Who's New at Schemata?

Earlier this year, Schemata Workshop added Katie Hogan, Breanne Taylor, and Alec Gardner to the team. Keep reading (and visit our Staff page) to learn more about them!

Are you interested in working for Schemata Workshop? Check out our Careers page to see our open positions.

Katie Hogan

If you had a time machine that would work only once, what point in the future or in history would you visit?
I try to live in the present! Every day is a gift.  

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Can’t pick just one – either Paris or Costa Rica.

If your home was burning down, after family members and pets, what three things would you try to save?

Original artwork, photo albums, and jewelry.

If you could talk to any one person now living or dead, who would it be and why?

My father. He died when I was just 20, and I would dearly love to tell him about my life.

If you had to give up one of your senses (taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing) which would it be and why?

Taste – as much as I love to eat, I’d give up taste because the other senses are all so vital to living a satisfying life. 

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

A dolphin, because they are really smart and playful, and it always looks like they are having a good time.

Do you have any pets? if not, what sort of pet would you like?

I don’t have any pets right now but have had dogs in the past. I hope to have another dog (preferably a Corgi) in the future, but it’s not feasible with my current living situation.

Name a gift you will never forget.

My graduation present (June 2021), which was air fare for a trip to Alaska

What is one of your favorite family traditions?

Opening Christmas stockings after all the presents.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?

Hang out with friends and family in my back yard, which is a peaceful urban oasis.

Alec Gardner

If you had a time machine that would work only once, what point in the future or in history would you visit?

I would travel to my childhood, and do it again.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would go to 便宜坊 in China, Beijing, Dongcheng, Xianyukou St, 鲜鱼口65-77号 邮政编码: 100051.I

If your home was burning down, after family members and pets, what three things would you try to save?

My camera (to record the tragic day), my computer hard drives, and a bottle of Auchentoshen (to be best prepared for the loss).

If you could talk to any one person now living or dead, who would it be and why?

My mom because I miss her.

If you had to give up one of your senses (taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing) which would it be and why?

I would give up smell, because I lost it for 6 months during COVID and it wasn’t so bad. I appreciated food in a different way, and I lost 20 lbs.

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Maybe an octopus because it must be nice in the sea with intelligence and friends and a home.

Do you have any pets? if not, what sort of pet would you like?

A cat, because my wife says its like having a weird roommate and they’re good for a more mobile lifestyle.

Name a gift you will never forget.

My first car.

What is one of your favorite family traditions?

The now retired week of camping at Banks Lake.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?

I would say road trips and exploring but today I want to drink beer and watch a baseball game with my dad.

Breanne Taylor

If you had a time machine that would work only once, what point in the future or in history would you visit?

1970’s! I am much younger than the rest of my family – and while growing up in the 90’s and 2000’s was fun, I wonder what it would have been like to a part of the family when they were new. I was born into their traditions, and it would have been nice to witness them alongside my brother and my parents. Also, I love disco.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I do not know where my families come from outside of the US, but during the Vietnam War, my dad was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. My dad then taught me German when I was little, so it feels the closest I have to a geographical lineage. Also, I have a silly hope that I have a long lost sister there (who would be in her 50’s) and we would somehow find each other if I were to visit.

If your home was burning down, after family members and pets, what three things would you try to save?

Photos, because they are memories. Mementos, because they are memories too. Gifts from loved ones, especially if they are handmade.

If you could talk to any one person now living or dead, who would it be and why?

My dad. Because I miss him and because I never got to talk to him as an adult. I want to show him all I have accomplished and hear all his opinions and stories I never got to know.

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Probably a domesticated cat or dog. Their lives seem perfect – friends, play, rest, free food!

Do you have any pets? if not, what sort of pet would you like?

Yes, two! A dog named Elle, after Eleven from Stranger Things, and a cat named Navi, after the fairy in the Legend of Zelda. They are both rescues so they do not have breeds, but they are cute and small!

Name a gift you will never forget.

I’m always touched when people notice the small things. For my birthday last year, my partner Jack got me (among other things) a pack of Haribo Berries, my favorite gummy candy. It really struck me because I had never eaten them around him, and probably had only casually mentioned them once or twice perusing a convenience store. I know it seems trivial, but it is the little things.

What is one of your favorite family traditions?

We play board games during holidays until very late. My family is very funny and we just laugh and laugh until we can’t anymore. One time, while playing Scrabble on Thanksgiving, my dad laughed so hard that he passed out and we had to go the ER.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?

Swim!

Project Update: Acer House Passed Design Review

in , ,

 

Acer House, a mixed-used project in Seattle’s Central District, recently passed its Design Recommendations Meeting with the Central Area Design Review Board. The intersection is a cultural and community hub with the Garfield Community Center, NOVA at the Horace Mann School, Garfield High School, Medgar Evers Pool, Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center, and the Eritrean Community Center. The design team includes Schemata Workshop and Donald King, were also the authors of the Central Area Design Guidelines, and therefore Acer House embodies the community values for what development should look like. In a true expression of community voice, both the programming and design of the project has been shaped by community input.

The project is Seattle’s first anti-racist private development project and hopes to be the benchmark for future development around the city. Acer House will be the first project in Seattle to apply Afrofuturist design principles to a mixed-use project - not from the standpoint of high-tech materials, but in the spirit of creating a place where the Black community can see themselves in the past, present and future of the Central Area.

The design faced challenges associated to the scale of the building under current zoning and neighborhood context. To address this, our team, which includes design lead Donald King, collaborated with the Central Area Land Use Review Committee (LURC) to find the right balance of massing and design. Working collaboratively, the team accomplished a solution that fits within the existing environment. The final design solution was approved by the Design Review Board with no critiques. This stamp of approval validates months of hard work the team put into a designing a building that honors the history of the Central District and realizes the vision of what it could be.

Cohousing Patterns: Ceiling Height Variety

in , , , , , ,

“A building in which the ceiling heights are all the same is virtually incapable of making people comfortable.”

It is all too often that the Common House is designed and built with the least funds (many communities prioritize the money for individual units) and therefore, the overall enclosure of the Common House is constructed with the idea that a future mezzanine or second floor will be added later. The resulting spaces for dining, conversation, and meal preparation all occur under a single ceiling.

Provide a variety of ceiling heights that are appropriate for the functions. The dining room may want to be a grand space with high ceilings, however, the kitchen will be more functional with lower ceilings. In addition, smaller seating groups for conversation are not inviting if they are located in a cavernous room with the same ceiling height as the dining room.

Bakken, a cohousing community in Northern Denmark, is comprised of duplexes, triplexes and a large common house. In the common house, the dining and seating area all occur under the same ceiling. The seating area is not welcoming and did not encourage residents to linger and talk. However, over half of the dining room floor framing had been installed with the idea that the second-floor mezzanine would be extended. While the project was never completed, the major framing elements were left in place creating an implied ceiling. The tables under this “lower” ceiling felt more intimate.

The height of a ceiling can also determine the intimacy of a space. The ceiling must be proportionate to the size of the room - a small room with a tall ceiling will feel equally uncomfortable as a large room with a low ceiling. The original pattern describes rules of thumb for ideal width-to-height ratios. The acoustics of any room are affected by the ceiling height and room proportion and should be given specific attention during design.

Design with Pride: LGBTQI+ Architects you need to know

 

For Pride Month, Schemata recognizes architects and designers in the LGBTQI+ community who are using their platforms to advocate for LGBTQI+ professionals within industry. In sharing their stories and opinions, these individuals increase visibility of the LGBTQI+ community in the design field and also provide words of encouragement for young LGBTQI+ professionals looking to enter the field.

Horatio Law

Horatio Law is a Portland-based artist who was one of five artists commissioned to create art for the AIDS Memorial Pathway in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. . His work Ribbon of Light is a series of three laminated glass sculptures inspired by poets impacted by the HIV/ AIDS pandemic. The piece debuted this month and can be viewed in the northeast corner of Cal Anderson Park adjacent to the Capitol Hill TOD Plaza.

“Much of my work stems from my identity and experience as a gay US citizen of Asian heritage,” Law shares in an interview with Art Beat Blog.

“Social interaction and community participation are important aspects in my installation work and public art projects. I create work for regular people that examines issues of identity, memory, history and the meaning of community. As a public artist who is interested in socially engaged work, I value collaboration and partnership with community members through collecting ideas, cultural materials, and engaging residents in planning and production of public art.”

 

Jane Greenwood

Jane Greenwood is Principal at Kostow Greenwood Architects In New York City. In 2017, Greenwood was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the LGBTQI+ community in the New York Business Journal -  a result of her continuous efforts to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights within the architecture and design industry. As founder of The Organization of Lesbian + Gay Architects and Designers, she encourages rising architects and designers to feel secure in the idea that who they love is irrelevant to their profession. Through this organization, she has also formed the New York City LGBT Historic Sites Projects which identifies and documents historic places in New York Coty connected to those in the LGBTQI+ community and tells the story of their influence on American culture.

 

A.L. Hu

A.L. Hu is and an architectural designer, writer and activist dedicated to challenging others to rethink what it means to be inclusive in the design industry. Through the Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation, they work to provide sustainable and equitable housing for residents East Harlem. As one of the voices for Architect Magazine, Hu also calls out injustices against those who identify as non-binary in the professional space. In an interview published on The Bluebeam Blog, Hu shares pivotal moments in their career that ultimately inspired their desire to become an activist for LGBTQI+ rights.

“I was realizing that I didn’t identify as a woman, and I think realizing that also had a lot to do with the way I approached design,” Hu said. “It really got me to think outside the box to understand that there is not a single right way to be an architect.”

To read the full article, click here.

 

We hope you all are enjoying Pride Month, and that these perspectives have inspired and sparked thoughts around how we in the industry can be more inclusive of those who identify with the LGBTQI+ movement.  While the voices presented show how much progress has been made over the years, they also highlight the work that still needs to be done in support of LGBTQI+ professionals. If you are a member of the LGBTQI+ community or a corporation looking to integrate LGBTQI+ perspectives into your practice, consider looking at these resources provided by Metropolis Magazine.

Sources Cited

A.L. Hu. Architect. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://www.architectmagazine.com/author/a-l-hu

Group, S. B. (n.d.). Mover & Shakers: Julia Nagele is an architectural icon in a male-dominated industry. Seattle Refined. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://seattlerefined.com/lifestyle/movers-shakers/movers-shakers-julia-nagele-the-emerald-hewitt-tallest-tower-designed-by-a-woman

Lindsay, E. (2018, July 17). Seattle AIDS Memorial Selects Lead Artist. Art Beat. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://artbeat.seattle.gov/2018/07/17/seattle-aids-memorial-selects-lead-artist/

Making an invisible history visible. NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/

Queer Spaces: LGBTQ voices and resources for architects and designers. Metropolis. (2022, June 2). Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/pride-voices-resources/

Surabhi, P., & Patil, A. S. (2021, June 23). 10 architects or designers advocating for LGBTQA+ community - RTF: Rethinking the future. RTF | Rethinking The Future. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/know-your-architects/a4323-10-architects-or-designers-advocating-for-lgbtqa-community/