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 »

“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

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.

The Taylor 28 project originally targeted basic LEED® certification—receipt of Silver certification is a significant achievement, given the project’s schedule and budget constraints. Reaching Silver level results from the exceptional effort the team made to find creative and pragmatic solutions that fit the unique circumstances of the site and building. The project also closely reflects the mission that drives the developer, BRE Properties; to provide highly desirable communities in which residents and commercial tenants can live and work, and to support a thriving green lifestyle within a dense urban framework.

Stemming from site constraints created by the Denny Way corridor and the absence of a Neighborhood Planning Area guideline, a critical goal for the project was to assess opportunities for reconnecting this unclaimed community and enhancing the public realm. The project turns what would be a typical sidewalk zone into a vibrant pedestrian open space system. This new open space system defines this neighborhood as a destination; reconnecting it to Belltown, Uptown, the Seattle Center and South Lake Union.

Green infrastructure components, considered integral to the streetscape design, achieve sustainability across the spectrum of social, ecological and economic success. Strategies to rebalance the neighborhood’s ecological footprint include rainwater infiltration, urban heat island reduction, improved air quality, carbon reduction, urban tree canopy restoration and fostering urban habitat.

The Mithun design team (Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning) included Jim Bodoia, Max Anderson, Mat Lipps, Dave Pawlowski, T Frick, and Sara Raab. The consultant team included Chris Webb, PE (Stormwater Specialist); Brightworks (Sustainability Advisor ); Bush, Roed & Hitchings, Inc. (Civil Engineering); Golder Associates (Geotechnical Engineering); Heffron Transportation, Inc. (Traffic Engineering); Interface Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical Engineering); Yu & Trochalakis, PLLC (Structural Engineering); Faulkner Design Group (Interior Designer); Scott AG (Signage Designer).

A few of the notable elements of this project include:

• Downtown, Mixed-use, Infill Development – BRE Properties redeveloped an existing downtown site for Taylor 28 to promote density, provide access to public transit and community resources, and remediate site contamination. In addition to ground floor retail, residents also have access to a fitness center, outdoor courtyards and gathering spaces, and a business center.
• Alternative Transportation – In order to reduce residents’ dependence on cars, the project is located along the dense urban grid network of bicycle routes, major metro bus routes, and Seattle’s unique Monorail. The design includes bicycle parking for both residents and retail customers and preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles.
• Stormwater treatment – Zero discharge for both on-site and right-of-way rainwater at the sidewalk level are designed for the 25-year storm event. Strategies for achieving the goal included the use of permeable concrete, planting areas designed as urban rain gardens and an on-site 16,000 gallon cistern that slowly releases rainwater quantities via a “smart” irrigation system and non-residential toilet flushing, minimizing water leaving the site through an over-burdened CSO pipe system.
• Rainwater Capture and Reuse – Rainwater from the roof, stored in the cistern, is used for 100% of the rain garden irrigation, as well as to flush toilets in the retail areas. Using rainwater for irrigation reduces the use of potable water for this purpose by over 58,000 gallons annually. Over 64,000 gallons of rainwater are used annually to flush toilets in the retail areas, representing an annual reduction of potable water use of 67%.
• Water Efficiency – High efficiency dual flush toilets and other fixtures, such as low flow shower heads and aerated faucets in bathroom and kitchen sinks, decrease overall building water usage by 31%. Relative to standard fixtures and no rainwater reuse, this represents an overall savings of 1.1 million gallons per year.
• Energy Efficiency – The project implemented numerous energy efficiency measures, including the use of Energy Star appliances, higher efficiency mechanical equipment, high performance windows, and user actuated lighting was installed in common building spaces.
• Urban Heat Island Reduction- Installation of more than 40 new trees for pavement shading, use of high-albedo paving and roof materials. 100% of the parking placed below grade, reducing heat island effect as well as toxic runoff.
• Green Power – The project purchases green power to cover 70% of the project’s electricity load.
• Healthy Occupant Experience – The design maximizes daylight in many of the spaces; thermal comfort and lighting controls are provided; the entire building is non-smoking; and construction practices and finishes were selected to minimize the contamination of indoor spaces with pollutants.
• Responsible Material Use – The project construction team diverted 68% (3,800 tons) of the construction waste from landfills and used 12% recycled content and 21% locally-sourced and manufactured materials.
• Transforming a car focused corridor into a public destination – Taylor 28 establishes a new urban design standard for the City of Seattle by returning underutilized roadway width to the community for pedestrian-friendly, public use. The project is one of the first residential, mixed-use developments within a transitioning neighborhood near Seattle Center. Approved for the entirety of Taylor Avenue, the elements introduced by this project include the first of a series of intersections between green-street and plaza-street; the first of its kind for privately funded streets designed as open space within the City of Seattle.
• Quality of space – The project provides an attractive, vibrant pedestrian experience with thoughtful detailing throughout. Taylor Avenue serves as a magnet into the neighborhood, providing a strong sense of place that encourages walking and community interaction within the outdoor spaces and a convergence between the residential and commercial uses. Eyes onto the street through retail spill-out and residential entries create a 24-hour use interaction that results in an exciting, safe place within the neighborhood. User connection with nature within this urban, built environment elevates the human spirit and connection to place.

TreeHugger hasn't covered a lot of single family houses this year, even if they are green to the gills; they are rarely in urban settings, often expensive and not good poster children for how we are going to have to design our communities in the future.

[...] Preston at Jetson Green shows us the coolest little project that I have seen in a long time. It's affordable housing for working people in the San Juan Islands, some of the most expensive real estate in the country, built by the Lopez Community Land Trust and designed by Mithun.

Continue reading The Year In Green Modern Homes or skip straight to Green Net-Zero Energy Housing by Mithun Shows How It's Done, both by Lloyd Alter on treehugger.com. The Lopez Community Land Trust project has also been featured on Jetson Green, most recently in the article 62 Innovative Green Homes of 2009.

What makes great public spaces work? And what makes some public spaces “greener” than others? The National Building Museum’s Great Green Places video series looks at the specific elements that make certain public spaces so successful.

There are 11 videos as of this writing, including Mithun’s Taylor 28 project video. Check them out!

The green features in this building reflect Mithun’s widespread commitment to sustainable architecture as well as what is becoming the norm in LEED and even some non-LEED projects: geothermal heating/cooling, sun-shading (largely dictating the building’s appearance), stormwater collection and reuse, regional materials, recycled materials. It is a straightforward building executed skillfully and thoughtfully, educating the residents about sustainability as much as their classes.

A weekly dose of architecture, written by John Hill, looks at contemporary architectural works with architectural and/or cultural significance. The broad focus of the articles is the ideas embedded within the works.

Read the full article and view an image gallery at archidose.org