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Susan Black and partners Jay Rood, Robert Harding and Chuck Warsinske have had significant marketing successes in the past year, including: a master plan for a new 300 acre regional waterfront park on Maury Island with King County; a cluster of projects in Pendleton, Oregon, including master planning for a city center river parkway linking a series of community facilities such as a Main Street gateway park; a family aquatic center; a series of interpretive landings and a pedestrian bridge over the Umatilla. SB&A completed a housing subdivision design for 200 homes in Sapporo, Japan; design for the first park in the City of Woodinville; a Seattle Water Department standpipe/pump station/park site; and a waterfront condominium development on Lake Washington. The firm is continuing design of Cottage Lake Park for King County.
Billings and work increased by 40 percent over 1994 at Susan Black and Associates, Inc.. Future work is expected to include additional overseas projects and collaborations with architects, engineers and artists.
Oakrock Landscape Architects, which moved recently to the Marshall Building, is gearing up for a very busy period in 1996-97 based on contracts now in design and construction or starting within three months. The current staff of three is expected to expand to five or six. This activity is in contrast to a lull in 1994-95 when projects stalled or failed to proceed after contract negotiation.
The firm concentrates on site planning and full landscape design services for housing, public facilities, community open-space, sensitive areas restoration and specialized play environments for children. Current projects include The New Ballard High School, Seattle; Burke Gilman Gardens Housing and Child Care, Seattle; Congregation Beth Sholom, Seattle; Presbyterian Ministries Assisted Housing, Leavenworth; Lake City Village Housing Redevelopment; Roxbury Housing Redevelopment, Seattle; Ashland Court Housing, Kirkland; Novelty Hill Road landscape and wetlands mitigation; Hutch Kids Day Care, Seattle; and Matthews Beach Park, Seattle.
Projects currently in construction include Seattle Vocational Institute/Lavizzo Park Plaza, Seattle; Tacoma Community College Bookstore and Pike Market Playground on the Pike Street Hill Climb in Seattle.
The firm was honored recently by a design award from the Washington American Society of Landscape Architects for the Lavizzo Children's Water Play Park for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation; in 1994 the firm received four design awards including ones from AIA Seattle and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.
In 1996 Oakrock Landscape Architects principal Barbara Oakrock, with designer Robin Hurst, launched a related company, Oakrock & Hurst, LLC, which specializes in the design and installation of urban architectural container gardens, principally rooftops and courtyards.
According to Oakrock, "This area of business expansion stems from an interest in and commitment to high quality living spaces in our denser urban areas. The new firm is a vehicle which addresses the landscape architect's typical desire to be in closer contact with and have control of the classic elements of the profession: specimen plant material in relation to architecture and the pursuit of an urban environment of beauty and tranquillity. "
The past year, Nakano-Dennis Landscape Architects has been busy on urban design, campus planning, recreation, and transportation projects.
Last year the firm completed the construction phase of International Fountain at Seattle Center and Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Washington. The firm also completed the master plan for two recreation projects: Redmond Watershed Preserve and Whatcom Creek Trail.
Nakano-Dennis has reduced staff from nine to seven persons in the past year due to a slightly reduced workload. However, the firm has recently signed several new contracts and expects to grow moderately over the next few years. New markets include additional recreation projects emphasizing trails and affordable housing .
This spring the firm will complete construction documents for the Mary Gates Hall at the University of Washington and the construction phase of South Rose Hill Park in Kirkland and the design of seven play areas for Seattle Housing Authority.
Future work includes the preliminary designs for Fairview/Olmsted Park and Central Area Trail/Judkins Park for the Seattle Parks Department, Washington State Convention Center Expansion, and the Larry Scott Memorial Trail in Jefferson County, Washington.
"We have seen the market for large scale transportation projects shrinking," said principal Dale Dennis.
But he is optimistic about the long range future. "The Pacific Northwest is a growing region and demands on the built environment are increasing. Many of our existing recreation facilities such as parks require upgrading and improvements. New parks and trail systems will be necessary for the growing population. Urban affordable housing and large scale mixed use developments continue to require site planning by landscape architects. A proposed regional transportation system will require the involvement of the landscape architect to mitigate environmental impacts and enhance the visual experience."
Anderson and Ray, Inc., has grown steadily in the time since it was founded two years ago. The five-person firm may grow by one or two people in the next year, according to principal Charles Anderson.
Resort, environmental interpretive and multi-family projects have provided most of the firm's work.
Anderson and Ray have been branching out geographically this year, finding an expanding market in the Southwest and Southern California for golf resort communities from 1,000 acres to 8500 acres.
The firm has made a specialty of designing with native plants, and written a manual called The Native Plant Alliance for Cascade Biomes, a native plant advocacy group.
"We've been doing a lot of multi-family projects -- especially related to CAD -- and interpretive gardens for the parks department.
Projects include Genesee Meadow enhancement plan, Seward Park interpretive Garden and Camp Long native plant interpretive plaza, and Schmitz Preserve interpretive trails plan in West Seattle.
The firm has designed landscaping for the Las Montanas Golf Course Community, east of San Diego, with a 90 percent natural plant palette.
The firm has added three people to the staff in the last year. The principals, however would like the firm to stay around six to eight in size, at least for the next couple of years.
Business is very good at Richard Carothers Associates. Ltd. The firm began 1996 with a 120 percent backlog based on 1995 volume -- which was the best year ever.
"We expect to add staff by mid-year," said Richard Carothers, president. "Additions will probably include people in each discipline (planning, landscape architecture, engineering and surveying. We expect to have 38-40 people by December."
Furthermore, Carothers expects to grow to 50 people within the next four years, with relatively equal distribution among disciplines.
A sampling of major projects in 1995 and 1996 include: a 96 acre corporate campus for Matsushita; a 635 acre land use master plan including a casino/resort complex for the Tulalip Industrial Park in Marysville; a mixed-use campus and casino for the Puyallup Tribe; the 1,153 acre Meridian Campus Planned Community, Lacey; the 128 acre Greenhill Technology Park in Eugene; the 445 acre Longview Industrial Park; Oak Creek Estates planned community in Albany, Oregon; Soos Creek Park & Trail, a 7.5 mile long trail and linear park for King County; Puyallup Riverfront Trail; the design of Barge Courtyard at Central Washington University in Ellensburg; and $4,500,000 in site improvements for the Boeing Everett plant.
"Business seems to be healthy both locally and nationally, with a growing respect for the profession (of landscape architecture)," he said. "In other parts of the U.S. it seems landscape architects take on greater responsibility for urban design and regional planning. However, over the last few years, there seems to be a gradual improvement here in the Pacific Northwest, with major projects occasionally being planned and managed by landscape architects.
"One challenge which is unique to the Puget Sound area, though present in some other areas, is our very stringent environmental codes and ordinances. You learn to deal with them, but the permitting process in this area is more difficult than most, and the lack of predictability, in turn, has had a major impact on development and construction costs," said Carothers.
Kobayashi & Associates has scaled back from seven to five staff members in the last year. "We have always had a few projects with a long range that were not affected by the general economy and several short range projects that would be," said Koichi Kobayashi, principal. "Last year we saw a decrease in the small scale, local projects. We anticipate an increase in local small to medium scale projects with a gradual upturn in the economy."
At the present, the landscape architecture and planning firm, which is located in the International District, is working on a preparation of landscape master plan and design guidelines for a university campus under redevelopment. Last year, the firm prepared landscape frame plans for two mixed use residential projects.
Kobayashi & Associates is heading toward forming a network of specialists to take on all the phases of a development project. A pool of loosely aligned specialists will form a team, as needs arises, to work from project concept to maintenance.
Working in the Puget Sound interesting for three reasons, according to Kobayashi: "The natural environment gives us pleasure, beauty, health, calm and inspiration. The cultural environment makes us aware of the variety, beauty, mystery, history and problems of the world." Finally, "The tough competition in our field of design in our region makes us maintain high standards in our works."
Last year Bruce Dees & Associates added another project manager, Mike Oechsle, to the firm, and welcomed Jane Newbold back to the professional staff, bringing the staff to seven members. In addition, Peter Hummel and Ruth Pasamonte were promoted to principals of the firm and Bruce Dees was inducted as a Fellow by the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Important projects recently completed include the landscape design for the U.W. Tacoma Branch Campus, the Crescent City (California) Landfill Closure Master Plan, Northwest Point Park for the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma, Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, the Celebration Park Master Plan for the City of Federal Way, and the Puyallup Sports Complex.
Already underway in 1996 are the design of the Thea Foss Esplanade in Tacoma, the Buckley to South Prairie segment of Pierce County's Foothills Trail, and master planning for Wapato Hills Park in Tacoma. The firm has also begun master planning and design for the new East Campus Athletic Fields, which will include the new Husky baseball stadium, for the University of Washington.
The firm expects to continue its emphasis on parks and waterfront projects. Continued integration of computers into the firm's work will also be a high priority this year -- particularly in the application of CAD to master planning, the use of more computer graphics in promotional pieces and proposals, and the use of the Internet for research purposes.
With an emphasis in visual mitigation, recreation planning, and ecological restoration, Osborn Pacific Group Inc. provides services for public facilities, including parks, transportation projects, DOD projects, school campuses, and hydroelectric and utility projects.
According to principals Linda Osborn and Marcia West, important projects for this past year have included: recreation planning, construction documents, and construction administration for the new 1,200-acre Lord Hill Regional Park; ecological restoration, including wetlands, riparian and reforestation, and landscape architecture for the City of Bellevue Lakemont Boulevard corridor.
EDAW Seattle is currently active on a wide variety of projects ranging from cultural resources studies to integrated resource management plans as well as a full range of GIS/Electronic Planning services.
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| The Harrison Hospital Roof Garden, by EDAW Inc., for Harrison Memorial Hospital. |
Some recent design projects include Hidden Springs, a 1,700 acre planned rural community in Idaho, the master planning and site design for the Shanghai American School in China as a subconsultant to NBBJ, Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton, and two hotel master plans for the ARAMARK Corporation in Denali National Park, Alaska. A recent win for EDAW is the Magnuson Park/NSPS Sand Point Design Guidelines and Design Services for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.
EDAW is now focusing on integrating its design, planning, and natural resource management disciplines. An example this synthesis at work is the City of Woodinville Community Plan, which had a primarily planning emphasis but also incorporated urban design, landscape architecture, and environmental planning. EDAW Seattle is currently engaged in a number of other cross-disciplinary projects that utilize the broad range of professional talent in the office.
A recent trend within the larger firm is the an increasing role in the international market place with the expansion of its national profile into a global practice. Not only has EDAW continued to expand its offices overseas, but domestic offices are focusing marketing efforts on international clients, including development groups, natural resources management agencies, the World Bank, and others that share or can benefit from a comprehensive view of environmental planning and design services.
EDAW, Inc. is over 50 years old and has 320 employees in 17 offices in the United States, Western Europe, Australia, and Asia.
In the 18-person Seattle office, which was established in 1982, planner Jill Sterrett oversees urban planning, environmental analysis, historic preservation, and cultural resources and landscape architect Robert Shrosbree directs landscape architecture, land planning, and urban design. Colleen McShane heads up biological sciences and natural resource studies
With its emphasis on integrating the life sciences, horticulture and ecosystem dynamics into public visitation and informal education projects, The Portico Group's niches have grown into exciting new areas. Libraries, botanic gardens, museums, and even corporate campuses and urban developments that are looking for "something beyond mowed lawns and rhododendrons" have all been added to the repertoire of projects.
Current projects include planning and design for: Washington State's Heritage Park; Washington Park Arboretum; Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Connecticut with Cesar Pelli Architects; and the Papua New Guinea National Museum of Natural History.
While the Portico staff has stayed constant at 25 during 1995, growth is anticipated in 1996.
Current challenges to the profession, according to Portico principal Becca Hansen, include the following:
"How can you help public clients create vision and leadership within increasingly divisive public sector projects?
"How can you design for and bid highly specialized public sector projects -- given today's permitting and bidding climate -- without compromising the design intent and quality of a project?
"How can you help clients understand and value the design process so that when they ask you to compress the process, they know what the compromises are?
"How can we work better, faster and smarter in response to our rapidly changing professional environment?"
Swift & Company Landscape Architects continues to develop a diverse practice with projects ranging from land reclamation to urban design. The firm's recent and current projects include the Seattle Center Pacific Science Court (a Washington American Society of Landscape Architects award recipient), the Discovery Park Habitat Improvement Project, and the University of Washington School of Fisheries Courtyard and Oceanography Laboratory.
As it grew last year to five landscape architects and designers, Swift & Company has continued a tradition of project research. Recent efforts include a biosolids demonstration project, the seeding of native trees and shrubs as part of a strategy for successional diversity, pursuing post construction monitoring of habitat improvements and the exploration of pigment colored concrete.
Weisman Design Group has maintained a stable size of eight professionals in the last year, and Michael Kleer has been nominated to the position of firm principal. The firm has comfortably integrated computers into the practice, and now has more computers than staff members.
Important current projects include: the first major office complex at Redmond Town Center; design work on Cavanaugh's hotel and restaurant in downtown Seattle, which includes courtyards and roof decks; design of Price Costco's new corporate headquarters in Issaquah; continuing work on the Poulsbo Place mixed-used development in Poulsbo; the rehabilitation of Metropolitan Park Towers in downtown Seattle; continuing work on landscape master planning for the next two phases of Canyon Park Business Center in Bothell; new schools for the Northshore and Port Angeles Districts; and school rehabilitation projects throughout the region.
Over the last year Weisman Design Group completed work on Washington Mutual Tower in downtown Bellevue, master planning on the Denny Sealth site in West Seattle for the Seattle School District, and numerous multi family housing projects at The Lakes in Kent for the Polygon Corporation. The firm received an award from the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the design of the A to Z Trail at On the Green in Tacoma.
Most of the firm's markets appear busy at this time, according to principal Mark Weisman. The Weisman Design Group has a backlog that will last into 1997. New strong growth areas for the firm include: site planning design and approvals on mixed-use projects in various jurisdictions; commercial development and client imagemaking; site planning and design related to sensitive areas and their treatment; site design and detailing related to multi-family housing; large shopping center projects throughout the western states; stand alone restaurants requiring a high degree of design input; and continuing work on school and field rehabilitation projects.
The Berger Partnership celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The firm has grown to fill and entire building at its Eastlake location with a staff of 21.
Berger added a fifth principal, Lennea Ferrell, last fall.
Significant recent and current projects include the Arrowleaf Resort, Methow Valley; Seattle Retail Core-Systems Block Redevelopment; Muckleshoot Tribal Housing; Nordstrom Westfarms, Connecticut; Seattle University Student Center; Sammamish Park Place Office Building, Issaquah; Everett Community College Master Plan; and the William H. Gates Residence. The Marvel Star/Iono Golf Course in Japan will open for play in July of this year.
Staffing and work loads have remained steady over the last year at The Berger Partnership.
This has been a record year in growth and billings for Brumbaugh & Associates of Kirkland. The firm specializes in private sector real estate development including office, industrial, retail mixed-use and multi-family projects.
Current projects include 1.5 million square feet of new office facilities for Microsoft, the new Dupont Facility for Intel, Harrison hospital's Silverdale Campus and the new Boeing headquarters in South Seattle.
The firm is working with Callison, HOK and ZGF on Microsoft office projects which are more dense and urban in nature as appropriate land becomes more scarce. Corporate clients are increasingly award of property management costs and environmental concerns and insist on design work sensitive to both.
Brumbaugh finds that the INternet and establishment of CAD as the production standard for landscape architecture allows the firm to efficiently coordinate with consultants nation-wide and compete for projects once limited to very large firms. Challenges in the Pacific Northwest include fierce competition among an overabundance of firms ad increasingly complex site issues as infill development occurs.
Principal Mark Brumbaugh is optimistic that 1996 will continue the growth trend of 1995, but sees lack of infrastructure improvements slowing development in the coming year. The staff is looking forward to reduction to five-day work weeks sometime this year.
Business has been steady with moderate growth at at WCA Northwest Inc., according to principal Cliff Willworth. The four person staff has seen an increase in productivity with the expansion and enhancement of CAD systems.
Recent projects include Lake View Park P.U.D. community in Kirkland and the Kirkland Municipal Cemetery expansion project. The firm is currently performing master planning and design services for Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue, a new memorial garden for Floral Hills Cemetery in Lynnwood and various cemetery projects throughout the Western U.S.
Worthy and Associates has grown slightly with the recent addition of another full-time landscape architect to the six-person staff, according to principal Steve Worthy.
Last year, Worthy and Associates' Seattle Street Tree Master Plan received the First Place Honor Award from the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The firm also shares the 1995 national first place (municipal category) in the Environmental Protection Agency's storm water award program with the King County Surface Water Management Division for a plan for the Soos Creek Basin capital improvement program.
Several new public projects are on the boards. The Three Forks Natural Area will provide sustainable access to regionally significant stretches of rivers, and the firm is at work on a nonmotorized transportation plan for the City of Auburn and a two mile Des Moines Creek trail connecting the City of SeaTac with the Des Moines waterfront and business district. Current projects also include shoreline improvements and master planning at Martha Washington Park in Seattle; continued work on Overlake and South Willows Parks in Redmond; streetscape design in Everett, Des Moines, and Mountlake Terrace; and the preservation of Gazzam Lake Park on Bainbridge Island.
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