The public call for entries to represent the US Pavilion PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity at the Venice Biennale 2025 went out in December 2024. Affiliate Associate Professor, Susan Jones, FAIA submitted the 2,000 SF project her firm, atelierjones, designed for the Maidu Greenville Rancheria, The Roundhouse Council.
“It was a deep honor to be asked to represent the United States at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2025.”, said Susan Jones, FAIA, Principal Architect, atelierjones.
Completed in late 2024, the Roundhouse Council is a 2,000 SF project that rebuilds the Maidu Youth Education Center that was burned in the Dixie Fire of 2021, in Greenville, California. The project was a model in participatory design, conceived together over a kitchen table in Greenville, with members of the Roundhouse Council—Mary, Harvey, Charlene, Danny, and Shelby—sharing stories, images of traditional Roundhouses, and sketches together.
Designed in a short 5 months, it was built the following year, by Lights Creek Construction, using mass timber panels from Washington State’s Vaagen Timbers, made from approximately 100 Douglas Fir trees from Washington State. Rising literally from the ashes, the design process was facilitated by the local community non-profit, The Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, led by Jonathan Kusel.
The project has been featured in The Financial Times, London, and The Seattle Times. The project engages with themes of resilience and regeneration, community and forest health, and materiality.
Selected in January 2025, atelierjones was one of 54 firms representing the United States at the Venice Biennale IXX from May 8 to November 23, 2025. Sometimes called the Olympics of Architecture, the event attracts thousands of visitors—some 15,000 in the first weeks—to the beautiful Giardini Biennale, featuring international pavilions from 65 countries.
Organized and led by Co-Commissioners Peter MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas; Susan Chin, Founding Principal, DesignConnects; Rod Bigelow, Executive Director, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary, PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity explores the porch as a site of civic and cultural life.
Selected firms were asked to create models for display in the US Pavilion, of their projects representing themes of PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity. atelierjones led the rich crafting of their Roundhouse model with local firm CompanyK assisting with the blackened steel frame and 100 trees of the model.
Professor Jones was also asked to deliver a keynote address for a collateral event hosted by the European Cultural Center, ECC Time, Space and Existence, on May 8, at the Giardini Marinaressa, Venice, on the themes of Repair, Regeneration and Reuse focusing on her firm’s work. She also took part in two panels: one hosted by the US pavilion and the other by ORO Books, moderated by Ashley Simone and William Richards, titled The Implacable Book, where she spoke on themes from her 2018 book, Mass Timber Design and Research. A forthcoming book, Light on Wood, is to be published by Birkhauser in Fall 2025.
About Susan Jones:
Architect Susan Jones brings design to drive systemic change since founding her award-winning, female-led architectural firm, atelierjones, in Seattle over twenty years ago. Over the last decade, she and her firm have become national leaders in introducing environmentally responsible and bio-based material systems at scale.
A third-generation citizen of the US Pacific Northwest, Jones earned degrees from Stanford and Harvard GSD, began her practice in Vienna, was a Fulbright scholar in Berlin, and is now an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington. She was awarded the AIA Seattle Gold Medal and the national Women in Architecture award, both in 2024.
“What propelled me forward was a vision that there was a more systemic way to design our built environment…”
— Susan Jones, FAIA
Donald I King, FAIA, NOMAC is an Affiliate Professor of Architecture in the University of Washington College of Built Environments. He is an architect, planner, and educator with over 50 years of experience in community-focused planning, urban design, architectural design, and project management. Among his many community service positions, Donald is the co-founder and former President/CEO of the non-profit Nehemiah Initiative Seattle. We proudly congratulate him on this well-deserved elevation to NOMA Council!
Congratulations to Daniel Simons, FAIA (M Arch 1997) and Erin Feeny (M Arch 2012) Principal and Associate respectively at David Baker Architects (DBA) in Oakland, CA on their recent coverage in ARCHITECT magazine. The article, “Africatown Plaza: A Living Monument to Culture, Community, and Permanence in Seattle’s Central District” describes the community-led, mixed-use affordable housing project completed in collaboration with Seattle-based GGLO.
Thank you to all who joined us for the 2025 Architecture Alumni Awards. It was a joy to come together and celebrate the remarkable impact of our alumni community.
We were proud to honor four outstanding graduates in two award categories for their leadership, innovation and service to the field:
Distinguished Alumni Award
Leon Bridges, FAIA, NOMAC (retired), BArch 1960
Ed Weinstein, FAIA, BArch 1971
Graduates of the Last Decade Award
Stephanie Farrell, AIA, MArch 2016
Araceli Lopez, RA, BA Arch Design/BS CM 2015
A special thank you to our jury — Margaret Knight, Jeff Reibman, Scott Wolf, and Gladys Ly-Au Young — for their thoughtful evaluation and leadership.
We’re also deeply grateful to LMN Architects for hosting us in their inspiring shop space and helping create such a memorable setting for the evening.
To each of you who joined us this special evening, thank you. We are grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with our community and celebrate the impact of both our established and emerging professional colleagues.
Make a gift
If you are interested in supporting the Department of Architecture, we invite you to make a gift to the Friends of Architecture Fund or another fund of your choosing.
In times of change and uncertainty, the strength of our community—and our shared investment in higher education—matters more than ever. Your support helps ensure that future architects have the resources, inspiration and access they need to thrive.
To explore additional giving opportunities or to discuss your philanthropic goals, please contact Savannah Ledgerwood at ledges@uw.edu.
AIA Large Firm Roundtable Deans’ Forum
October 16th, 2024
AIA New York | Center for Architecture
This past October, I was invited to the AIA Large Firm Roundtable Deans’ Forum in New York City as the student representative of UW’s Department of Architecture. This event was attended by CEOs and leaders of the top 60 firms in the nation, Deans of architecture programs from universities across the country, and their chosen student representatives. It was an amazing dialogue between the professional world, the academic world, and the students who bridge the gap.
During the forum at the Center for Architecture, there were a number of events for the attendees to discuss current topics in the built environments. I sat at a table with two CEOs, three Deans, and two other students. We discussed expectations for entering the profession, how to accommodate students with jobs, and upcoming changes to architectural standards. There were also several amazing panels on alternate pathways to licensure, how academia can support the profession and vice versa, and the current issues being addressed at universities.
We also had the opportunity to organize a student-led panel discussion. We student representatives met beforehand to pick the panelists and the topics we wanted to speak on. I was elected as one of the five panelists to speak on the frustrating lack of diversity in curricula and the concurrent lack of effort from professors to learn and teach about architecture from different cultures. We also spoke on the inadequate support network for students of color, disadvantages international students face when seeking jobs, uncertainty around the future role of AI, post-COVID studio culture, and the stagnant job market for emerging professionals. Though we were heavily critiquing the system created by these leading professionals sitting in the audience, we received overwhelming support and pride for speaking our truths.
A group of us students were also able to explore Manhattan the first night, walking around past midnight and getting to know each other. Oftentimes, architectural communities are such insulated bubbles that we don’t know whether our struggles are personal or universal. This forum was a fantastic event that helped pop that bubble for not only me and the other students, but hopefully for the Deans and CEOs that are leading this profession.
Congratulations to Trevin Thompson (M Arch 2025 candidate) and to the three other CBE students, Braedyn Reed, Kort Maeda, and Lela Cooper, on their recognition to the 2025 Husky 100. This prestigious recognition honors 100 students from across the University of Washington for their exceptional leadership and meaningful contributions to both campus life and their communities.
Congratulations to Rico Quirindongo, AIA, for his recent recognition as one of Seattle Magazine’s Most Influential people in 2025. Rico graduated from our Master of Architecture program in 1999 and was awarded the UW Architecture Distinguished Alumni Award in 2023 recognizing his significant contributions to the profession of architecture and the broader community.
Anthony Costa Heywood, 2024 (photo credit: Roberto Pomi)
Anthony Costa Heywood, known affectionately as Tony, passed away on November 18, 2024. He was the husband of renowned architect and University of Washington professor Astra Zarina, the founder of the UW Rome Center. A distinguished architect and one of the last permanent residents of Civita di Bagnoregio, he leaves behind a profound legacy in the preservation and revitalization of this historic Italian town.
Born on July 19, 1936, in Athens, Georgia, he was a man of many talents. A former college football player, passionate lover of opera, an exceptional cook, gardener and a cat lover with a great gift for conversation, he generously shared his knowledge and hospitality with students, families, and residents alike. He arrived in Italy in the 1960s and married Astra in 1971. After Astra found the Palazzo Pio and established the UW Rome Center, Tony played an active role in the design and renovation of its facilities in the early 1980s.
Anthony Costa Heywood (left), Astra Zarina (right), Rome, 1960s
Tony and Astra began spending time in Civita di Bagnoregio in the early 1960s and eventually purchased and restored a home there in the 1970s. Civita was a place unlike any other—perched atop a fragile plateau of volcanic tuff and accessible only by a pedestrian bridge. Isolated from modernization, it had only a dozen full-time inhabitants at the time. Devastated by an earthquake in 1695 and bombed during World War II, the ancient town faced constant geological threats due to the erosion of its clay foundation. Yet Tony and Astra were captivated by its architecture, history, and community.
By 1976, Astra had formally established a summer UW architecture study-abroad program in Civita, deepening both of their ties to the town, and Civita became both a retreat and a center for academic and preservation efforts. Tony was also active in the International Laboratory of Architecture and Urban Design (ILAUD) for 18 years, serving as its president, reflecting his commitment to advancing architectural discourse on an international scale. Concurrently, Tony dedicated part of his career in the preservation of their expanding property in Civita, one that led him to become a pivotal figure in the restoration of historic Italian hill towns.
In 1981, Tony and Astra co-founded the Northwest Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy (NIAUSI), now known as the Civita Institute. This organization fosters interdisciplinary understanding of Italian hill towns, promoting historic preservation, education, and cultural exchange. Their dedication ensured that future generations could learn from and appreciate these unique environments. Following Astra’s death in 2008, Tony acted on their plan and generously donated their estate to the Civita Institute. Unfortunately, in the years before his death Tony experienced increasing tension with the organization, due to his concerns that it was drifting away from its members’ wishes and their original shared vision. Yet, even amidst these challenging times, he remained steadfast in his dedication until his final days, fighting to uphold the shared vision he and Astra had for Civita’s cultural and architectural heritage – and one that lives on with those working to carry on its legacy.
Anthony Costa Heywood
Tony was also a man of deep passion and generosity, who had deep bonds within the Civita community. The mayor of Bagnoregio, Luca Profili, honored his legacy, stating:
“His passing is a great loss. Tony was an extraordinary figure and a pillar of our small community—one of the last historic inhabitants of Civita. His passion for our town and his tireless efforts to preserve its beauty will remain in our hearts. He always found time to help others, to listen, and to push forward initiatives that made our town better.”
Tony and Astra transformed Civita into both their refuge and the center of their work centered in architectural and cultural heritage. Their efforts helped shift Civita from a dying town to a thriving cultural destination, now attracting thousands of visitors each day. Tony’s legacy lives on in his many friends, former students, visitors, and residents whose lives he touched deeply, and in the enduring beauty of the place he so deeply loved.
Written by Kathryn Rogers Merlino, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Scan Design Foundation Endowed Chair in Built Environments, Director, Center for Preservation and Adaptive Reuse, Department of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington
Jim Donnette passed away on November 10, 2024, after a life marked by optimism, adventure, and dedication to teaching. Jim was an alumnus of the UW Master of Architecture program (1969) and a member of the UW Architecture faculty for 30 years.
Raised in Torrance, California, Jim earned an AA in Aeronautical Engineering from El Camino Community College. He pursued architecture at UC Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor of Architecture and he later added a Master’s from the University of Washington.
Jim found his real calling as an Assistant Professor in the Architecture Department at the University of Washington. Jim proved to be a natural teacher, particularly in the area of architectural drawing and graphic representation. His empathic nature and sincere desire to help students understand conceptual relationships was always foremost in his teaching.
While teaching, Jim continued his own studies, focusing on graphics as a critical tool of communication. In 1969 he became a tenured member of the UW Architecture faculty and was promoted to Associate Professor. In the same year, he also received his Washington State License to practice Architecture. As a faculty member, Jim founded the Graphics Laboratory, teaching critical thinking through graphics to several thousand students in architecture, interior design, urban, planning and construction management.
Jim also had an uncompromising integrity and sense of fairness that made him a natural selection for administrative roles within the College of Architecture & Urban Planning (now College of the Built Environment) as he was able to work well with all of the departments. When then Dean Gordon Varey established an All-College Undergraduate Degree program, he appointed Jim as Program Director. Jim also served for a time as Chair of the Department of Building Construction (now Construction Management Department).
A Celebration of Life will be held on May 4, 2025, at the Seattle Elks Lodge, 6411 Seaview Ave, from 1 to 3 pm. where friends and family will gather to share stories and remember Jim’s lasting impact.
Newly installed “storefront” display in the Chair’s Office window in Gould Hall | Photo: Ali Ahmed
Dear Alumni and Friends,
I hope that this letter finds you and yours healthy and thriving as we enter 2025. Now in my second year as chair, I’m delighted to tell you that the department is healthy and thriving amidst exciting changes and impressive accomplishments by faculty, students, and alumni.
Department News
Upon my appointment as chair last year, the department released a draft Strategic Plan and was externally reviewed through a very positive and insightful UW Ten-Year Program Review process and report. The simultaneity of these two events was fortuitous as they are well aligned and provide clear direction for the department. Both call for greater administrative capacity for fiscal analysis and strategic planning and we spent the past year restructuring the department administration in response. Claudine Manio has been promoted to department Administrator and we are delighted to welcome Tracy Pitt from UW Tacoma as Claudine’s replacement as Graduate Program Advisor. We also welcome Nancy Dragun as our new Admissions and Outreach Coordinator. Together with Undergraduate Program Advisor Kim Sawada and Manager Shanna Sukol, our capable staff ensure that the department runs smoothly.
ARCADE Winter 2024 Issue Reception at AIA A24 Conference
We hosted our first of what will be an annual UW Architecture Alumni and Friends Reception at the AIA A24 Conference in Washington, D.C. in June. Our sincere thanks to ZGF Architects and Principal Tim Williams (MArch 1995) for hosting the event in their beautiful office just blocks from the White House. Our Alumni and Friends Reception for the upcoming AIA A25 Conference in Boston will be at DesignLAB Architects and we thank them and Principal Sam Batchelor (MArch 2004) in advance. If you will be attending the conference please join us! We will send an invite and will be on the AIA A25 Conference app.
We have established an exciting collaboration with ARCADE, the Pacific Northwest design magazine, in which writer Lauren Gallow teaches a Storytelling in Architecture class in the department and the resulting student essays, with introductions penned by practicing professionals, are published in a dedicated issue of ARCADE titled COLLABORATION. We hosted the first launch party in November and look forward to more as we amplify the voices of our students while strengthening ties with the professional community.
We are excited to announce the department’s fourth Alumni Awards program with the gala event to take place on the evening of Thursday, April 17 at the LMN Shop Space in downtown Seattle. Please save the date! In addition, please submit your nominations for Distinguished Alumni and Graduate of the Last Decade Awards HERE. The deadline is February 3.
Faculty News
Zahra Rasti
We are delighted to welcome Zahra Rasti as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Beginning Design. Zahra comes to us from Cal Poly San Louis Obispo but brings international experience in teaching and practice to her introductory studios and seminars.
We are also delighted to announce that four department faculty were promoted in the 2024-25 academic year including Heather Burpee (Research Professor), Tomás Méndez Echenagucia (Associate Professor with Tenure), Gundula Proksch (Professor), and David Strauss (Affiliate Associate Professor).
Associate Professor Kimo Griggs, who since 2008 has taught material and fabrication courses within the department and led the CBE Digital Design and Fabrication Labs as Director (2018-2021) and Associate Dean for Technology Transfer (2012-2018), retired at the end of fall quarter. Student work from Kimo’s popular Furniture Design Studios has won dozens of awards over the past sixteen years and his custom fabricated designs including tables, rolling partitions, and modular stage components are found throughout the college. Kimo will be missed as he continues his creative pursuits in his home state of Vermont.
Simone left, Jones right ACSA Course Development Prize
It was a truly remarkable year for faculty accomplishment and recognition and the following are only highlights from a much longer list. Professors Ann Marie Borys and Kate Simonen were both elevated to FAIA bringing the total number of fellows on our faculty to eight. Affiliate Associate Professor Susan Jones and Professor Kate Simonen were each one of five women nationally to receive a 2024 Women in Architecture Award from Architectural Record magazine (yes, you read that correctly…five winners nationally, two on our faculty). Susan and Kate were also prominently featured in a recently released national documentary, Women of Carbon, which chronicles the outsized impact women in the built environment disciplines are having in the fight against climate change.
It was a remarkable year for our students as well. Morocco Branting (MArch 2024) was one of thirty MArch students nationally to receive a 2024 Future 100 Award from Metropolis magazine.
BLOOM AIAS x Seattle 2024 Leon Bridges (left) and current UW NOMAS members Davien Graham and Van Le.
AIAS-UW, our American Institute of Architecture Students chapter, hosted BLOOM: Emerging Solutions for Urban Sustainability, the 2024 AIAS West Quad Conference on campus and set a new benchmark for national AIAS events by breaking records for fundraising, attendance, revenue, and quality of programming. Bloom co-chair Trevin Thompson, a grad student in his final year, is now the AIAS West Quad Director and national board member.
For the second year in a row, students in our National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (UWNOMAS) chapter participated in the NOMA Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition as members of a self-organized team working over the summer. Ten students travelled to the annual NOMA Conference in Baltimore to present their submission. While their submission did not advance to the finals, the students made a number of important national connections including meeting architect Leon Bridges, the oldest living NOMA member and a graduate of our department (BArch 1960). This spring, the department will launch the first NOMA Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition Studio to provide the 2025 student team with additional support.
AIAS and NOMAS are but two of several departmental student organizations and affinity groups that are cultivating leadership while advancing the department’s goals of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion and the department is proud to support them in these efforts.
Alumni News
As with our faculty, the following are highlights from a very long list of alumni accomplishments this past year. Four graduates of our department were elevatedtoAIA Fellow in 2024. They include Sam Batchelor, FAIA of DesignLAB in Boston (MArch 2004) and Doug Ito, FAIA of SMR (BA Arch 1989), Rob Misel, FAIA of Miller Hull (BA Arch 1992), and John Shoesmith, FAIA of Perkins Eastman (MArch 1994) in Seattle. Of the 98 AIA members elevated to Fellowship internationally in 2024, six are either faculty or graduates of our department.
Doug Ito – AIA 2024 Whitney M. Young Award
In addition, Doug Ito received the 2024 AIA Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award which is given annually to an architect or architectural organization that embodies social responsibility and actively addresses a pressing social issue. Doug’s tireless efforts to advocate for progressive affordable housing policy while leading SMR, a firm staunchly committed to advancing affordable housing design, make him especially deserving of this coveted award. Doug and the six other newly elevated AIA fellows were honored at the AIA A24 national conference in Washington, D.C. in June.
The Woman in the Room, A memoir by L. Jane Hastings, FAIA
I would like to acknowledge and honor the passing of L. Jane Hastings, FAIA (BArch 1952), who, like many of those mentioned above, was an innovator, pioneer, and impactful member of our community. Jane was only the eighth licensed woman architect in Washington State, maintained an award-winning practice for over forty years, was elected an AIA Fellow in 1980, Chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows in 1992 (the first woman to hold the position), received the AIA Seattle Chapter Medal in 1995, and was the first recipient of the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Medal of Honor in 2002.Her memoir, The Woman in the Room, was published fours months before her death on March 25, 2024. While we are saddened by her passing, we are inspired by her legacy as will future generations of architects in our community and beyond.
While I’ve had many reasons to be optimistic for the department’s future throughout my nearly four decades on the faculty, I’ve never been as excited for it than I am today. Much of this excitement stems from the extraordinary support we receive in so many ways from our alumni, friends, and the practicing community. If you would like to further support the department and our students, please consider a contribution today. 2024 has been an extraordinary year for the department and I look forward to an even more exciting year in 2025. Please do not hesitate to reach out or pay us a visit. We’d be delighted to hear from you!
With gratitude,
Rick Mohler, FAIA, NCARB
Professor and Chair
–
You may also contact Savannah Ledgerwood for more information about supporting the Department at ledges@uw.edu.
Ann C. Huppert, Associate Professor of Architectural History, has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship to support her ongoing project, The Culture of Construction in Sixteenth-Century Rome.
Join us for the launch of our latest print journal, 41.2: Collaboration, at Gould Hall on the University of Washington campus on Friday, Nov. 22 from 6-8 pm!
For this issue, ARCADE has partnered with the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments Architecture Writing class, taught by Lauren Gallow, and features essays written by the students on a topic or design project of their choice. A large part of bringing this theme of “collaboration” to life is through the pairing of each essay with a professional or mentor currently working in the field who is adjacent to the student’s topic.
Gould Hall is located at 3950 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105. Due to limited parking, we encourage you to take advantage of Seattle’s Link Light Rail, King County Metro, or other public transit options.
ARCADE NW is a non-profit community publishing house focused on projects related to art, design, and architecture.
Congratulations to Best Practice (Ian Butcher, MArch 1999 and Kailin Gregga, BAAD 2002) whose Aspen Leaf Ranch design was published in The New York Times’ Living Small column. We caught up with Ian and Kailin to chat about Best Practice to learn more about the project, and what makes their firm tick.
Photo by Benj Drummond
Best Practice was founded with the goal of fostering a place where people are encouraged to evolve and develop ideas based on the specifics of each project. “We’re known for leaning into eccentric conditions, and we aim to embrace the challenges that come from treating what seem like constraints as design opportunities,” notes Kailin. Ian adds, “We wanted to make a studio that was a great place to work, and to work with the extended and talented building community in Seattle. We are so lucky to work with talented fabricators, craftspeople and artists on our projects and seek out those collaborations. They are what lend a unique measure and feel to our projects and showcase a different way of being local.”
Architecture Professor Kate Simonen and Affiliate Associate Professor Susan Jones have been named among the five recipients recognized by Architectural Record with this prestigious award. | Architectural Record
Associate Professor Gundula Proksch received the 2024 Architecture Research Center Consortium (ARCC) Mid-Career Research Impact Award. The award is offered annually to a mid-career faculty member at an ARCC member institution to recognize outstanding performance and substantive impact in architectural research.
Professor Mehlika Inanici has been awarded the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) 2023 Leon Gaster Award. The Leon Gaster award is presented for the best paper included in the SLL Lighting Research & Technology Journal concerned with lighting applications, and recognizes the role that Leon Gaster made as the founder of the Illuminating Engineering Society in 1909. The award was first made in 1929 and one award is given annually. Inanici will receive the award at the SLL Annual General Meeting, Awards and Presidential Address on May 14 2024 in Leeds, England.
This year, 98 architects in the U.S. and beyond were elevated to the AIA College of Fellows, including Professors Ann Marie Borys and Kate Simonen. Nine of the department’s permanent and affiliate faculty are now AIA Fellows. In addition, three UW Architecture alumni were also elevated to Fellowship: Samuel Batchelor, designLab Architects in Boston (M.Arch, 2004); Douglas Ito, SMR Architects (BA Architecture, 1992); and Robert Misel, The Miller Hull Partnership LLP (BA Architecture, 1989). Doug Ito is also the recipient of the 2024 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award, which recognizes an architect or organization that champions a range of social issues. UW Architecture will host a reception/celebration for alumni and friends at the AIA Conference in Washington, D.C. on June 5 at ZGF Architects. Register here to attend.
In her long career as an architect, Jane Hastings was involved in the design of more than 500 projects. Equally important were her many contributions to the architectural profession, to education, and to the city and region. She is loved and remembered by an extraordinary number of friends and colleagues. Even those who never met her may gain a sense of who she was from reading her memoir, The Woman in the Room, her final gift to all of us.
The 2024 design exCHANGE exhibit is an annual exhibition of unbuilt projects by local Seattle architecture firms. The projects showcased are located in the Pacific Northwest region and all around the world.
This exhibit is free and open to the public.
Exhibition April 26 – May 9, 2024
Gould Court
Opening Reception: Friday, April 26, 2024 5:30PM
This event is not open to the general public.
The 2024 design exCHANGE opening reception is an invitation only event to celebrate the opening of the annual design exCHANGE exhibit. The opening reception is open to members of the UW College of Built Environments and invited members of the Seattle design community. Please register to attend.
We are proud to announce that four members of the UW Architecture community have been recognized with an AIA Seattle Award this year!
“Each year, AIA Seattle celebrates leadership and achievement in design and the built environment through its member awards program, which recognizes individual leadership and achievement in design and the built environment at the local and national levels. Honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by the Fellows & Honors Committee each year to acknowledge excellence and strengthen ties between architects and the many professions that partner with them to make a difference through design.” – AIA Seattle
Gold Medal: Susan Jones, FAIA, atelierjones, Affiliate Associate Professor
College of Fellows: Bill LaPatra FAIA, LEED AP
Community Service Award: Emilia Cabeza de Baca, AIA – 2019 M Arch alum
Allied Organization Award: NOMAS UW – student organization
For more information about each award and to purchase tickets to attend the awards ceremony on January 23, visit the AIA Seattle event website.
AIA Seattle Parti
Tuesday, January 23 6-8:30pm @ The Forum at Town Hall Seattle
Overseas, the exhibition “The Wright Imperial Hotel at 100: Frank Lloyd Wright and the World” curated by Professor Ken Tadashi Oshima at the Toyota Museum of Art (Aichi, Japan) attracted a record 35,000+ visitors while on view October-December 2023. This year it travels to Tokyo to the Panasonic Shiodome Museum of Art (January 11 – March 10) and the Aomori Museum of Art (March 20 – May 12, 2024).
Here in the United States, an exhibit will open in June 2024. Mona Ghandi, Assistant Teaching Professor, is a recent winner and finalist of the DATMA (Massachusetts Design Art & Technology Institute) public art Installation peer reviewed national competition. Her interactive piece entitled “Mood-Vironment” is a full-scale interactive installation that interacts with the visitors’ emotions and changes itself accordingly. The piece will be built in New Bedford MA and will be on display until October 2024.
In bringing together works from Columbia University’s Avery Library, MoMA, the Library of Congress and Japanese collections, this exhibition reexamines Wright as one of the first global architects pursuing this decade-long project at the nexus of his vast career spanning art, architecture, and design to writing, landscape, education, construction and urbanism. Highlights of the exhibition include film footage of the construction of Wright’s Fallingwater (1936-), a full-scale Usonian House installation and contemporary color animated film of Broadacre City (1929-35). The reexamination of Wright also considers his designs in the context of his travels and passions connecting different landscapes and cultures around the world, and pursuit of high-rises including his 528-story Mile-High Illinois skyscraper (1956). Today, a further evolution of Wright’s vision can be seen in the design of the new high-rise Imperial Hotel (2021-2036) by Tsuyoshi Tane (1979-) that bridges past/present/future.
Wednesday, November 8 5:30PM
147 Architecture Hall
Katie Swenson is a Senior Principal at MASS Design Group, where she leads the Advocacy team. Katie’s work explores how critical design practice can, and should, promote economic and social equity, environmental sustainability, and healthy communities. She has over 20 years of experience in the theoretical and practical applications of design thinking. Katie teaches at the Parsons School of Design at The New School and lectures extensively on sustainable community development and affordable housing. She was awarded a Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2019 and the AIA Award for Excellence in Public Architecture in 2021. Katie is a juror for the 2023 AIA Awards for Washington Architecture.
This lecture is free and open to the public. AIA Continuing Education credit is available for attendance.
Wednesday, October 04 5:30PM
147 Architecture Hall
Søren Nielsen is the 2023 Scan Design Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor in the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. Søren is architect and co-owner of Vandkunsten Architects in Copenhagen, one of the country’s leading socially and environmentally engaged offices. Responsible for Vandkunsten’s R&D activities, Søren is devoted to design strategies for sustainability, in particular resource protection, building transformation and the social, cultural, and aesthetic aspects of reuse. With 35 years of practice, he has been the leading force behind multiple innovative projects for affordable housing, adaptability, circularity, and the use of biogenic materials.
This lecture is free and open to the public. AIA Continuing Education credit is available for attendance.
The La Conner Swinomish Library by BuildingWork, a Seattle-based firm founded by Matt Aalfs, AIA (MArch 1999) is featured in ARCHITECT magazine online. As noted in the article, the project “represents a multitude of collaborations and innovations. First, the new building is constructed from cross-laminated timber, making it one of the first publicly funded buildings in the country to be built entirely from CLT, according to its architect. Second, and perhaps more important, the library results from a unique partnership between an architecture firm and a local tribal community.” In addition to Matt, the project team consisted of partner Kate Weiland, AIA (MArch 2009), and project architect Jake LaBarre, AIA (MArch 2009). The project illustrates the commitment of UW Architecture and its graduates to issues of material innovation, community engagement, and social equity.
Alumna Mona Johnston Zellers, AIA (MArch 2010), a partner with Johnston Architects, recently penned an OpEd in ARCHITECT magazine titled “Fostering a Supportive Community for Women Architects.” In this insightful article, Mona reflects on the relationship between a strong and supportive workplace culture and professional growth, particularly among women architects.
We invite you to dive into Mona’s captivating OpEd HERE.
We applaud Mona for this remarkable achievement and dedication to making our profession more equitable and inclusive!
We are thrilled to share that Sam Miller, FAIA (MArch 1992), a partner with Seattle-based LMN Architects, and Justin Schwartzhoff (MArch 2014), LMN’s Sustainability Lead, are featured in an online article in Architectural Record magazine titled “Continuing Education: Architects Zero in on Zero to Define Building Performance.” In this captivating article, Sam and Justin, along with other industry experts, share their thoughts on the complexities of defining and achieving “net-zero energy” buildings.
We invite you to immerse yourself in this thought-provoking article HERE.
This is but one example of our grads’ practice, research, and advocacy having a national impact in making our buildings more sustainable and leading climate-responsible practices across the industry.
We are immensely proud of our alums’ accomplishments and the recognition they have garnered.
The Neighborhood Design Build Studio invites you to the ribbon cutting celebration for this years project, the World Cultural Kitchen for the UW Farm, at the Center for Urban Horticulture. The students have designed and built a circular trellis topped by three roofed areas. The finished project will be used for cooking and farming demos by the UW Farm, celebrations that are hosted at the Center for Urban Horticulture, and as a unique meeting place for visitors to the Union Bay Nature area. The studio is a consensus based group project, working this year with 8 graduate and 8 undergraduate architecture students (2 of which are construction management double majors) to create a beautiful and durable structure to meet the needs of the client. After refining a loose program, the class creates a schematic design presentation to the client, develops a construction document set and budget, and then prefabricates the building elements in studio and installs the final design on site. The ribbon cutting celebrates the hard work and creative solutions to the challenges that have emerged along the way.
Thursday, June 8 5PM-8PM
The Center For Urban Horticulture
3501 NE 41st St, Seattle, WA 98105
Prefabrication checklist.
Roof truss to column connection.
Everything is done as a group... including unloading and mixing the concrete!
The department of Architecture is proud to announce that two of our Master of Architecture students have been recognized as part of this year’s Husky 100!
Please join us in congratulating Jacquelyn Crane and Dana Austin Bass!
Jacquelyn Crane 2023
Master of Architecture, Sustainable Systems and Design emphasis; Design Computing Graduate Certificate
Dana Austin Bass 2023
Master of Architecture; Graduate Certificate in Housing Studies; B.A. Architectural Design; B.S. Real Estate
Each year, the Husky 100 recognizes 100 undergraduate and graduate students from the UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the University of Washington. The Husky 100 include students who have founded start-ups, created artwork, served as mentors, conducted research and advocated for social justice. They work on our campuses and in our communities. They are leaders and innovators.
These students are united in their efforts to actively connect what happens inside and outside of the classroom and apply what they learn to make a difference on our campuses, in their communities and for the future. Through their coursework, research, volunteer and leadership efforts, internships and jobs, they have created their own unique Husky Experience.
Exhibit Duration: May 15, 2023 – May 26, 2023
Closing Reception: Friday, May 26, 2023, 5:30PM
Gould Court, University of Washington College of Built Environments
3950 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
Entry Deadline: Board must be uploaded to Riot Creative Imaging by 5PM on Monday May 8, 2023
(one week before shows begins)
design exCHANGE 2023 will highlight emerging architectural and landscape projects designed by regional practitioners. This preview of un-built work and the design process behind built projects gives students and the public a rare glimpse into the studio process and provides a forum for public discourse between the region’s academic community and practitioners. An overview of the design innovation and influence of regional practitioners both large and small, design exCHANGE 2023 offers an exciting preview of future projects to be built regionally, nationally and globally. The closing night reception, with food and live music, is open to students, professionals, and the Seattle design community.
In the historically white–dominated field of architecture, Black architects have created some of Seattle’s most important landmarks and continue to change the industry. Their work is grounded in guiding principles of community-centered design and empowering underserved communities. Join three generations of Black architects in the Pacific Northwest for a discussion on their work, inspirations, challenges, and hopes for the next generation.
Presented by MOHAI in partnership with AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable, The Black Heritage Society of Washington State, The Nehemiah Initiative Seattle, NOMA Northwest, University of Washington College of Built Environments, and the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development.
Speakers include: Renée Cheng, University of Washington College of Built Environments, moderator Donald King, Donald King Architecture Whitney Lewis, GGLO Meredith Everist, Baylis Architects
UW Architecture connected to four of the sixteen 2023 National AIA Architecture Award winning projects and more!
The AIA Architecture Award is the highest recognition the U.S. architecture profession grants to a recently completed project. This year, as in most, Seattle-based firms won more than their share of awards. This includes two projects by Seattle’s LMN Architects (Scott Crawford, M.Arch 2008/MS Arch 2010, and Sam Miller, MArch 1992, Partners) which received awards for the Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal and the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences Middle School. The Seattle office of Perkins + Will was recognized for the University of Washington Life Sciences Building (Devin Kleiner, MArch 2004, Associate Principal and Project Architect). On the other side of the country, designLAB architects (Sam Batchelor, MArch 2004, Partner) of Boston was recognized for the Worcester Blackstone Visitor Center.
In addition, Seattle-based Miller/Hull (Professor Emeritus Dave Miller, Founding Partner and Brian Court, MArch 2002, Ben Dalton, MArch 2005, Rob Misel, and Sian Roberts, MArch 1992, Partners) won a 2023 National AIA Interior Architecture Award for its Student Success District at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Congratulations to all of these notable alumni and firms!
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Douglas Stewart Kelbaugh, former Chair and Professor in the Department of Architecture, on February 18, 2023, at the age of 78. We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife, Kathleen Nolan, son, Casey, and daughter, Tess.
Douglas S. Kelbaugh FAIA was born in Brooklyn NY on January 25, 1945, graduating from Memorial High School in Houston, Texas in 1963. He received his B.A. in architecture Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University in 1968. He then participated in a Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program in Trenton NJ for two years (1968-70). He graduated with his M.Arch. from Princeton in 1972. While in graduate school Doug joined in anti-war protests and peace marches in DC, also building inflatables for events on campus and play structures for the “People’s Workshop”—a Community Design Center in New Brunswick NJ. After graduating Doug worked as a senior planner and architect for the Department of Planning and Development, City of Trenton (1972-78).
In 1978 Doug joined with Sang Lee to form the partnership Kelbaugh + Lee. This firm did numerous projects and received awards for multiple pioneering passive solar buildings and other designs. Kelbaugh’s activities in the early solar design movement were marked by the design of the first Trombe Wall house in Princeton NJ (1973-75). Over the course of his activities in practice, Kelbaugh’s firms won over 15 regional and national design awards and competitions, and their designs appeared in over 100 books and magazines, and in many exhibitions in the USA and abroad. While at Kelbaugh + Lee, Doug began visiting teaching appointments, including lecturer positions at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania. Over time he became convinced that design of urban areas rather than single buildings would make a bigger impact on the issues of global warming and climate change.
In 1985 Doug accepted an appointment as Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. During this time, he was instrumental in bringing a younger generation of faculty into the Department. He also instituted the Department’s student-run publication, Column 5, and initiated a program of design charrettes that took on urban design issues in Seattle. Through the charrette program Doug became involved in the New Urbanism movement. He partnered with Peter Calthorpe, another co-founder of the passive solar and New Urbanism movements, in the firm Calthorpe, Kelbaugh & Associates (1989-98).
Doug’s first books grew out of the design charrette program and reflected his growing commitment to urban issues. In 1989, he edited The Pedestrian Pocket Book (Princeton Architectural Press), a national bestseller in urban design that introduced the concept of Transit-Oriented-Development to a broad audience. In 1997, Kelbaugh authored Common Place: Toward Neighborhood and Regional Design, a book on urban theory, design, and policy, followed by its sequel, Repairing the American Metropolis in 2002.
In 1992, Doug stepped down as Chair of the UW Department of Architecture and in 1998 he accepted appointment as the Dean of the Taubman College at the University of Michigan, a position he held for ten years. At Michigan he continued creating and participating in design charettes, and he brought numerous notable speakers to Michigan leading to his edited book The Michigan Debates on Urbanism: Everyday, New, and Post, published in 2005. He was the co-editor of Writing Urbanism in 2008. From 2008 to 2010 he served as executive director of design and planning for a Dubai-based development company with a portfolio of large sustainable projects in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Kelbaugh co-chaired multiple national and international conferences on energy, urbanism, and design; he spoke to hundreds of professional and community groups and wrote numerous articles on sustainable design. His most recent book, THE URBAN FIX: Resilient Cities in the War Against Climate Change, Heat Islands, and Overpopulation, was published in 2019.
Among his many accolades, he was Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Fellow of the Congress for a New Urbanism, and in 2016 was awarded an AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education—the highest award given to an educator by the two organizations with only one Topaz award given each year. In announcing this award, Kelbaugh was praised for the “transformative impact he has had on architectural education” by Harrison Fraker, Dean Emeritus at University of California at Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design. Fraker also noted that during his time as the University of Washington, Kelbaugh “demonstrated a more activist role for schools of architecture in their cities.”
Following retirement, Doug returned to Seattle in 2020. He taught the class “Climate Change, Architecture and the City” in the UW College of Built Environments during Autumn Quarter 2020 and was schedule to give a lecture, “Architecture, Urbanism and Climate Change” on Thursday, February 16, 2023.
Through the course of his thirteen years at the University of Washington, Douglas Kelbaugh championed sustainable urban design and placemaking, transformed our curriculum, and strengthened relationships between faculty and local practitioners. His impact on the people and culture of the Department of Architecture is immeasurable and he will be sorely missed.
