West of West projects is to create links to the outdoors or communal spaces, “adding a rooftop garden or wooden elements leverages key moments of design,” says Kumaran. Their designs not only provide structural shade from the elements but also create communal havens amid concrete deserts, subtly reconnecting city dwellers with one another. »
PORTRAIT: ERIK LARSON; RENDERINGS: WEST OF WEST
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE LEFT: Architects
Jai Kumaran and Clayton Taylor of West of West. West of West’s proposal to redevelop Portland’s ODOT Blocks into a trio of mixed-use buildings. Rendering of the firm’s redesign of the lobby of Portland’s PacWest Center. The naturally warm hues of Oregon timber in the interior lobby of Portland’s Wells Fargo Building.
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“We don’t enter competitions for projects in far-flung places. Instead we take on studio work and create exploratory designs for actual spaces we’ve seen. Even pop-up stores allow us to create little experimental moments and test ideas.”
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—CLAYTON TAYLOR, COFOUNDER, WEST OF WEST
La Hacienda, a monolithic Palm Springs, California, roadside hotel made of board-formed concrete and steel, with five one-bedroom suites overlooking an expansive landscape. Although the hotel is still only a sketch— a rendering that West of West made to test out ideas—the plan is so compelling that it sparked an influx of inquiries from would-be vacationers when the firm shared the image on its Instagram feed. h
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In January 2019, architect Renée Cheng will become dean of the College of Built Environments (CBE) at the University of Washington. She hopes that under her tenure, CBE will become a platform for interdisciplinary design collaborations.
Q+A with
renée cheng Written by RACHEL GALLAHER
ARCHITECT RENÉE CHENG DIDN’T SET OUT TO STUDY DESIGN IN COLLEGE,
but after discovering architecture in graduate school, she found a way to combine her academic passions. “I liked drawing and math,” says Cheng, who in January 2019 will become dean of the College of Built Environments (CBE) at the University of Washington, “but I was also interested in human behavior and the need to solve humanitarian issues in housing and shelter.” In the early 2000s, Cheng was at the forefront of pioneering research that used emerging technologies to transcend the usual physical aspects of design (including what a building looks like and how it sits on a lot) and address how well a space functions for its users. GRAY reached out to Cheng to learn more about her work and her advice for those entering the design field.
You’ve done a lot of research on the intersection of design and new technologies. Tell us more. I was fortunate that the timing of my professional life began when computeraided design was just starting to take hold but was not yet widespread. During that time, I saw designers experimenting with ways to change how they worked and how they communicated with others. By the time I started my academic career, two-dimensional digital tools had mostly replaced hand drawing, and three-dimensional modeling was just starting to emerge as a force. I began studying how designers, clients, contractors, and others used those tools to collaborate and how they tested intangible things like light and sound. Now we are at a point where the visualization tools are extremely sophisticated for the study of physical attributes of a space—its shape, location of windows,
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even the energy performance is fairly well understood. The new frontier is where we intentionally support and shape positive human behavior; this could lead to reliably predicting how the design of an environment or city can promote health or create stronger societal connections. As a nonwhite woman who has had enormous success in a historically white, male-dominated field, what advice do you have for women and minorities pursuing work in design? This is really applicable to everyone: find mentors, be a good mentee, be a mentor. Also, while mentoring with advice and perspective is very valuable, sponsorships—where the sponsor is willing to spend their own political capital to advance someone else—are key. How do architects help a city grow while maintaining the authenticity
and character that attracted so many people to it in the first place? The responsibilities of those who shape cities are many. Their success is measured in multiple dimensions: socioeconomic, infrastructural, historical, and cultural. Urban issues are complex and interconnected; no one individual has the skillset to find the perfect solution. But we can assemble teams with great depth of expertise, find ways to include all the voices that need to be heard, and coalesce around truly visionary ideas. What do you see as the greatest challenge facing architects and designers today? One of the biggest challenges is that the value of how the built environment interacts with society is not as clear as it could be. We know that human wellbeing is tied to the built environment through buildings, landscapes, and cities, and we know that the environment has an effect on people, but we haven’t been able to show exactly how, or prove that spending more time considering or studying it is useful. Architects and designers are struggling to prove value. People are constantly trying to get things done quicker and for less cost, but sometimes, to do things most effectively, you actually need more time to explore design and to plan scenarios, engage the community, and rehearse construction. h
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DANNY CHARTIER
THIS PAGE: Montauk Sofa cofounder and designer Danny Chartier; the brand’s Harris sofa. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Models Tony Ward and Noot Seear recline on a gray wool Jane sectional sofa. The modular Heather sofa.
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GOOD DESIGN HAS BEEN COUCHED IN MONTREAL-BASED MONTAUK SOFA’S PLUSH, MINIMALIST FURNISHINGS FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. From reimagining how we recline to making a lasting commitment to sustainable design, Montauk Sofa has offered its customers high-end contemporary classic furnishings for more than two decades. Cofounder and designer Danny Chartier discusses the Montreal showroom’s definition of success and what’s next for the brand that’s defining modern luxury in an authentic way. When you think about the design legacy Montauk Sofa has created over the past two decades, what are you most proud of? We are proud that we were able to bring fashion, comfort, and a sense of play to the industry. Our idea of success is jumping onto a Montauk sofa on a Friday and staying there until Monday morning. Tell us about the new modular Heather sofa. Heather is a throwback from the 1980s. It is what we call a “bag set,” with an
extra down duvet on each arm and back. The sofa experiments with different aesthetic themes but still maintains our brand’s form of comfort and extreme playfulness. How do you see your approach to sustainable products evolving within both your own production and industry trends? We were one of the first furniture companies to have an environmental policy. We believe in responsible consumption. It is unnecessary to use
virgin material when you can use recyclable components. What’s next for Montauk Sofa? This year, we’ll open stores with record footprints in North America. One will be a 10,000-square-foot space opening in Chicago in August, and a 15,000-squarefoot store will open in Montreal in December. We are introducing a stateof-the-art Italian kitchen line, Valcucine, in our Montreal and Calgary showrooms, as well as curated accessories including beds and lighting. h
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CHOWN HARDWARE, NEARLY 140 YEARS OLD, CONTINUES ITS LEGACY OF OFFERING TOP-NOTCH PRODUCTS TO DESIGNERS IN AND BEYOND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
qa NATHANAEL CHOWN +
Founded in 1879, Chown Hardware is a premium hardware, lighting, and plumbing company built on the trust and expertise you can expect from a local, family-owned business. Step into one of Chown’s showrooms (in Portland and Bellevue, Washington), and you’ll understand why it is a design industry leader as well as a preferred purveyor for interior designers and home renovators alike. From elegant crystal faucet handles to hand-etched bronze door treatments, Chown offers a wide range of high-end products for every style. We sat down with Regional Sales Director Nathanael Chown to talk about the history of his family’s business and why they’re trusted to provide the highest-quality fixtures in home renovation.
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The current Chown collection is very luxurious and eclectic. Is that how you started 140 years ago? Chown Hardware was founded in 1879 by my great-great-grandfather F. R. Chown in Portland. Back then, Chown was known for supplying typical hardware items such as tools, tinware, and cutlery. The one constant from our genesis until now has been door hardware, and Chown remains the industry’s oldest familyowned business in North America. How did Chown transition to focus on interior design? We began to shift into the world of design in the 1970s thanks to my grandmother Eleanor Chown. As Eleanor traveled the world with my grandfather, she collected antiques and home décor. With the decision
to open a new division of the company, Chown Showcase, she was able to offer designers resources that could be found only in San Francisco or New York at the time. It took several decades for us to fully transition out of tools and machinery, but we credit Eleanor’s affinity for design as the reason why Chown is now known for its premium artisan products. How does global inspiration impact Chown’s collection today? We’ve taken a page out of Eleanor’s book and travel the world to bring our customers unique international products such as Fantini fixtures from Italy and FSB hardware from Germany. Many of our pieces are inspired by different parts of the world. I believe that Chown’s elite
products and industry experience have made us one of the most trusted design companies in the Pacific Northwest. What is the future of Chown? No matter how we’ve changed, one thing that remains is the importance of our family legacy. All the members of my generation continue to play prominent roles in the company, so I think that the Chown name will live on for at least another century, and so will our passion for top-ofthe-line design. h
LEFT TO RIGHT: Chown family members and company employees Fred, Joel, Kyle (president), Nathanael, and David (vice president). OPPOSITE, FROM LEFT: A light fixture from the Hubbardton Forge Aura collection; the Waterstone Annapolis pot filler; FSB door hardware from Germany (all products available through Chown Hardware); company founder F. R. Chown, seen on the right, circa 1900.
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THE FOUNDER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA TIMBERFRAME CO. SHARES HIS TIPS FOR BUILDING A HEALTHY HOME.
KELVIN MOONEY
of the environment. Mooney founded BC Timberframe in 2000 to specialize in building energy performance and passive homes, and to manufacture custom timber-frame home packages. Recently, BC Timberframe added a sister company, Factor Building Panels, which manufactures prefabricated wall and roof panels for Passive House certification using renewable natural components that don’t off-gas, shrink, or allow toxins to creep indoors. What are the characteristics of a healthy home? A healthy home includes consideration for the materials you choose to put inside your home, the ability to have clean fresh air inside, and the ability to maintain a comfortable environment. We prioritize using natural materials, airtight sealing, and incorporating a high quality, purifying Heat Recovery Ventilation system that constantly exchanges air from outside to inside through filters. What are the overlooked places where energy efficiency is lost while building a home? Insulation materials are often overlooked, but the materials you choose have a great impact on indoor air quality, as well as the
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amount of energy used in the total creation of your home. The Expanded Polystyrene Foam often used in insulation is oil-based and requires an intensive manufacturing process. At Factor Building Panels, we do not use foam or plastic wrap. Tell us more about Factor Building Panels. Factor Building Panels are prefabricated panels designed to your architectural requirements, built in a controlled environment, and delivered and installed in a much shorter timeframe than standard construction practices. We start with high levels of insulation and air-tightness, and we use natural and recycled materials to improve air quality and lessen our environmental impact. h
JANNICKE KITCHEN PHOTOGRAPHY
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For Kelvin Mooney, the man who built the first Energy Star®–qualified (superior energy performance) home in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, constructing healthy homes is not just a passion; it’s crucial for the future
In 2014, BC Timberframe Co. built the first Energy StarŽ-certified home in BC’s Lower Mainland using advanced construction technology such as off-site wall and roof panel system manufacturing, pressed wood waste, and spun volcanic rock insulation.
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THIS PAGE: Designer and Seattle Design Center style ambassador Cassandra LaValle at SDC. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LaValle’s trend forecast includes matte black metals like the ones in these light fixtures from the Dixon Group, as well as a color palette of rusty oranges, yellows, and terra cotta. Textiles from Kelly Forslund. The German Kitchen Center showroom at SDC. The Precedent sofa, available through Designer Furniture Gallery at SDC.
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MEGHAN KLEIN
CASSANDRA LAVALLE
SEATTLE DESIGN CENTER’S STYLE AMBASSADOR SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON FALL 2018 TRENDS. As the style ambassador for Seattle Design Center—as well as a designer and the founder of popular design and lifestyle website Coco Kelley— Cassandra LaValle knows a lot about trends. In her design work, she’s used the showrooms at SDC as a resource for years. Here she talks about upcoming trends, how to incorporate them into your home, and the newest showrooms to shop this fall. Which fall design trends are you most excited about, and where can they be found in SDC? There are ways to embrace trends in interiors with accents like textiles, side tables, and paint colors. Color is my favorite place to start. Yellow is on the rise, especially in an ochre or mustard palette. Terra cotta is in there too, which makes orange the next big color. Lee Jofa has an incredible selection of fabrics in this family of colors, and Designer Furniture Gallery has the fabulous Vera sofa by Precedent that leans into this color trend, too. In metals, matte black is the chic style preference. Nickel (high shine, not brushed!) is on its way back in as well, but really it’s all about mixing.
British countryside–inspired design is a growing style, and Jennifer West Showroom has lovely choices, such as the Cork corner cabinet by Rose Tarlow Melrose House and the printed linens and embroideries in the Travers collection by Zimmer + Rohde. How do the SDC showrooms stay current on trends? SDC is the only design center in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s home to almost 20 regional and national designer showrooms. As a hub for interior designers and decorators, it represents more than 500 manufacturers, and new lines are added constantly to curate a variety of aesthetics, from timeless
to on-trend. The showrooms cultivate deep relationships with manufacturing partners to ensure SDC always offers the best possible collections each season. Tell us about SDC’s newest showrooms. Seattle Design Center welcomed German Kitchen Center in February; it’s the showroom’s first West Coast flagship, and they offer everything from kitchen design to renovation and installation. Sierra Pacific Windows is slated to open in the coming months, and it will be open to both consumers and design professionals. Seattle Design Center is also beginning a partnership with highend design shopping site and digital discovery platform Dering Hall, which will allow SDC to bring the products available in its showrooms to the Web to better integrate the shopping experience, whether online or offline. h
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Celebrating 25 years of Design Innovation Craftsmanship Sustainability Customer Service Visit one of our retailers or contact us for more information or questions regarding our products or customization. Tel: 847-680-9043 Email: cs@matthewsfanco.com www.matthewsfanco.com
futurecast The Bannaker Nylock insulated vest and Kraft Work jacket, part of the DYNE FW18 collection.
fall fashion “I’ve always been influenced by materials first. They talk to you and tell you what you can and can’t do.” RYAN BEVANS
—CHRISTOPHER BEVANS, FASHION DESIGNER & FOUNDER, DYNE
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VISIONARY STATUS Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Photographed by RYAN BEVANS
THIS PAGE: Christopher Bevans, Portland-based fashion designer and creative director of clothing line DYNE. OPPOSITE: Bevans draws design inspiration from nature, politics, current events, and culture. A model wears pieces from the AW18 collection, including the Jackson oversized trench, Julian long-sleeved top, and Pisano shorts and Alcorn vest in cloud print. Âť
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“Nike is one of the highlights of my career, but I’ve always had the aspiration of building my own brand.” —CHRISTOPHER BEVANS, FASHION DESIGNER
MODELS: BABA, LORD X PRYNCE; STYLIST: EUGENE TONG
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IF YOUR RÉSUMÉ INCLUDED DESIGNING APPAREL FOR KANYE WEST, P. DIDDY, AND PRINCE, YOU COULD BE FORGIVEN A SLIGHTLY INFLATED EGO. Christopher Bevans,
however, whose clients do include the preceding stars, is softspoken and humble. The founder of Portland-based menswear company DYNE speaks with an excited edge only twice during a recent interview—once when he learns that Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 album DAMN has been awarded this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Music, and again as he talks about garnering inspiration from the ethos of the Northwest. “When it comes to color and texture, the outdoors has a big influence on my work,” Bevans says. “The region inspires not only how my clothes look but how they are made as well. It’s important to me to use fabrics that respect the environment, all the way from how animals are treated to which kinds of chemicals are or aren’t used in the process.” Like many East Coast transplants, the 45-year-old fashion designer quickly took to the PNW’s relaxed sartorial landscape, but he reaches back to his New York roots with each season’s new collection. Originally from Brooklyn, Bevans grew up in Rochester surrounded by a style-minded family. His grandmother was a seamstress, and his father dressed to the nines,
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imparting the wisdom that Bevans should “always dress for the job you want.” In 1994, when Bevans moved to New York City to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology, one of his first jobs was at now-famous Mood Fabrics, where he learned the craft behind textile production. Ten years later, after stints designing at Sean John and Rocawear, Bevans was tapped by Nike to become global design director of urban apparel. He helmed many high-profile campaigns for the athletic giant, including designing clothing launched to celebrate the iconic Air Force 1 sneaker’s 25th anniversary. “At the time, the culture of streetwear was really catching on and blossoming,” he says now, leaning across a fabric-strewn table, “and we were at the forefront of that movement.” Bevans is sitting in a second-floor conference room at DYNE’s southeast Portland headquarters, looking out over the main office: an amalgam of desks, packed clothing racks, and wall-tacked printouts displaying upcoming collections. It’s another high point in a successful career, one earned through hard work, raw talent, and a dose of restlessness. Bevans worked at Nike for four years before heading back to New York, where he spent time as the creative director for the Billionaire Boys Club and as studio manager for Kanye West »
Punctuate classic black with a pop of color this fall. The DYNE FW18 collection includes the streamlined Bannaker Nylock insulated vest in a bright shade of wine, the Kraft Work jacket, and Pisano pants (both seen here in onyx).
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and the Yeezy line. Along the way, he picked up industry knowledge and a lengthy roster of high-profile clients from Jay-Z to John Legend. Despite his success, Bevans had higher aspirations (and family) that eventually drew him back to Portland. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me,” he muses about his return to the West Coast. “Being back in Portland allowed me to slow down and start to lead rather than follow.” In 2015, after decades spent working for others, Bevans launched DYNE, his own line of technologically advanced sportswear, at Men’s Fashion Week in New York. A longtime athlete and lover of sports, the designer sought to create a collection that straddles the line between gearing up for the gym and strutting into an important meeting. Ranging from branded T-shirts and golf pants to crewnecks and parkas, each of DYNE’s pieces is meticulously styled to fit more like a suit than like baggy workout wear. “Tailoring is the foundation of my clothes,” he says. “I spent years watching my grandmother on the sewing machine, learning to nip and tuck and drape
clothes on the body. It doesn’t matter how amazing a design is—if it doesn’t fit right, it just doesn’t work.” In addition to sleek lines and modern cuts, Bevans’s clothes are made with Italian-sourced technical fabrics (four-way stretch, wind- and water-repellent, sun-protective) that “enhance everyday life.” A near-field communication chip that interacts with a smart phone is embedded in each piece, allowing the wearer to see where and how the item was made. The implications for this technology are many—imagine being able to pay for things with the swipe of a sleeve, or having a GPS locator built into your hiking or skiing clothes. This attention to detail, plus hours of experimentation, has paid off in a big way. In January, Bevans won fashion’s prestigious 2017/2018 Woolmark Prize in the inaugural Innovation category. This fall, his company will experiment with 3D knitting and introduce several looks for women. “We’re motivated to keep testing new things out,” Bevans says, then aptly turns to a sports metaphor. “There are always wins and losses, but no matter what happens, we’re excited to keep growing as a company.” h
Bevans’s dedication to tailoring elevates sportswear to boardroom-ready status. FAR LEFT: The Woolmark kaku trench in cloud gray, the Armstrong hoodie in onyx, and the Ingles 3/4 pant. NEAR LEFT: The DSP x Le Ballon America jacket, Julian long-sleeved top, and Boone pant in thunder blue.
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| fashion |
“The less-is-more mentality is still emerging in the US, but Seattle is catching on.”
HODINA
Time is in the blood of Vadim Bozhko. Born in Ukraine and raised in Auburn, Washington, he spent countless childhood hours in his father’s vintage watch-repair shop, absorbing the nuances of a centuries-old craft that would lead him to pursue his own horology business two decades later. Launched in 2014, Hodina (Ukrainian for “hour”) is Bozhko’s own line of timepieces, which fuse European roots to a Pacific Northwest identity. His minimalist watches for men and women include simple leather bands or elegant stainless-steel mesh straps as eye-catching as jewelry.
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Hodina’s Kirkland ladies’ watch is simple yet sophisticated, with a vegetable-tanned leather strap and an austere face.
THIS PAGE: HODINA; OPPOSITE: ASHLEY GENEVIEVE
—VADIM BOZHKO, FOUNDER, HODINA
JANE AND THE SHOE
After working in the footwear industry for more than 25 years, brothers Bill and Rick Snowden are stepping out on their own. In April 2018, the Snowden Brothers partnership, which develops both private-label and branded footwear businesses for retail partners worldwide, launched its own brand, Jane and the Shoe. Providing comfortable and stylish options for the active woman, Jane’s first collections include dozens of chic options, from mauve suede booties and sequined platform sandals to sensible white tennis shoes and terrycloth slides. This is definitely no plain Jane. 
The Tate bootie from Seattle-based Jane and the Shoe is available in both black-and-white and red-and-orange tweed, as well as black sequin.
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Each piece of Korinne Vader’s jewelry is handmade and kiln-fired. This ceramic necklace is strung on a silk cord and hand-painted with 22-karat gold detail.
Five years ago, Victoria, BC–based fashion designer Korinne Vader signed up for pottery classes that introduced her to the craft of jewelry making. It turned out to be a pivotal experience that inspired her to launch the Korinne Vader Handmade Goods collection—encompassing both clothing and accessories—in 2015. Vader forms her raw or porcelain-blend clay earrings and necklaces by hand in a neutral palette of creams and browns, their organic shapes punctuated with feminine tassels and handapplied 22-karat gold detail. Each piece can take several months to complete, and the aesthetic of every collection is inspired by the contrasting textures of urban and rural environments. “It’s all about sidewalks and buildings versus farmland, forests, oceans, and lakes,” Vader explains, “which can be represented by a thick jute cord with a smooth, glazed white tube, or by round glazed earrings with linen tassels.” Clay is a favored material because it leaves little waste, and Vader keeps a box of unfinished pieces to tinker with. “I don’t mind working on a design until it reaches perfection,” she says, “even if it’s a long process.”
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THIS PAGE: KELLY BROWN; OPPOSITE: LEGENDARY CLASS PHOTOGRAPHY
KORINNE VADER
[-IZATION ]
Driven by the ambition to create comfortable and trendy streetwear, as well as an interest in the crossover between fashion and technology, Vancouver-based clothing designer Amy Herndon launched her line, [-ization], two years ago, almost immediately after graduating from the fashion program at Vancouver’s LaSalle College. It wasn’t long until Justine Higgs, a college staff member, spotted Herndon’s work on Instagram and reached out with the news that LaSalle was sponsoring a graduate student for Vancouver Fashion Week Fall–Winter ’18. Higgs thought Herndon should be the pick. The designer didn’t have enough looks to send down a runway at the time, so she worked tenaciously to complete a collection in just a month. [-ization] offers gender-neutral garments ranging from pants and shirts to zip-up tunics. Pieces are crafted from performance fabrics such as sports jersey and jogging fleece, which Herndon molds into chic silhouettes that also provide warmth, anti-wrinkle, and moisture-wicking properties. “Amy’s collection is all about shape, form, and minimalism,” says Higgs, “and it’s gender-neutral. These things are very on-trend in the Vancouver fashion scene right now.” »
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POPPYSEED
The Essential jumpsuit from Washington-based Poppyseed features an elastic waistband and adjustable wrap front making it pregnancy friendly, but also a versatile piece for any wardrobe.
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STEVE KORN
“Feeling sexy and powerful is truly feminine,” says Rebekah Adams, creator of Tacoma, Washington– based Poppyseed, a clothing line focused on creating garments that can accommodate women’s bodies at all stages of life. Adams founded her company 10 weeks before her son was born in 2016, and her collections feature strategic construction details such as bilateral zippers, operable from both the top and bottom, and inverted pleats that allow her garments to change shape. The Fall 2018 line is inspired by the maiden voyages of female astronauts in the 1960s and offers ready-to-wear for maternity and beyond with structured shapes in ponte knits and cotton modal blends. h
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futurecast Designed by Lever Architecture, the Framework building is the first wooden high rise in the United States.
urban design “There’s only one wrong answer. And that’s to do nothing.”
LEVER ARCHITECTURE
—KEVIN CAVENAUGH, OWNER, GUERRILLA DEVELOPMENT
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| urban design |
timber rising Wood buildings are not only the Pacific Northwest’s heritage—they’re also its greener, taller future.
HACKER ARCHITECTS
Written by BRIAN LIBBY
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Renderings of Hacker Architects’ new First Tech Federal Credit Union headquarters in Hillsboro, Oregon, show how exterior paneling of varying widths and heights can be deployed to soften the volume of a large CLT building. From a distance, double-height panels disguise the number of floors and minimize the structure’s size to make its five stories look like only four. »
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Designed by Vancouver’s Michael Green Architecture, the 7-story T3 building (the name stands for “Timber, Technology, Transit”), in Minneapolis’s North Loop, is the largest mass timber building in the US. At right, a model of Lever Architecture’s Framework building.
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THIS PAGE: MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE; OPPOSITE: LEVER ARCHITECTURE
| urban design |
HISTORICALLY, THE WORD “SKYSCRAPER” CALLED TO MIND MONOLITHS OF GLASS AND STEEL TOWERING AMID MAJOR METROPOLES SUCH AS CHICAGO AND MANHATTAN.
Few people have thought of wood—usually considered a lowrise, organic material choice—as part of a soaring cityscape. Yet next year, Portland’s Lever Architecture will add the wooden Framework tower, now rising in its hometown, to the picture. It will be the first all-timber high-rise ever constructed in the United States. The 12-story, 90,000-squarefoot project is made from gluelaminated columns and beams, with a core and floor and ceiling panels of cross-laminated timber (CLT). It is the result of months of testing and close collaboration with state officials. “It’s really a catalyst project,” says Thomas Robinson, Lever’s founder and the project’s designer. Over the past year, the firm has successfully proved that Framework, built using its signature CLT— an engineered wood panel product made from layers of lumber glued together in alternating directions—can withstand fire. “We had to show that a CLT building could burn for two hours and still stand, in the unlikely event that the sprinklers failed and the fire department didn’t come,” Robinson says. “But now that we have, it’s changing the conversation about what’s possible.” CLT was introduced in the early 1990s in Austria and Germany and went into mass production in the early 2000s, primarily in Europe. It’s quickly been embraced as a sustainable building material: wood naturally sequesters carbon, and, unlike steel and concrete, CLT does not require a carbon-intensive manufacturing process. As North American interest grew, builders began to import CLT from Europe, and soon local mills were churning out the material as well. The Pacific Northwest in particular seized upon the new option: bountiful
timber is available here, and a major earthquake has been forecast to strike in coming decades. “Wooden constructions perform way better seismically,” explains John Hemsworth, principal of Vancouver’s Hemsworth Architecture. “They are significantly lighter than traditional concrete structures.” Hemsworth, who often works with CLT, recently designed the wood-framed Upper Skeena Recreation Centre arena, now going up in Hazelton, British Columbia. CLT projects also offer a streamlined onsite construction process that borrows its efficiencies from prefab techniques. “Wood can go up a lot faster,” says Jonathan Orpin, founder of timberframing firm New Energy Works, based in Portland and Farmington, New York. “You’re manufacturing offsite and assembling it with a crane in two days instead of 10.” Traditional concrete and steel buildings require specialized onsite manpower, and lengthy build times accrue significant costs. But with wood, Orpin says, “we’re basically bolting together large wooden LEGO sets.” As a
result, developers are embracing timber framing for major commercial projects such as the T3 office building in Minneapolis, designed by Vancouver’s Michael Green Architecture and currently, at 224,000 square feet, the largest mass-timber building in the United States. CLT’s introduction to North America hasn’t been completely seamless: in March, a CLT panel installed in subflooring at Oregon State University’s new Peavy Hall gave way, and a third-party investigation is seeking to confirm that a manufacturing flaw, rather than an inherent failure of CLT, led to the collapse. Builders also note that CLT construction makes creating big volumes of interior space tricky: the material can span only limited distances, and, because CLT doesn’t match the thermal performance of concrete and other types of masonry, it can add to a building’s heating and cooling costs. Nonetheless, wood is proving itself a worthy price competitor to concrete and steel because of its condensed construction requirements and its accessibility as a material. “In the past, if you compared concrete or steel to timber, the timber didn’t stand a chance,” says David Keltner, a principal with Portland’s Hacker Architects, which designed First Tech Federal Credit Union’s headquarters in Hillsboro, Oregon. “But steel and concrete are getting more expensive, while wood is more available, especially in this region. Now, with more plants in the US, you can get it a little more affordably.” Yet the case for timber buildings ultimately transcends CLT’s practical application. People just seem to love them because wood elicits a strong sense of connection. “It’s that emotional response,” Keltner says. “When you walk into a wood building, you just feel good about where you are. It’s a real material that was once alive, that has tactility and variegation. You don’t have to do math or use a spreadsheet to justify it.” » graymag . com
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THIS PAGE: MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE; OPPOSITE: HEMSWORTH ARCHITECTS
Michael Green’s T3 building offers 224,000 square feet of office and retail space, as well as parking, and its more than 3,600 cubic meters of exposed mass-timber columns, beams, and floor slabs call to mind the heavy-timber construction used in the city’s older buildings.
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Hemsworth Architecture’s wood-framed Upper Skeena Recreation Centre arena, now going up in Hazelton, BC, demonstrates that wood is a viable structural system for recreation centers when innovative design and engineering are factored in. The exposed wooden elements will be complemented by durable and efficient materials; concrete masonry, cast-in-place concrete, and galvanized metal. h
“People respond to wood buildings and tend to take better care of them. When people connect with a building, it lasts.” —JOHN HEMSWORTH, ARCHITECT
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Set to open Fall 2018, Katerra’s 150,000-square-foot Catalyst building in Spokane, Washington, will be the state’s first office building constructed out of environmentally friendly cross-laminated timber. Eastern Washington University will be the building’s primary tenant.
CONSTRUCTION DISRUPTION MODULAR AND PREFAB CONSTRUCTION HAS COME A LONG WAY, BUT EVEN THE MOST CUTTING-EDGE COMPANIES IN THE INDUSTRY STILL HAVE AN “AIR” PROBLEM. Preassembled factory-made structures have large
volumes of air inside them, and thus transporting them from factory to site is clunky, and limited to the size of the truck or railcar that can carry them. Clearing the air, as it were, is one part of what three-year-old technology company Katerra hopes to do in its remaking of the often wasteful construction industry. The Menlo Park, California–based firm, whose cofounder, Michael Marks, was interim CEO of Tesla for a time in 2007, has thrown its hat into the disruptor ring with an $865 million Series D funding round that stunned the construction and VC
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worlds this past February. Katerra, unlike consumer-facing companies such as Uber and Airbnb, has set its sights on the more mundane but lucrative market of developers and construction companies. If Katerra can fully scale up its model—which compresses the multiple steps inherent to most construction projects by owning its supply chain and production processes from start to finish—the company stands to become the ultimate global construction machine. With vertically integrated teams, the crux of Katerra’s innovation is its control of design, engineering, supply chain, offsite manufacturing, and its LEGO-like onsite assembly, which—if all fully realized—will permit swifter and more economical building strategies. Usually, a construction project »
KATERRA
Written by STACY KENDALL
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| urban design |
requires several firms plus contractors and subcontractors, architects deliver projects. Once people really understand each of which undertakes a different task. Katerra wants to what we’re doing, they realize we’re not compromising design. streamline and downsize building teams by creating kits of It’s just a more efficient way to deliver high design, which component parts (including floor and wall panels, fixtures, gives architects time to work on things that really matter.” and hardware) that can be flat-packed or transported partially To further close the gap between its mission and its method, complete from factory to jobsite. The company’s system aims Katerra has acquired other design firms; at the end of May to control both material waste and the wasted time that 2018, it announced its acquisition of Vancouver-based Miresults when frictions or miscommunications arise within chael Green Architecture. MGA’s founder, CLT titan Michael large project teams. Katerra, whose company mission is Green, previously served on Katerra’s advisory design and ardistilled in its motto, “Better, Faster, Cheaper,” is for now chitecture consortium. A longtime champion of sustainability, focusing on multifamily, senior, and student housing, plus Green is not shy in his critique of the construction industry’s hospitality, with an emphasis on developing mass-timber environmental and process deficiencies and the old ruts in construction. which the design industry often finds itself stuck. “I draw a The approach is already bearing fruit: Katerra currently has building in a nice office at my computer, and then people go $3.7 billion in signed construction projects on its slate, includout in the pouring rain and put it together with hammers,” he ing the 150,000-square-foot says. “It’s a slow and messy Catalyst building in Spokane, process, and there’s a lot of Washington, and a hospitality waste—our landfills are full center on the Kootenai Health of construction waste. We campus in Coeur d’Alene, haven’t gotten better or fastIdaho, that will provide low er.” As an economic partner, and no-cost lodging for he’ll continue independent patients and their families. work on MGA projects while Both will be built with crossbenefiting from access to Katlaminated timber (CLT), the erra’s materials and methods. sustainable wünder-material In return, Katerra will benefit that’s touted by progressive from Green’s design guidance architecture firms as the next and his CLT expertise. “CLT big thing but isn’t yet widely hasn’t been as affordable as deployed in North America. it should be because there Katerra plans to change that, hasn’t been enough competitoo, by becoming the first tion in the market,” Green —MICHAEL GREEN, ARCHITECT company to manufacture CLT says, but the Spokane factory on a large scale; last year, it just might alter that picture. announced that in fall 2018 it will open a 250,000-square-foot It’s easy to picture Katerra as an office full of 21st-century factory in Spokane that will produce 180,000 cubic meters of Howard Roarks, all obsessed with efficiency and pragmatism. CLT annually, making it the largest-capacity producer of the But obsession with precision may be a tonic in a construction material in the United States. industry unused to innovation. Peter Wolff, the firm’s VP of “As architects, we try to create beautiful buildings that design, says Katerra’s concept of the built environment is people will love and appreciate. At Katerra, none of that “yacht-like,” meaning that built-ins and integrated elements changes,” says Craig Curtis, the company’s head of architecture. are key and no square inch is dead space. “A Katerra building “We’re applying lessons from the way almost everything else is like ordering a car,” he explains. “With a brand like BMW, is made—streamlining manufacturing; using robotics and you [the consumer] choose options within a framework. Then precise equipment—to produce assemblies and components the car is built in the factory, with all of the same quality and that can be put together in the field.” Curtis, who was at Seattle’s design language.” Katerra, he says, will model similar value Miller Hull for 30 years, 20 of them as a partner, works out of and efficacy. Katerra’s West Coast design headquarters, which opened in Green offers this summary of the firm’s aims: “I believe that Seattle in January 2016 and now employs 170 people, including the significant cost savings found in rethinking buildings’ architects, designers, and product specialists. Katerra’s headdelivery model is a positive pressure to improve design and spinning growth has lured many local creatives and engineers construction everywhere. I don’t think Katerra threatens those away from their old roosts, and Curtis explains the attraction designing at the top of their game, but I think it will force this way: “There’s an excitement around changing the way those who are not to pull up their socks.” h
“The question is, what value do we, as architects, bring to society? Corbusier, Mies, Frank Lloyd Wright— they were agents of change. The more that design remains decorative, the less importance we architects will have. We’ll be seen as wallpaper.”
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| urban design | The design of the seven-story commercial and retail Watershed building, in Seattle, includes a biofiltration system that will treat 320,000 to 400,000 gallons of Aurora Bridge runoff water, tainted with brake dust, motor oil, gasoline, and heavy metals, each year. The system has already helped the building to earn a Salmon-Safe-certified title.
CLEARING THE WATERS IN 2011, JENIFER MCINTYRE, A RESEARCH SCIENTIST AT WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, discovered that
salmon exposed to water runoff from the 520 Bridge (which runs across Lake Washington) were dying within hours due to heavy pollutants deposited by bridge traffic. The results inspired architecture firm Weber Thompson and Mark Grey (representing development firms Stephen C. Grey & Associates and COU) to include stormwater treatment plans for two new buildings near another Seattle pollution source: the Aurora Bridge, linking Fremont to Queen Anne. The two structures—the DATA 1 commercial building, completed last year, and the neighboring Watershed building, opening in late 2019—sit at the Aurora’s northern foot. In 2015, crews on the DATA 1 construction site realized that the bridge’s downspouts were carrying polluted water past the site, into Lake Union, and directly into the path of migrating
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salmon. Alarmed, Weber Thompson, Grey, and KPFF Consulting Engineers installed biofiltration retention planters on the east side of the DATA 1 site, which now treat up to 200,000 gallons of rainwater from the bridge each year. The team also installed a biofiltration system at the Watershed building that will treat 320,000 to 400,000 gallons of runoff from the Aurora Bridge each year. Designed with gabion walls, 22-foot-wide bioretention planters, and hardy plants, the stormwater system will filter water multiple times before it collects in a dedicated drain that leads to Lake Union. Meanwhile, Watershed’s sloped, overhanging roof will channel cascading rainwater into a collection system that terminates in a sculptural catchment basin before flowing into a cistern in the building’s basement. From there the water will recirculate for use inside the building. It’s a happy win for both those with feet and those with fins. h
WEBER THOMPSON
Written by RACHEL GALLAHER
Client | Bora Architects
Project | Bora Beach House
bittermannphotography.com
| urban design |
TAKING IT TO THE STREETS
How the design community is addressing homelessness Written by JENNIFER MCCULLUM
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“
omelessness Is Not Normal” was both the declarative title of Holst Architecture’s Design Week Portland panel discussion this past spring and a topic that reappeared continuously throughout the week’s programming. The statement also speaks to the design community’s growing focus on the crisis the unhoused now face across the Pacific Northwest, where, on average, approximately 2,900 people are sleeping on the street each night. While public frustration builds over slow-moving municipal solutions, the subject has migrated off the sidewalks, past City Hall, and onto the drafting tables of the creative communities who design and build our cities. This summer, the Vancouver Art Gallery hosted Offsite: Shigeru Ban, an exhibition showcasing the Japanese architect’s designs of temporary housing units for people displaced by natural disaster. Given that Vancouver has seen a 30 percent increase in its homeless population since 2014, the exhibit was rife with layered meaning: it could be argued that Ban’s innovative, low-cost paper and cardboard structures might serve people displaced by economics as well as those uprooted by earthquakes, and they are a sophisticated upgrade from the ubiquitous tents Vancouverites have become all too accustomed to seeing. Less than 200 miles south, in Tacoma, Washington, the Annie Wright Upper School for Boys launched a six-month initiative in January as part of its Architecture & Design program. Its students constructed a tiny house, in collaboration with Seattle’s Mithun
Architects, for the Nickelsville homeless encampment in Georgetown. These and other projects demonstrate that as the PNW wonders whether homelessness is now so pervasive that it’s our new normal, the design community is giving us a definitive answer: It does not have to be. “At the bottom, this issue is not a homelessness crisis. It’s a community crisis,” says Rex Hohlbein, cofounder of BLOCK Architects and the BLOCK Project, a Seattle-based nonprofit aiming to fight homelessness through relationship-building initiatives. “It’s a really important distinction, because a community crisis includes everyone. We are a part of this problem.” This holistic philosophy is inherent in the process designers use with every project they create, and it also means that creative communities are uniquely positioned to come up with solutions unexplored by more traditional approaches to homelessness. “As designers, we use our brains in a very different way,” says Casey Hrynkow, senior design strategist with marketing firm Ion Brand Design in Vancouver. “We take problems, pick them up like gemstones, and look at their facets to see opportunities that other people don’t.” Hrynkow is using her graduate thesis (for Simon Fraser University’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program and collaborating with the Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability Lab at Emily Carr University of Art + Design) to help others understand how design thinking can shift the public perception of homelessness to effect change. Hrynkow is working within the context of design theorist Horst W. J. Rittel’s “wicked problem” theory: a specific type of challenge that, »
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ABOVE: A rendering of Jolene’s First Cousin in Portland. Slated for completion next April, Guerrilla Development’s planned mixed-use property includes retail units and residential lofts rented at subsidized rates to help underwrite the cost of 11 single-resident-occupancy units for Portlanders without homes. BELOW: Seattle artist Iain Heath’s Homeless in Seattle uses LEGOs to satirically depict the current cityscape, complete with iconic landmarks and the tents of the homeless.
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TOP: GUERRILLA DEVELOPMENT; BOTTOM: IAIN HEATH
“As designers, we have an obligation to become intimate with the lived experience of all humankind in the environments we create and how we can best service these various communities.” —MARK BUSSE, DIRECTOR, HCMA ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
due to complex interdependencies, requires multidisciplinary cooperation to solve. “Homelessness is complicated. It’s messy,” she says. “Every person without a home is not an addict or struggling with mental illness. It’s a tangled web of yarn.” Hrynkow’s research will target Maple Ridge, BC, in a series of design thinking exercises, including the creation of empathy maps, geared at establishing sympathetic connections between community members and the area’s homeless. Hrynkow asserts that because humans are social animals, hardwired for hierarchy and for easily labeling some people as “others,” we’re also driven to seek out commonality and create bonds. “If we can leverage those better instincts, we might be able to get somewhere,” she says. Someone who is getting somewhere is Portland’s Kevin Cavenaugh, owner of Guerrilla Development. Last winter his firm launched a crowdfunding initiative to underwrite a mixed-use two-building development called Jolene’s First Cousin, slated for completion next April. The property includes retail units and residential lofts, all rented at subsidized rates to help underwrite the cost of 11 SRO (single-resident occupancy) units reserved for Portlanders without homes. Guerrilla hit its goal of $300,000 in just 70 hours. “Jolene’s First Cousin is our way of using the tools we have, including real estate, finance, and design, to start somewhere,” says Cavenaugh. Guerrilla is also offering incentives to community members who support the homeless: the Atomic Orchard Experiment residential project, which will break ground at the end of this year, will assign tenant priority to those whose jobs relate to providing relief for unhoused people, such as social workers and first responders. “I don’t want
to live in a city that leaves its working class behind or is okay with anyone sleeping in the streets,” Cavenaugh says. Also taking to the streets is Vancouver’s HCMA Architecture + Design, which is creating repurposed laneway projects in the city (see GRAY’s Aug/Sept 2017 issue). In the process of transforming neglected alleyways into attractive environments that encourage communal interaction, director Mark Busse says, the laneway projects have the potential to have an even bigger impact: helping the homeless, particularly those suffering from addiction. “One unfortunate piece of data we have is that when people are overdosing but are lucid enough to call for help, they cannot quickly tell emergency services where they are because they’re in an alley,” says Busse. “There’s no street name to relay to get the life-saving support they need.” One
service these various communities.” At press time, Seattle’s latest municipal effort to address the city’s homelessness crisis—a $47 million-a-year head tax on local businesses to fund services and housing—was repealed, leaving behind mostly a single large-scale initiative, King County’s One Table Coalition, to tackle the issue. But the city of Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest as a region, cannot rely on any one program to end the “wicked problem” of homelessness. With a unique ability to think about the communal “why” and “who” of the homeless, not just the “where” of their tents, designers can effect change, donating their time, manpower, and materials to execute plans faster than government initiatives can be coordinated and implemented. In the past year, several architecture firms, engineers, and contractors have collaborated pro bono on
“I don’t want America to feel the way it does when you visit Shanghai or India, where homelessness, this deep poverty, is just culturally accepted. I don’t want us to get there. It’s not how we were raised as a country.” —KEVIN CAVENAUGH, DEVELOPER, GUERRILLA DEVELOPMENT idea HCMA is exploring with various community groups is to implement a visual map system, using bright color demarcations, that will give laneways placemaking identifiers. “Instead of assigning numbers or another kind of nomenclature to these spaces, we’d like to elevate that [idea], using design, to impact this dire situation,” says Busse. “As designers, we have an obligation to become intimate with the lived experience of all humankind in the environments we create and how we can best
Hohlbein’s BLOCK Project, all of them working toward the ultimate goal of building over 100 homes a year in the backyards of King County by 2022. Hohlbein says, “The BLOCK Project’s goal has always been to end homelessness. The design and architecture fields really have a special opportunity with this issue, to provide the resources and their know-how to build a community. If this happens, I fully believe the city will understand how ending homelessness is possible ... that this is doable.” h
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AUTHENTICALLY SPARK! Fires designed and engineered to be extraordinary. See our photo gallery at www.sparkfires.com or 203.791.2725 Where family and friends gather.
A City Residence Boston, MA Architect: Josh Slater Designer: Greg Wilson, Warren Square Design Photographer: Eric Roth
modern ďŹ res
futurecast
tech “Sound is primal and powerful. If you want your space to tell a story, sound should be a considered element of your overall design.”
REINA SOLUNAYA FOR EXCHANGE
—ETHAN ROSE, FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PARALLEL STUDIO
Exchange, a sound and light installation in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square by Parallel Studio.
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THIS PAGE: Parallel Studio’s Variation installation in Berwick Hall at the University of Oregon sonically activates the lobby by altering sound emanating from the adjacent music rehearsal space. OPPOSITE: The entry in Seattle’s residential Kinects tower features a speaker sculpture that plays an algorithmic mix of water recordings.
sound garden Written by JAMIE REED
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however, and he’ll put up a strong argument that sound is an integral part of design. The Portlander founded Parallel Studio in 2016 to help people integrate sound into their built environments. The studio’s creative team specializes in site-specific sound sculptures that define a space’s identity. “There’s been more interest in the past few years in creating experiences that connect people to stories in unique ways,” Rose explains. “When we first meet with clients and collaborators, we help them realize that sound is around us all the time, changing and informing our perceptions.” Parallel’s installations include a sculpture in Seattle’s Kinects residential tower made up of more than 100 speakers mounted in a cascading pattern behind a white mesh screen and playing the natural sounds of rivers, streams, and waterfalls. For the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, Rose’s team mounted weathertriggered speakers on a lobby ceiling, their musical output determined by data streamed from a rooftop weather station. Other companies jumping on the sonic bandwagon include Nike, Adidas, and Nokia, all of which have incorporated work from Parallel Studio into either their offices, studios, or events. “Sound is primal and powerful,” Rose says. “If you want your space to tell a story, sound should be a considered element of your overall design.” h
PARALLEL STUDIO
IF YOU ASK MOST PEOPLE ABOUT DESIGN, THEY’LL TELL YOU IT’S SEEN, NOT HEARD. Pose that question to Ethan Rose,
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DESIGNERS ENTER THE THIRD DIMENSION WITH VR IT’S A RAINY MORNING AT A DOWNTOWN PORTLAND COFFEE SHOP WHEN I STRAP ON A VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET OFFERED TO ME BY MATTHEW SHAFFER, MANAGING PARTNER OF RADICAL GALAXY STUDIO.
A Bellevue, Washington-based virtual reality consultancy and creative studio, RGS helps architects, developers, and clients immerse themselves—virtually—in the worlds of their designs. Suddenly, the tiny café gives way to a 17,000-squarefoot house that I can digitally walk through and arrange with the touch of a button, redesigning rooms and swapping finishes to suit my tastes. With one click, wood flooring in a hallway becomes tile. With another, a granite countertop in the kitchen changes to quartz. “It’s that feeling of being there that you can’t get any other way,” Shaffer says. “When clients put on a VR headset, they are fully immersed in their future home, with all the materials and finishes built out exactly to their wishes.” Even the most seasoned professional can’t always anticipate how a building or interior will look or feel when completed, and once a structure has been realized, it’s often too late (or too expensive) to
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go back and revise. VR allows both architects and designers— as well as the people who will live and work in the structures they plan out—to fully experience a project before they even break ground. According to Shaffer, “It’s the best way to design any project and reduce change orders while saving clients time and money.” Until recently, users of VR and augmented reality (a sister technology that superimposes computer-generated elements onto real-world imagery) described their environments as not entirely, well, realistic. VR technology first emerged in the 1960s; two decades later, computer scientist Jaron Lanier founded the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves, and it has been studied by NASA at its Ames Research Center. Initially it offered only an experience similar to stepping into a video game. “Three years ago, when a consultant created a VR model for one of our projects, you would put on the goggles and sense that you were in a 3D space, but it was primitive,” explains Michael Tingley, a principal with Portland’s Bora Architects, a firm that uses VR to share designs with clients. “Now it feels like you’re really in the space.”
THIS PAGE: BORA ARCHITECTS; OPPOSITE: RADICAL GALAXY STUDIO
Written by BRIAN LIBBY
For developers and builders such as Lochwood Lozier Custom Homes in Redmond, Washington, the value of VR is its ability to help clients acclimate to their new environment. “So many people are not visual,” says the company’s president, Todd Lozier. “Looking at a set of 2D plans wasn’t doing it for them.” VR changed all that, he says. “Sometimes we’ve had clients view their project in VR and say, ‘Wow, that’s not what I expected the space to look like.’ But even then, it’s a good thing, because we can go back and adjust the design.” And while rendering a client’s home in 3D does incur additional costs, Lozier says the feedback from his clients has been that it’s money well spent. “More than anything, expectations are the number-one component of a happy relationship with customers,” Lozier says. “Being able to visualize the end product accurately makes it easier to move ahead.”While VR is providing creative solutions for clients, equally intriguing is its burgeoning role in initial stages of the design process. “If we’re in a conference room, looking at a model on a screen, we can see it in VR in a matter of minutes,” says John DeForest of Seattle’s DeForest Architects. “We can ask, ‘I wonder what it would be like if we
extended this overhang?’ and, once we design it in CAD, you can experience it in VR. It enables clients to evaluate spaces more intuitively, and also supports our mission of giving clients the tools to be active partners in the design process.” Despite the clear benefits of the new technology, some designers caution that virtual and augmented reality should not replace age-old visualization tools such as hand drawing and real models. “Working with physical models reveals things you won’t see in a virtual representation. There is an ability to scale, to convey specific information you want the client to focus on in a way that’s different from VR,” Bora’s Tingley says. “Keeping all those tools in the design kit is important. I can’t imagine a world where every decision is made solely through a digital method. It would impoverish the design process.” Even so, says Radical Galaxy’s Shaffer as he unplugs the pair of VR goggles from his laptop, “I’ve been on the road for the last year going city to city meeting developers and architecture firms. Just showing them what could be done with VR, and hearing their feedback, it’s just so clear this is the way the industry is going. The mouse trap’s gonna change.” h
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| tech |
PURE DESIGN
The brand-new Uno Collection of faucets by Axor was designed in collaboration with Phoenix Design—the renowned Stuttgartbased studio that just won the Red Dot: Design Team of the Year award. The sleek structures integrate technology into forms inspired by the Purism movement (spearheaded by Le Corbusier, among others). Available in 13 finishes, including rose gold, Uno is a bold step forward. From $645, available through Chown Hardware, chown.com. 
design forward See what the future holds for your next remodel. Written by STACY KENDALL
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Enjoy a shower that simulates the soaking deluge of a warm summer downpour. This contemporarystyle rainhead features innovative Katalyst air-induction technology, which efficiently mixes air and water to produce large water droplets and deliver a powerful, thoroughly drenching overhead shower experience. Let’s make your dream a reality. Visit your nearest showroom where our skilled consultants can help you recreate this look or design one of your own.
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| tech |
BOTTOMS UP
Dreamed up by two industrial designers, the slim Aarke sparkling water maker is for those who champion both form and function. Bubbly water is now an omnipresent thing, so it’s time to stop wasting cans and plastic water bottles and start pumping your own bubbles—each homemade one replaces up to 120 single-use plastic ones. $199 through Sur La Table, surlatable.com.
FIXTURE FIX
Drawing inspiration from the Bauhaus movement and the sculptures of Joan Miró and Alexander Calder, the new Balance fixture from Vancouver-based Archilume emits a warm, glare-free, dimmable glow—not something you’ll get from most run-of-the-mill cool-toned LED bulbs. Fans of softer conventional bulbs who also want the environmental merits of LED are now seeing the light. Price upon request, archilume.com.
MADE TO MEASURE
Getting to the heart of truly new faucet functionality is American Standard’s Beale MeasureFill Touch kitchen faucet. As the first on the market with measuring technology, a simple touch tells the faucet to release precise quantities of water up to 5 cups, and it offers a temperature memory setting, too. From $775 through Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery, fergusonshowrooms.com. »
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| tech | TOP OF THE LINE
The physics-defying Grid collection from Kallista is 3D-printed in a layerby-layer process that adds liquefied powdered steel bit by bit until the forms are complete. In a chic new matte black finish, the Grid faucet was inspired by the Dutch De Stijl movement—and it’s clear proof that art and tech can be successfully combined. Price upon request, through Cantu Bathrooms & Hardware, cantubathrooms.com.
TEXTURE ON TOP
Not every modern idea is hard-edged. Century-old surface master Formica has released dECOLeather, a durable and cost-efficient recycled leather veneer made from pulverized leather fibers sourced from car seats and tanneries. With the feel of a soft couch and the sturdiness necessary for commercial use, the material is stain- and waterresistant and comes in 18 shades and three textures. From $12, formica.com.
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Nothing’s worse than that first scuff on a recently painted wall. But now Benjamin Moore is cleaning up with the new, first-of-itskind Ultra Spec SCUFF-X line. Aimed at the commercial design-build industry, the onecomponent interior latex paint is engineered specifically to resist scuffmarks—and outperform its two-component competitors—in high-traffic office and retail environments. The cutting-edge formulation makes the line both low-VOC and eligible for LEED v4 certification. benjaminmoore.com.
Debuted at the CES 2018 consumer tech show, the new Kohler Konnect suite of voice-enabled showers, bathtubs, toilets, mirrors, and faucets is taking customization and convenience to a whole new level. Imagine using voice commands via Apple, Amazon, or Google assistants to tell your faucet to draw you a bath (complete with your preferred temperature and depth settings), or asking your vanity mirror to turn on makeup mode. And talking to your toilet? It’s not that strange if it means a touch-free experience. Numi toilet with Kohler Konnect, available early 2019 through Kohler Signature Stores by Keller Supply, kellersupply.com. h
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futurecast
“Many clients say, ‘This is what we want it to look like.’ These clients said, ‘Here’s how we want it to feel.’” —RYAN STEPHENSON, ARCHITECT
interiors + architecture
ANDREW POGUE
Inspired by the emotionally layered nuances in a playlist of songs from his clients, architect Ryan Stephenson designed a modern house on Washington’s Bellingham Bay that reveals new character around each corner and communes organically with the surrounding landscape.
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| interiors + architecture |
THE SOUND OF GOOD DESIGN Written by RACHEL EGGERS : Photographed by ANDREW POGUE
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Seattle architect Ryan Stephenson created this coastal Washington home for a spirited couple and their beloved dog. At left are the main living quarters; to the right are the detached garage and studio. Between them, a pocket view of distant islands beckons from the horizon. Stephenson and his clients— one of them a master bladesmith—bonded over their shared appreciation for the hands-on artistry of their respective crafts. They remain friends today (and even made a camp knife together). 
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| interiors + architecture |
“HOW DO I NOT RUIN THIS?” That was architect Ryan
Stephenson’s first thought when he arrived at a rural project site near Washington’s lush Larrabee State Park in the summer of 2014. Set on the coast and commanding an immense view of Bellingham Bay, the Olympic Mountains to the south, and Canada beyond the water, the plot called for a design that approached its aweinspiring natural beauty with care. In his potential clients, a lively couple in their 50s, Stephenson found kindred spirits. All three share an appreciation for superior craftsmanship and the humility, passion, and study that it requires. Stephenson launched his architecture firm, Stephenson Design Collective, in 2009, building up a portfolio of modern single-family homes, but a background in construction gives him a leg up in understanding the hands-on process of building a house. Similarly, one of the homeowners is a master bladesmith, whose exquisite knives are renowned for their design, balance, and utility. With mutual artistic respect as their foundation, Stephenson and the clients embarked on the three-year project. For inspiration, the couple sent him links to songs by Ray LaMontagne, Jeffrey Foucault, and Volcano Choir and a short film Minka, the elegiac story of an 18th-century Japanese farmhouse. “That’s not typical,” notes Stephenson. “Many clients say, ‘This is what we
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want it to look like.’ These clients said, ‘Here’s how we want it to feel.’” As Stephenson studied the songs and the film, they revealed new layers of nuance and meaning. He took the same contemplative approach to his design of the home, which consists of two units: the main house and a detached garage with a studio for the bladesmith. He framed the home in dark, untreated Corten steel, which will be allowed to rust naturally; he chose thin, blackstained cedar planks to clad the exterior. These elements will change over time, revealing unexpected new textures and colors as they age. The form of the home reflects the way that things grow: incrementally, in layers. “You never see the whole house from one angle,” Stephenson says. “It accrues.” A lot of the life of the home happens in the kitchen, which is centered around the chef-worthy Thermador range, set in a mega-island of white Caesarstone quartz, half of which is a detachable table that can roll out to the adjacent patio. Just as the clients’ lives are guided by a spirit of possibilities, so is Stephenson’s design; its textures and shapes are in continual conversation with the extraordinary natural surroundings. “The house doesn’t compete with the views but gently leads you to them,” he says. “You get individual moments. It’s a powerful feeling.” h
Nearly all the home’s rooms— living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms—look out onto sublime views of the bay, coastal islands, and faraway Canada. The clients are legendary hosts to a rotating cast of visitors; Stephenson and his family are regular guests at their cozy, conversationand-wine-filled evenings. But that’s not the only inducement to visit: “I like the rainy days, too,” he says. When the clouds and mist descend,“you sort of lose where you are. All you hear is nature.” The windows are from Zola Windows, and the railings are by Indeco Industrial Design & Equipment.
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The High Tide side of the Collective features a “depth chart” made of hanging wooden dowels that map the depths of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, designed and installed by local artist Blackmouth Design.
COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUS
Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Photographed by CLAY HAYNER
GROWING UP NEAR OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON, ALEX MONDAU, TOMMY TRAUSE, AND SCOTT BARBER SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS PLAYING IN THE WOODS, catching fish in Puget Sound, and hiking the seemingly endless miles of trails in the region. As they got older and their nature-related interests intensified—skiing, bouldering, and camping trips became the nexus of their friendship—the trio talked about creating a space for like-minded individuals to gather.
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“We were hiking and skiing, and within each of these sports is a really tight-knit community,” notes Trause, now vice president of innovation for ClubCorp, a company that owns and operates more than 200 private membership clubs around the country, including Seattle’s Columbia Tower Club. “We wanted to cross that community with the idea of a traditional private club, but make it less of a space with leather-bound libraries and mahogany shelves and more of »
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| interiors + architecture |
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
Hanging nest chairs and felt rock pillows provide varied seating in Alpenglow; bathrooms include spa-quality showers with in-wall speakers; the entry to Alpenglow features a mural by local artist (and the Collective’s first artist in residence) Mimi Kvinge.
an inclusive place where people come to just hang out and share ideas.” Born from more than 10 years of scheming, the Collective— owned by ClubCorp—is a private membership-based club, but the space, which opened last April in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, is decidedly unstuffy, boasting a youthful edge and amenities that include a bouldering wall, an artist-in-residence program, and a hammock garden. Designed by global design firm Gensler’s Houston and Seattle offices and built by BNBuilders, the Collective is divided into two Northwest-inspired sections: High Tide, a restaurant, bar, and lounge that draws its influences from the sea, and Alpenglow, a unique indoor recreation area. In High Tide, clusters of seating provide places for members to work or socialize, and a bank of alcoves offers quieter retreat. A custom wooden Ping-Pong table featuring an image of the Space Needle, a
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member-stocked library, and pieces by regional artists Kate Zessel and Mimi Kvinge add touches of city-centric flair. Alpenglow encourages camaraderie with a “campfire” (a gas fire pit from Design Within Reach) surrounded by wooden benches and cushions. While it might give phone-dependent millennials a dose of anxiety, the tech-free hammock garden is actually popular. For activity seekers, the bouldering wall offers 2,000 square feet of climbing routes that are rearranged monthly. “The Collective challenges the functional program of social clubs of the past,” notes Chad Yoshinobu, a principal, design, and studio director at Gensler’s Seattle office and principal for the project. “It liberates people from the ‘rule book’ of traditional social clubs and creates an atmosphere of playfulness and joy, which induces comfort between members and becomes the conduit of social interaction.” h
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| interiors + architecture |
BANKING ON DESIGN
Written by LAUREN MANG Photographed by CHRISTIAN COLUMBRES
HACKER ARCHITECTS’ DESIGN FOR THE NEW PORTLAND OFFICE OF ONLINE BANKING STARTUP SIMPLE WAS, WELL, SIMPLE. “No bells, no whistles,
and no Google slides” was the gist of the charge given to Hacker’s associate principal and director of interior design Jennie Fowler, who led the project. “They wanted it to be a comfortable, serene place to work.” The Hacker team decided to center their design process around the concept of home, an idea that guided each decision they made as they transformed the five-level, approximately 60,000-square-foot cross-laminated timber (CLT) office space, one of two southeast Portland buildings into which Simple expanded this year. Hacker’s goal was to create an environment rich in the “quirks and feelings of being in your own house,” says Ian Collins, Simple’s creative director. “We needed a place that was technologically advanced without being cold.” The building’s interior details, including glulam Douglas fir beams and ceilings, supply warmth through natural undertones of pink and blonde. White and gray accent walls guard against a stereotypically woodsy PNW look, and a pared-back material palette invites employees to personalize their desks and office spaces. “The simpler our design could be, the more everyone could bring themselves into the space,” Fowler says. Collins first canvassed employees to see what they valued most in their office environment and then brought what he’d learned to the Hacker team: Simple’s »
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Warm Douglas fir cross-laminated timber (CLT) beams and a Douglas fir nail-laminated timber (NLT) ceiling set the warm, minimalist tone of banking startup Simple’s new Portland office. Hacker Architects, which led the design, hung flame-retardant Trevira fabric scrims from Wolf Gordon on the beams to subdivide common spaces and muffle noise. Design director Jennie Fowler notes that the NLT boards, with their rough texture and natural gaps and holes, also help to diffuse sound, enabling the Hacker team to leave the ceiling exposed rather than covering it up with absorptive panels.
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| interiors + architecture |
“We needed a place with some of the quirks and feelings of being in your own house for our people both in Portland and working remotely across the country. It needed to be technologically advanced without being cold.”
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—IAN COLLINS, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, SIMPLE
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| interiors + architecture | CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Private phone rooms on the main floor near the kitchen feature German-milled gray felt-covered walls by FilzFelt. A series of double-sided islands in the large kitchen were constructed from white ColorCore plastic laminate from Formica and topped with Raw Concrete Caesarstone quartz countertops. Hacker modified an existing design of birch plywood communal lunch tables to accommodate casters, which were fabricated by Portland-based Superfab. Plush furniture, procured through Portland’s Pacific Furnishings, fosters a comfort-driven working environment.
employees wanted spaces that could accommodate a variety of working styles, from team-driven brainstorming sessions to individual report writing. Thus the new office strikes a balance between large communal spaces (each floor includes a sunken living room and benches constructed to look like glulam beams set on their sides) and smaller, more secluded working cubbies that Collins says are almost always filled with individuals and pairs working intensely while they converse. “It feels like a mellow, comfortable café setting,” he observes. Decorative accents include colorful
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rugs and furnishings as well as movable fabric scrims that are hung on high beams to draw sightlines upward. Staff can adjust the scrims to serve as room dividers in the open floor plan, to distinguish individual office space, and to absorb sound. The office celebrates different work styles and encourages employees to make themselves at home. “We are a fast-moving technology company in a challenging industry,” Collins says, “so keeping a balance between connected spaces and quiet, private workspaces is working well for us.” h
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31. NEWS Avenue Road Vancouver avenue-road.com Cisco Home Bellevue, WA ciscohome.net Hayon Studio hayonstudio.com Inform Interiors Seattle informseattle.com IDS Vancouver vancouver.interior designshow.com John Rousseau Design Summerland, BC johnrousseaudesign.com Moss & Lam Toronto Mossandlam.com TREE Tacoma and Bellevue, WA tree.co Wittmann wittmann.at 36. HOT NEW NEXT Geekey Woodinville, WA getgeekey.com Rainier Industrial Art Tukwila, WA rainier.com Concealed Studio Vancouver concealedstudio.com 45. PEOPLE Board & Vellum Seattle boardandvellum.com The Dynasty Room Seattle facebook.com/ dynastyroom East Trading Company Seattle Electric Coffin Seattle electriccoffin.com
University of Washington College of Built Environments Seattle be.washington.edu West of West Portland westofwest.com 65. FASHION DYNE Portland dyne.life Hodina Seattle hodina.co [-ization] Vancouver izationstudio.com Jane and the Shoe Seattle janeandtheshoe.com Korinne Vader Victoria korinnevader.com LaSalle College Vancouver lasallecollege vancouver.com Nike Beaverton, OR nike.com Poppyseed Clothing Tacoma, WA poppyseedclothing.com 79. URBAN DESIGN Annie Wright Upper School for Boys Tacoma, WA aw.org BLOCK Architects Seattle the-block-project.org Emily Carr University of Art + Design Vancouver ecuad.ca Facing Homelessness Seattle facinghomelessness.org Guerrilla Development Portland guerrilladev.co
Hacker Architects Portland hackerarchitects.com
Watershed Seattle watershedfremont.com
HCMA Architecture + Design Vancouver and Victoria hcma.ca
Weber Thompson Seattle weberthompson.com
Hemsworth Architecture Vancouver hemsworth architecture.com
97. TECH Aarke aarke.com
Holst Architecture Portland holstarc.com
American Standard americanstandard.com Axor axor-design.com
Ion Brand Design Vancouver iondesign.ca
Archilume Vancouver archilume.com
Katerra katerra.com
Benjamin Moore benjaminmoore.com
KPFF Consulting Engineers Seattle kpff.com
Bora Architects Portland bora.co
LEVER Architecture Portland leverarchitecture.com
Cantu Bathrooms & Hardware Ltd. Vancouver cantubathrooms.com
Michael Green Architecture Vancouver mg-architecture.ca
Chown Hardware Bellevue, WA and Portland chown.com
Mithun Architects Seattle mithun.com New Energy Works Portland and Farmington, NY newenergyworks.com Salmon-Safe Portland salmonsafe.org Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver, BC sfu.ca Stephen C. Grey & Associates Seattle scga.com Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver vanartgallery.bc.ca
DeForest Architects Seattle deforestarchitects.com Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery Multiple locations ferguson.com Formica Corporation formica.com Kallista kallista.com Keller Supply Bellevue, WA and Portland kellersupply.com Lochwood Lozier Custom Homes Redmond, WA lochwoodlozier.com Parallel Studio Portland parallel.studio Radical Galaxy Studio Bellevue, WA radicalgalaxy.com
Sur La Table Multiple locations surlatable.com 109. INTERIORS & ARCHITECTURE A+R Store aplusrstore.com Blackmouth Design Bainbridge Island, WA blackmouthdesign.com Blu Dot Seattle bludot.com BNBuilders Seattle bnbuilders.com Caesarstone caesarstoneus.com ClubCorp clubcorp.com The Collective Seattle collectiveseattle.com Design Within Reach Portland and Seattle dwr.com FilzFelt filzfelt.com Formica Group formica.com Gensler gensler.com Hacker Architects Portland hackerarchitects.com Herman Miller Inc. hermanmiller.com IKEA ikea.com Indigo Enterprises Northwest Inc. indigoenterprises northwest.com Indeco Industrial Design & Equipment Ferndale, WA indeco-usa.com Lapchi Portland lapchi.com
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| resources |
Mackenzie Architecture Portland mcknze.com
AD INDEX 78. Alchemy Collections Seattle alchemycollections.com
125. The Fix Photo Group Seattle thefixphotogroup.com
Malsam Tsang Structural Engineering malsam-tsang.com
60. BC Timberframe Company Squamish, BC bctimberframe.ca
130. Fleetwood Windows & Doors fleetwoodusa.com
Mimi Kvinge Seattle mimikvinge.com Pacific Furnishings Portland pacificoffice furnishings.com
123. Bedrooms & More Seattle bedroomsandmore.com 126. Bend Design Bend, OR benddesign.org
Pendleton Portland pendleton-usa.com
77. Bradlee Distributors Seattle bradleedistributors.com
Scholten & Baijings scholtenbaijings.com
58. Chown Hardware Bellevue, WA and Portland chown.com
Seattle Bouldering Project seattlebouldering project.com
115. Clarke & Clarke Mercer Island, WA ethnoarts.com
30. FM Distributing Seattle fm-distributing.com 132. Henrybuilt Seattle henrybuilt.com 4. Hive Portland hivemodern.com 8. IDS Vancouver vancouver.interior designshow.com 21. Inform Interiors Seattle informseattle.com 107. J Geiger Seattle jgeigershading.com
64. Matthews Fan Company matthewsfanco.com
125. Sound Originals Seattle soundoriginals.com
71. Milgard Windows & Doors milgard.com
96. Spark Modern Fires sparkfires.com
6. Montauk Sofa Multiple locations montauksofa.com 30. Neolith Neolith.com 105. Ocean Pacific Lighting Vancouver oceanpacificlighting.com 123. Paper Hammer Seattle Paper-hammer.com 20. Porcelanosa Seattle porcelanosa-usa.com 124. Provenance Hotels Portland and Seattle provenancehotels.com
Simple Portland simple.com
123. Clayhaus Portland clayhaustile.com
Stephenson Design Collective Seattle stephensoncollective.com
43. Design in Public Seattle designinpublic.org
91. Jeremy Bittermann Photography Portland bittermannphotography .com
37. Design Within Reach Portland and Seattle dwr.com
108. Kasala Seattle kasala.com
121. Designer Furniture Galleries Seattle Dfgseattle.com
103. Keller Supply Company Multiple locations kellershowrooms.com
121. Division Road Seattle divisionroadinc.com
107. Kodama Zomes Portland kodamazomes.com
27. Schuchart/Dow Seattle schuchartdow.com
35. Dovetail General Contractors Seattle dovetailgc.com
121. Kozai Modern Vancouver kozaimoderntrade.com
62. Seattle Design Center Seattle Seattledesigncenter.com
Superfab Portland superfab.com Thermador thermador.com Wolf Gordon wolfgordon.com Zessel Designs Whistler, BC zesseldesigns.com Zola Windows Seattle zolawindows.com
117. EuroChef USA eurochefusa.com 121. Everything is Full of Gods everythingisfullof gods.com 105. EWF Modern Portland ewfmodern.com
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12. Kush Handmade Rugs Portland kushugs.com 71. Lundgren Enterprises Seattle lundgrenenterprises.com 115. Maison Inc. Portland maisoninc.com
108. Ragen & Associates Seattle ragenassociates.com 131. Roberts Group Kirkland, WA robertsgroup.build 19. Roche Bobois Portland and Seattle roche-bobois.com 17. Room & Board Portland and Seattle roomandboard.com
39. The Shade Store Portland and Seattle theshadestore.com 125. SKAHA Vineyard Kaleden, BC krazelegs.com 87. Sotheby’s International Realty sothebysrealty.com
33. Spire Seattle spireseattle.com 77. Sub-Zero and Wolf subzero-wolf.com/seattle 117. Sun Valley Bronze Bellevue, ID sunvalleybronze.com 55. Tufenkian Portland tufenkianportland.com 13. Urban Interiors & Thomasville Bellevue and Tukwila, WA urbaninteriors.com 41. Victoria + Albert Baths vandabaths.com 123. Westeck Windows & Doors Seattle and Vancouver westeckwindows.com 2. Western Window Systems westernwindow systems.com 89. Zola Windows Seattle zolawindows.com
| market | THE ULTIMATE BUYER’S GUIDE
Christiane Millinger Handmade Rugs Unique rug gallery in Northwest Portland, featuring high-quality, handwoven carpets from around the world. All styles and prices including traditional, contemporary, tribal, and one-of-a-kind custom options. christianemillinger.com (971) 444-2440
Quake Furniture We pair organic concepts with innovative materials and finishes that celebrate the Pacific Northwest, creating functional and unique furniture for your home. quakefurniture.com or providehome.com
The Shade Store
SHIPWAY living design Contemporary furniture for the modern home. Proudly handmade in the Pacific Northwest from local and sustainable materials. Sign up for our mailing list to receive free shipping.
For more than 70 years The Shade Store has handcrafted the finest custom shades, blinds, and draperies available. With a wide selection of products, and over 1,300 exclusive materials, finding the perfect window treatments has never been easier. theshadestore.com (800) 754-1455
SHIPWAY.ca
SITTE Modern + SMG Collective Showroom collaboration in Portland. Now featuring modern chairs, custom rugs, artist procurement and wall coverings.
SwitzerCultCreative Introducing GRAY Award winner Neal Aronowitz in Vancouver at the Interior Design Show (IDS) Sept. 20-23, 2018. switzercultcreative.com (604) 736-3020
sittemodern.com
Modern Sustainable Luxury Urban Interiors William & Wayne
& Thomasville
“Tailored to the Trade” is a program Hunter Douglas at William created specifically for industry & Wayne, where great design design professionals, begins! Located in the Seattle with discounts on Thomasville, Center. OpenVancouver to the 1725Design West 3rd Avenue, | 604.736.3020 | showroom@switzercultcreative.com switzercultcreative.com Henredon,|Drexel, Bernhardt, trade and public. Broyhill and more. Call Ameena
SWITZERCULTCREATIVE™
williamandwayne.com (206) 762-2635
Malik for more information. urbaninteriors.com (425) 615-3090
graymag . com
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