We've completed the first community design workshop for the Sunset Substation pocket park and we've started a blog for the project at www.SunsetSubstation.org.  The results of the workshop are posted here and you can read a write up from the Ballard News tribune here and another article from KOMO's neighborhood blog here. Now that we have some community input, we can start shaping their unique goals for bringing solar power generation and community space together.

In other news, Stefan is working through designing a micro-hydroelectric generation station for an eco-retreat/outdoor recreation center and meditation retreat in Colorado, and should be posting an introduction to the project and more information about micro-hydro.  Suddenly, we have a lot of projects which have some active or passive alternative energy components--very exciting stuff.

Tim is leading the charge on backyard cottages.  We have two custom cottages currently in design, and another design which will be available as a prefab.  We're finalizing the pricing, so we will have a more comprehensive information available soon.

We're also working with a homebuilder  to develop a series of spec homes bases on a fusion of asian design, modern spaces and out of the norm materials (see image above).  We're especially excited because the house's function emphasizes a series of landscapes integrated into living spaces, so we'll have courtyards, pocket gardens, and salad gardens for growing your own vegetables off the kitchen.  Our big presentation is on Tuesday so I'll post the schematic renderings afterwards.

Finally, this is the last weekend to see our WASTE NOT installation in the alley east of First Avenue, south of Occidental Park.  Anyone need 2500 2 liter bottles?

While a bit delayed by seasonal colds, office deadlines, and the holidays - much appreciation to Tim and Diana for hosting a fantastic CAST dinner last night. Fun was had by all - with an especially enthusiastic kids table leading the charge. Further raising the culinary bar for our quarterly dinner - good food, wine and great company was enjoyed by all - thanks everyone!

Good turnout for the Phinney Ridge Home Fair.  I spoke to a few friends who had exhibited and the consensus was that the outlook for 2010 was pretty good.  Their anecdotes reinforced my feeling that we'll see a bounce in work and the industry will get back on track (although not the bubble-hot track we'd been on).  Since architects are the canaries in the construction coal mine, it was great to hear other design professionals seeing the uptick in new projects that we have been seeing. Also, I wanted to hit one point I missed in my presentation about How to Work with an Architect - taking the first step:

As part of the interview process, get the architects that you are interested in out to your house, your site.  It is critical to get their impression of your project, and plus in talking through the project on site you'll get a window in to how they process information, how they work, communicate and if they have good ideas right off the bat.

We offer the first consultation free of charge, of course, because it is also critical for us to get an understanding of the project, the challenges, and get to know you as a client.

If you have additional questions about things I said in the presentation, or topics I didn't have time to cover, please email me at matt@CASTarchitecture.com and I'll be happy to address them!

We're looking forward the annual Phinney Ridge Home Fair this Sunday, the 31st, from 10 am to 4 pm.  Usually we have a table there, but we jumped on it a little too late. I'll still be there.  In fact, I'll be giving a little talk on How to Work with an Architect to help people looking to build understand the role of the architect, and the design process.  I'll talk about how to select an architect, how much it will cost, and go in deep about what to expect every step of the way.

If I'm lucky there'll even be time for some questions!

Starts at 1:50 and runs to 2:30. I'm going to hang out afterwards as long as there are curious minds with questions.

In case you can't make it, I'll post the handout that goes through the process afterwords.

The Seattle channel recently interviewed myself and CAST clients Kate Lichtanstein and Ric Cochrane regarding the backyard cottage we are currently working on together. They included our project in a broader story that profiles an owner of a recently completed backyard cottage and gives a basic outline of the new Seattle backyard cottage ordinance.

Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

We are very excited to begin a new project for the Sunset Hill neighborhood to transform an abandoned City Light substation parcel into a pocket park.  Based on the input from the community thus far, the program is very intriguing:  a community space with an artist-in-residence caretaker, powered by a serious photovoltaic array. There may be more or different elements as the project evolves in the community design process, and as we navigate through various City agencies and funding sources, but fundamentally this has all the values we expound as a firm:  sustainable building, energized public space, housing options/density, and  an interactive process that invests people in the civic life of their neighborhood.

In 2008, I designed a structure with a similar program for a Dwell Magazine conceptual competition:

Set at the east end of Crissy Field in San Francisco, this Community Room/Exhibit Hall creates an anchor for a new sculpture park. The hall is a multipurpose space, more infrastructure than building--for public events, private events, exhibits, etc. The glass sliding panels open the hall to the public, the park and the views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A small caretaker's residence is situated on the second floor, using the broad roof of the Community Room as a vegetable garden, eliminating the conflict between the public park and the private residence. The glass screen walls provides security, and electricity--the design on the glass is created with a photovoltaic interlayer, which powers the house and hall. Stormwater is captured, stored and used to irrigate the roof garden.

While this little conceptual project may help to inform the Sunset Substation, I'm excited to apply some of this experience in designing a real world pocket park.

Stay tuned....

Our installation just got linked on the Stranger's SLOG.

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."

We just heard that another one of our projects is going to be featured in Fine Homebuilding Magazine! The Artalejo-Lacas Residence is a 'zen craftsman'--traditional bungalow massing with some really wonderful spaces inside and details inspired by Japanese vernacular houses.

The project will be in the annual Houses issue--which is, well, especially cool because only a handful of houses nation wide make the cut.

The ordinance  to allow backyard cottages in the other three quarters of Seattle just passed 9-0!  The council's comments focused on the exhaustive community outreach, successful pilot program and benefit of having this housing choice for Seattle. Excellent work by the planning commission, DPD and council.

Usually, the city's process oriented decision making can be cumbersome, and having spent hours in meetings, testifying, and communicating with council, I feel vindicated that our involvement has helped in some small way to bring some innovation to the Single Family zoning.

We're excited to design some of these--in part because of the opportunity to foster multi-generational housing, and the option of building a smaller free standing structure rather than building an addition.  Plus, it is a really fun scale--I think more people will be thinking about bonus studios rather than housing units.

I would like to take a moment to welcome Parkour Visions, our new building mates, to our corner of Freelard. We've always tried to keep a fun group of creative folks in our building and I think we are set to continue the trend.  This weekend Parkour Visions had their grand opening, and all of us at CAST are looking forward to getting to know Rafe and Tyson better as we take them up on some lunch time workouts!  There has to be some form of symbiosis (or karmic irony) that an architecture firm and a Parkour gym are sharing the same building, but we are all excited to find out what it is like to play more directly in our built environment!

Thanks to Stefan for hosting our seasonal CAST dinner.  Great food and a big turnout, and it felt like some of the events we hosted pre-construction industry implosion.  We had a lot to celebrate:  our 11th year in business, and some great new projects on the boards, such as Vagabond Ranch,  the Causey's Learning Center expansion, and Zander and Megan's new house, plus welcoming aboard Forrest Murphy, our latest collaborator.