This vertical big box shopping complex includes four stories of big box retail and eight stories of parking – creating a number of challenges. The designers broke the mold by designing a sign system that required retailers to abandon their typical internally illuminated plastic signs for signage that would become the skin of the building. For example, signs for Target and Best Buy were layers of painted, welded wire attached to a chain link wall and set in front of the building's corrugated metal wall. It is large in scale but doesn't dominate the landscape.
Designed to provide visitors of all ages with tools to assist them in understanding the design process of the building's architect, this exhibit space was conceived as an alternative to traditional art museums by allowing visitors to be hands- and minds-on, rather than passive viewers of art. The strong geometric qualities of the Gallery, trapezoidal in shape, necessitated exhibit structures that were simple and independent.
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Donor Recognition
This piece was commissioned for a new museum addition and is located in the entry pavilion. It has three programmatic components: as a sculptural piece located at the head of the grand stairs to the lower level exhibit space; as a screen for the café area beyond; and as a donor recognition piece for the museum's capital campaign. Titled Fire Lodge, the piece evokes the images of the region's Native American cedar bark lodge and fire pit, symbolic of a gathering place.
PCC Natural Markets have grown organically over 50 years into seven urban neighborhood stores. The design team helped them realize an opportunity not only to design the details of their newest store, but also to use the same elements in the redesign of their other existing properties and branded products. An entirely new logo and positioning were created.
The Jack, Will & Rob Center was built to commemorate the lives of three young brothers who perished in an airplane crash on Thanksgiving 1999. It is a gift to the depressed mill town of Camas, Washington, where the boys grew up, providing resources and affordable instruction in music, art, and computer sciences as each boy had a particular gift in one of the three areas. The challenge for the designer was to give meaningful expression to each emotionally charged idea, in a manner empathetic to the context of each architectural situation and all on a tight budget.
This installation is a unique collaboration between art and business—two distinctly contrasting disciplines at the University of Washington. The School of Art, Division of Design was commissioned to develop a permanent installation for Paccar Hall, their new campus neighbor and the home of the UW Foster School of Business.
University of Washington School of Art, Division of Design
VeloCity is a comprehensive system for helping convey information about bicycling resources to potential riders. Created by Erin Williams as her MFA thesis project in Visual Communication Design at the University of Washington, it focuses on urban bicycle commuting and uses the city of Seattle as a case study to test design and sociological conclusions.
To most residents of the Pacific Northwest, rivers and waterways are simply part of the fabric of the region—so omnipresent that their value and contributions to the region’s economic framework are often overlooked. For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, however, water is the lifeblood of its existence and estuaries are at the heart of its studies. This is reflected in the Corps’ new Seattle District headquarters, where Studio SC’s graphics program underscores the focus of the Corps’ work through a series of river-centric environmental graphics and wayfinding signage components.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center exhibition explains how and why the foundation was founded, and describes its work around the globe. Perhaps most importantly, it creates a personal relationship with the visitor, inviting them into a conversation about global issues, prompting questions and providing activities for them to explore how every individual can make a positive difference.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center exhibition explains how and why the foundation was founded, and describes its work around the globe. Perhaps most importantly, it creates a personal relationship with the visitor, inviting them into a conversation about global issues, prompting questions and providing activities for them to explore how every individual can make a positive difference.
Created through a collaboration between Olson Kundig Architects and Studio Matthews,
