Mithun […] will be a consultant on both the State Center Complex in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Great River Park Project in St. Paul, Minnesota. As large-scale exercises in urban redesign, the two projects couldn’t possibly be more different, so Mithun’s multidisciplinary researchers and designers will definitely have their work cut out for them.

Continue reading at MetropolisMag.com »

1940's garage becomes a modern event venue

“Conceived as a self-reflexive portrait of familiar/personal alienation, theses pieces became for me
a meditation on the supports we build because we must: uneasy attempts at stability, built rapidly
and often shoddily for perceived needs of the moment.
This series explores my sense of vertigo as crisis—reading movement where there is none, not
knowing up from down—and also as something which opens the possibility of lightness, of the
uncertain potential of losing stability.
The fabrics used here—collected from my own and my family’s clothing—play with familiarity
disguised, the original traits present but distorted, obscured and made distant.”

-Julia Freeman

Show dates: July 1st – August 12th, 2010 p.

Visit Julia’s website

THRESHOLD is a space for creative inquiry and exposure showcasing local and regional art in a variety of mediums. As architects, we believe art can influence and shape ideas in the built world. Of special interest is work that demonstrates innovative vision with an awareness of current issues. We choose to use our lobby as an ever-evolving transition space open to all kinds of circumstance and creativity.

THRESHOLD is open 8am-5pm…..Mon-Fri…..exhibitions cycle every 6 weeks

Artist Inquiry…..contact: cristinab@mithun.com

Growing concerns around climate change and economic uncertainty render the upcoming decade a pivotal time in history. The Congressman predicted that the world is about to engage in a “second technological adventure,” the first having been the challenge of sending a man to the moon. With China and several European countries making strides in energy efficient technologies, Inslee was asked whether the U.S. is in a political climate to compete for market leadership. Likening it to the Kentucky Derby, he stated that “we are still in the starting gate” – the first step being the passing of the Clean Energy Bill, currently pending in the Senate. According to Inslee, the bill would move the U.S. economy away from coal, oil, and energy wasted on inefficient buildings while creating new green collar jobs.

Describing architecture as a “higher professional pursuit” with a “noble purpose”, Inslee emphasized the integral role of architecture in creating a clean energy economy. Citing Mithun’s projects IslandWood and Lopez Island’s Common Ground as examples, Inslee stressed the need for more efficient building codes and economically, environmentally and socially sustainable design. Policy, he stated, is integral to incentivizing green building practices. He advocated for rebate programs to retrofit existing homes, more transit oriented development, and questioned why, if cap and trade worked for sulfur dioxide, would it not also work for carbon dioxide? Net-zero homes having become common in Germany, Sweden, and Japan shows that making these practices affordable is achievable by changing perception and thus, market conditions; more demand drives up the competition, resulting in more affordability.

His visit coming just days after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Congressman, a proponent of alternative energy, pointed out that, “when there’s a windspill, no one gets hurt”. Investments in alternative energy being critical to jumpstarting the economy, he identified the biggest obstacles to progress as the fear of failure to solve the existing problems and of not being able to create jobs in new industries. Inslee remained confident about the U.S. ability to innovate. “Americans”, said Inslee, “have always done well in times of transition”, but emphasized the importance of timeliness of making moves this year. As China moves toward dominating the clean energy space, he warned that “we’ll be trading our addiction to Saudi oil for an addiction to Chinese lighting.”

The Cascadia Green Building Council recently announced its 2010 Cascadia Fellows, including Mithun CEO and President, Bert Gregory, FAIA. The Cascadia Fellowship is awarded annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to the green building movement either regionally or nationally, and are recognized leaders within the greater green design community. The Fellows embody Cascadia’s conviction that individuals and organizations can lead a transformation of the built environment by acting as levers and catalysts for change.

Below are the recipients of the 2010 Cascadia Fellowship:

Peter Dobrovolny
Jack Hébert
Mark Edlen
Bert Gregory
Blair McCarry

View the Press Release here

“Ancient stone tools, ritual objects, architecture and forms from nature are the inspirations for my sculptures and sculptural vessels. I am attempting to carve out my place as a contemporary object maker, with honor and deep respect for those who came before. The carving on all my pieces is the result of a lifelong exploration of line and pattern.”
-Larry Halvorsen

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 20th from 5-7pm

Show dates: May 20th – June 30th, 2010

Visit Larry’s website

THRESHOLD is a space for creative inquiry and exposure showcasing local and regional art in a variety of mediums. As architects, we believe art can influence and shape ideas in the built world. Of special interest is work that demonstrates innovative vision with an awareness of current issues. We choose to use our lobby as an ever-evolving transition space open to all kinds of circumstance and creativity.

THRESHOLD is open 8am-5pm…..Mon-Fri…..exhibitions cycle every 6 weeks

Artist Inquiry…..contact: cristinab@mithun.com

OLÁ AQUI É RON DOS MEDIOCRES E VOCÊ OUVE ROCK HISTÓRIA NA CRUZEIRO FM. [translates to: "hi, here is Ron The Mediocres and you are hearing Rock Historia on Cruzeiro FM"]

1. How many people in The Mediocres. Names and instruments. We have 6 band members. Bill and Jay are our guitar players. Bill usually plays rhythm on both the acoustic and electric guitar, while Jay is our lead guitar player. Uwe is our bass man and is originally from Germany. Cristina and Stephanie are our singers. Cristina is our lead singer and is from Spain. She lived in Galicia so speaks a small bit of Portuguese. Stephanie is our back-up singer, but also leads some songs. I am the drummer and the manager. I hate the management part, but everyone else is too lazy to do it. Pete is our sound guy and road manager. He also makes sure we stay happy and don’t kill each other. We used to have a full horn and percussion section, but we had to fire them because there were too many people to manage and the gigs didn’t pay enough.
2. About song, influences. Well, we consider ourselves a very eclectic band and each one of us brings a variety of influences. Sometimes we make a great music stew together with all the different ingredients. Sometimes it is inedible. Bill and Stephanie are really into the softer songs that highlight the tight harmonies. I grew on R&B and soul so I love to get the heavy groove going. Jay is our resident band punk rocker. Uwe is a classic rock and roll blues man, and we are still trying to figure out what Cristina is.
3. The rock and roll in USA – tell us about it. Keep strong or the r&b and rap have more success. For example, here in Brazil r&b and rap all day on radios and MTV. Others radios in my city have, sertanejo (brazilian country), samba, axe music,brazilian pop rock, MPB. * Wow, how much time do you have to answer that question? At the end of the day, it all comes down to Rock for me. Styles come and go, bands come and go, hits come and go, but Rock is timeless. My 16 year old son listens to just about every new kind of music, but he LOVES the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and he just discovered ZZ Top. When he listens to too much new music I always say to him, “at least listen to music that is played by real instruments!” So much of the new music around the world is created by a guy on a lap top pushing buttons. Wow, I sound like a rock-n-roll grandfather, don’t I?
4. The Mediocres know Brazilian music or Brazilian rock? Now Americans love the Brazilian music-and women. We don’t hear it much on the radio, but it has really influenced soul music, disco and jazz. We actually sing several Latin songs in our performances. Not exactly Brazilian but close! Now you might throw tomatoes at me for saying that. It’s funny because sometimes Cristina forgets the words to our Spanish songs and just makes stuff up, but only a few of us can tell. The audience certainly can’t. Brazil is such a rich place for music. Some of my favorites are Gilberto Gil (of course), Jobim, Mamonas Assassinas, Skank, Roberto Carlos and a bunch of others I can’t spell or pronounce.
5. How many places, u played? Cities and countries. Well, if you can get us a gig in Brazil, then that makes 2 countries so far! We have played here in the states, and our music gets around because of the internet, but we are really more local. Anyway, we are all married and our spouses would divorce us if we went on the road too long. And we can’t leave the country because the US government might not let a mediocre band back in!
6. Tell us about the new album. We recorded that album in the old school method. We did very little overdubbing and only did a few takes for each song. We also did very little engineering. We wanted it to sound fresh and raw, like we are. There are actually small mistakes that we can hear when we play it back. It makes me cringe, but then again, that is what a live performance is like. You just keep going. We have so much new material that we need to get into the studio again. Heck, I just bought a new drum set so I have to hear how it sounds recorded!
   

Ellen Ziegler’s ambitious drawing series evokes the visual and auditory hallucinations that occur during the period between waking and sleeping, known as the “hypnopompic state”.

Drawings are made on asphalt roofing paper (tar paper) with metallic pigments and other media. The smell of tar evokes for Ziegler the primeval ooze of the La Brea Tar Pits in her native Los Angeles, where dinosaur bones continue to be excavated. This underground source of fossils, fuel and prehistory is analogous to the upwelling of images from the unconscious mind.

The installation in the gallery stairwell alludes to the crossover between architecture and the work of the artist. Tar paper is a commonplace, unremarkable and “base” building material; Ziegler finds metaphorical richness in it by mining her psyche for associations. In addition, “its rough, black smelliness, cheapness, and endless linear dimension makes it a manic draftsperson’s dream.”

Ziegler is represented by SOIL Gallery, Seattle, Washington

Visit Ellen’s website

THRESHOLD is a space for creative inquiry and exposure showcasing local and regional art in a variety of mediums. As architects, we believe art can influence and shape ideas in the built world. Of special interest is work that demonstrates innovative vision with an awareness of current issues. We choose to use our lobby as an ever-evolving transition space open to all kinds of circumstance and creativity.

THRESHOLD is open 8am-5pm…..Mon-Fri…..exhibitions cycle every 6 weeks

Artist Inquiry…..contact: cristinab@mithun.com

In an energetic and inspiring day, hosted by Mithun, we heard from over 40 presenters and panelists on an amazing range of potential solutions, guiding principles, and significant hurdles to achieving carbon neutrality.

Ideas such as the Climate Benefit District will be key for communities and neighborhoods to begin to take action.

It is clear that there is a ton of exciting work being done locally to promote ideas around cities and climate change. Fostering an integrated discussion about how we can help Seattle reach a shared goal of climate neutrality is a key first step. Let’s keep the conversation going.

Bringing this many minds together for a day of sharing ideas and promoting action is a key step to making Seattle a carbon neutral city.

Read about the event on WorldChanging.com

View photos of the event on Flickr

The Puget Sound Great Hall at the newly expanded "Seattle Aquarium":http://www.seattleaquarium.org was designed to be a flexible exhibit space during the daytime and a sophisticated event space for catered evening events. Even though Seattle benefits from a temperate year round climate and the building was designed for natural cooling and ventilation, engineering studies indicated that late afternoon temperatures in during July and August would reach the mid-80s and beyond. The Aquarium leadership team determined that this would be unacceptable for summertime weddings and other formal events during this time of year, and instructed the design team to research energy efficient ways to provide mechanical cooling for the space. Continue reading »

It all began with a phone call from a former client here in Seattle saying that someone from India had visited their private school and expressed interest in developing a similar school in Mumbai. Since he was so impressed with the design of the school in Seattle, he wanted us to be the architects for his new school in India!

Do these things really happen? – In India, they do. Continue reading »

Historically, there have been two types of campuses: the self contained “ivory tower” model, which is derived from the isolated monasteries of the Middle Ages, and the more complex, integrated campus, which originated in the Renaissance when artisan and merchant guilds assimilated themselves into the vital, increasingly industrial, urban communities. Most urban campuses today are a synergistic combination of both, providing a rich environment for students, faculty, staff and adjoining communities. Continue reading »

IslandWood (formerly the Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center) is an educational campus that provides young people with a deeper understanding of the natural environment through hands-on project and outdoor field experience. Continue reading »

Ten years after moving into a renovated pier on Seattle’s waterfront, Mithun’s office continues to act as a living laboratory for sustainable strategies.

Besides extensive use of reclaimed and recycled lumber for the tenant improvements, the 36,000-square-foot Pier 56 serves as a showplace for Mithun’s deep green design approach. Operable clerestory windows run the length of the building, admitting daylight and sufficient ventilation for the office to take full advantage of natural cooling during summer months. The design also features durable, salvaged wood and low-VOC finishes throughout in the oriented strand board flooring, open frame office partitions, and solid core doors.

Continue reading at Eco-Structure.com.