You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2009.
We can’t seem to get enough of Seattle’s new citywide backyard cottage ordinance…
In addition to the two custom solutions we are currently working on we’ve also started up plans for a prefabricated backyard cottage. Designed to be trucked to your home and assembled in minimal time, this compact home is your ticket to instant gratification. If you are looking for a space to make art, stash guests on extended stays or earn a little rental income – look no further…
We are very excited to see this survey of Seattle’s urban community gardens, especially since the Interbay P-Patch is included as one of the case studies. Â The P-Patch is one of my personal favorites because of the impact it has had in strengthening this vital community, and has been instrumental in showing other neighborhoods how to implement their own community garden.
Further, the P-Patch really showed us just how satisfying working on these small pro bono projects can be. Since the P-Patch, we’ll donated about 5% of our yearly output to pro bono causes, including daycares, parks, and community centers and hope that we’ll have more opportunities to help concerned citizen groups visualize and build a better city.
Tags: communities, community garden, p-patch, pro bono design, Sustainability
Our installation just got linked on the Stranger’s SLOG.
Tags: Sustainability
The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has posted a new client assistance memo (CAM) to outline the citywide backyard cottage ordinance. CAMs are guides intended to help people navigate the building permit processes in the city of Seattle.
CAM 116B, Establishing a Backyard Cottage (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit)
“This Client Assistance Memo (CAM) explains the requirements and process for establishing a detached accessory dwelling unit (also called a DADU or mother-in-law unit) on an owner-occupied Single Family zoned lot in southeast Seattle.”
If you are considering building a cottage in your backyard it is still worth reviewing the DPD’s older, more comprehensive (but now somewhat inaccurate) publication: “A Guide to Building a Backyard Cottage in Southeast Seattle.”
We have been working on a house remodel in Sammamish for the last year and a half and it is finally closing in on completion, so I fiqured I post some construction photos from my site visit this morning. Â One my favorite elements is a screen porch off the dining room, partially because it is a great example of the client’s vital participation in the process, and part because it is going to be such a wonderful place to hang out. Â The screen porch was born in programming when we were discussing how half the family loved hanging out outdoors, but the other half hated the bugs. Â In order to keep the family together, the screen porch was the simple solution. Â Connected to the dining room via a large panel siding door, framed with care so that the structure is all exposed, it cuts to the soul of the house they wanted: Â engaged with the outdoors, family-centric, with a elegant simplicity that highlighted the materials and craft.
Next summer: the landscaping with a stairway that bridges across a simple water feature.
The family room is also starting to come together. Â The room has a band of 6′ windows that wrap around three walls with bench seats below, a slate fireplace, and a coffered ceiling. Â The bench seats will have leather cushions and storage underneath for games etc, making it the perfect cozy hang out spot.
Tags: materials
The big opening is tonight from 5 to 9, between 1st and 2nd just south of Pioneer Square–
Yesterday we hoisted the installation in place. While we still have to do lighting, the impact is great! From the end of the alley, the installation looks like a lonely cloud hovering there, and only once you get beneath it can you see the message “WASTE NOT.”
Tags: Architecture, Sustainability