We're looking forward to sharing our knowledge and supporting important causes at several industry and community events in April.
April 1-2, 2011 2011 WASLA Conference, Bellevue, Washington
Mark Sindell and Zack Thomas present the Bertschi School Living Building Science Wing and host a tour of the project for conference attendees.
April 14, 2011 Transit-Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State, Burlington, Washington
Don Vehige and David Cutler join Futurewise, Transportation Choices Coalition and Envision Skagit 2060 for a workshop, reception and exhibit on the TOC: Blueprint, kicking off a month-long display at the Burlington Public Library.
April 27-29, 2011 Living Future '11, Vancouver, B.C.
The founders of the Restorative Design Collective, Stacy Smedley and Chris Hellstern of KMD Architects, hatched the idea for attempting the Living Building Challenge at Living Future two years ago. Stacy, Chris and other members of the Collective join Mark Sindell at this year's (un)conference to present the finished project, the Bertschi School Living Building Science Wing.
Mark Sindell moderates "Evolving the Living Building Challenge: Urban Infill Projects of Tomorrow for the Youth of Today." Jon Hall joins as a panelist along with colleagues from Vulcan and Turner.
Along with other members of the Seattle 2030 District, David Cutler is a panelist on Enabling Resilient Communities: One Planet, Living Cities, and High Performance Districts.
April 29, 2011 Housing Development Consortium Third Annual Luncheon, Seattle, Washington
Chris Libby, Alan Grainger, Jeff Foster and other members of our affordable housing group support the efforts of Housing Development Consortium with a table at its annual fundraiser.
We were excited to see University Village featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal this month in "Anatomy of U Village." The article explores how the Seattle lifestyle center has evolved to become a well-loved community destination as well as one of the top performing retail centers in the country.
GGLO's Bill Gaylord has worked with University Village on numerous expansions and renovations since 1995 and shared some thoughts on how design for the human experience makes U Village a lasting success: "It's the attention to detail, the buildings, the amenities and the shopping environment. The spaces between the buildings create intimate gathering places and the pedestrian pathways and landscaping are integrated to create a seamless, quality experience." Bill and U Village coined the term "steppingstone buildings" more than 12 years ago to shorten the distance between buildings and parking, all to enhance the experience visitors have walking from store to store through the Village.
Part of what keeps U Village an interesting place to visit is the constant change, Bill says. "There's always something new at U Village, always something to watch - it keeps the visitor's experience active."
Bill mentioned the wider appeal of U Village as key to its popularity. "The Village serves the neighborhood as well as being a destination for the greater city. It's a place where moms bring their kids and meet friends, families bring their out of town guests. The proximity to UW brings students and other young people, and it attracts people from longer distances in the Puget Sound region, and even Asian tour groups."
Many years ago, before "lifestyle retail centers" became part of the shoppers' lexicon, Bill was asked to present a case study of University Village at the Canadian Urban Institute annual conference in Toronto. "What surprised me was how many people had visited U Village and enjoyed its unique built environment, designed with peoples' experience in mind."
Students in Dr. Nicholas Zaferatos' Planning Studio at Western Washington University used Transit-Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State, our collaboration with Futurewise and Transportation Choices Coalition, as a guide for their final project this quarter. Based on the various typologies of TOC communities outlined in Blueprint, students examined potential for urban infill development in Bellingham. The class will share their reports following study of six Bellingham sites at a presentation open to the public on March 8 at 6:30 p.m. in Bellingham's City Hall Council Chambers. Best wishes to tomorrow's planners on your presentations!
We're looking forward to sharing our knowledge and supporting important causes at several industry and community events in April. 
