Welcome to the Staff, Michael!!!

Schemata has added a new face to the staff. Meet Michael Walsh, a recent transplant from Sacramento, California. We had Michael answer a few questions from our New Hire questionnaire, here are his responses:

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

It might be a short visit, but I think I would choice some period during the reign of the dinosaurs.  The earth was so incredibly different from the flora to the fauna.  It would be fascinating to see how different it was…even if I didn’t last long in that environment.

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

The Therme Vals in the Swiss Alps.  It was the first real piece of Architecture (with a capitol A) that blew my socks off.  It has been close to the top of my Architecture bucket list ever since.

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

Not really sure too much matters to me after pets and family, since most things are replaceable to a large degree.  So, I would probably grab handmade pieces of art.  A blown glass vase that I made, my favorite painting, and a ceramic/textile art piece that I have.

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

I am a firm believer that you need to be careful what you wish for with questions like this.  That being said, I would say my maternal grandfather.  He lived in Florida most of my young life, then died when I was in High School.  I have heard such wonderful things about him and the bit of real interaction I remember with him was so great.  It would be very special to be able to have a conversation with him now that I am an adult.

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

Smell – while this would affect the sense of taste also, it seems like this would have the least detrimental impact on day-to-day life.

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

This is such a hard question.  I am all over the board wanting to choose a water animal or an animal that can fly.  In the end, since I have to choose, it would be a Kestral.  Being so small, fierce, and able to fly would be such a different experience.

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

Currently, I have a 5-year-old border collie mix named Lanka.

Name a gift you will never forget. 

My birthday is at the middle/end of the March and in 2020 it was on Saturday of the weekend that was really end the Sacramento area at least really went into full lockdown.  I have some friends that brought me a bunch of frozen food and we hung out at separate ends of my driveway and talked.  It was a time period where it really meant so much for them to go out of their way to do something nice. 

What is one of your favorite family traditions? 

This isn’t a tradition but making sure that people around me know how I feel and my appreciation.  This is something that I my father has always emphasized and I feel is very important.  This sort of thing is too often taken for granted in everyday life and people should know you care or that you are appreciative.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? 

In the last couple years, it has been going for a ride, in less populated parts, on my motorcycle.

An Ode to the Porch

African Americans have made contributions to American architecture long before they were considered architects and the porch is one of many relics that remind us of just that.

There have been numerous studies on the origin of this architectural fixture. Most analyses and research lead us to believe that the concept of this bridgeway that connects the interior and exterior of a home originated in Equatorial Africa.

Although its initial intention was to provide shelter, with technological advancements and ever-changing architectural trends, it has since evolved into a meeting place for residents and the community at large. This element is also used to showcase the decorative details of the structure’s architectural style.

In a New York Times article, community members in Detroit share the various roles porches play in their lives both physically and symbolically. For some, it is a place to gather and share stories, while for others it serves as a sign of success. All in all, it is apparent that this simple fixture bears a huge weight within African American culture. To read their testimonies in full, click here .

As a collaborator on projects located in historically black neighborhoods in Seattle and Tacoma, we engage with community members and consultants and have found that our clients share similar sentiments to those mentioned in the article. In response, we have prioritized the inclusion of this element in our designs not only for its function but also due to its cultural significance.  

Overall, we are grateful for the opportunity to have a hand in the process of preserving the presence of African American culture in both the Hilltop and the Central District and look forward to more opportunities to continue our mission to create spaces that are culturally relevant to their environment.

Project Spotlight: School Based Health Centers

This is the story of two SBHCs, both in existing spaces at both Lowell Elementary and NOVA at Mann High School, to replace temporary centers that Schemata had also designed. Both SBHCs expand the services offered to students, their families, and faculty.

The Lowell Elementary SHBC

The Lowell SHBC is the direct outcome of outreach to the school administration and PTA to see how our Capitol Hill EcoDistrict (CHED) Steering Committee (SC) could best advocate and make a positive difference in the lives or the students and their families at the school. The concept of an EcoDistrict is a comprehensive approach to addressing Equity, Resilience, and Climate Protection, and the Capitol Hill neighborhood we call home was certified under this rigorous protocol in 2022. For the Lowell SBHC, the SC invited PTA and school leadership to share their challenges, eventually leading to connecting the school with funders, operators, and the Seattle School District to coordinate this effort. Schemata Workshop provided initial conceptual design and cost estimating which led to an RFP issued by the District, and were selected in a competitive qualifications and interview process.

This past year, we collaborated closely with Community Roots Housing, Country Doctor Community Health Centers and Odessa Brown Clinic to renovate existing classroom space at Lowell ES, and a separate project to build-out a permanent SBHC at NOVA at Mann HS.

At Lowell Elementary, we collaborated with Community Roots Housing to define the program scope, develop concept designs, and perform a feasibility analysis. The design was inspired by Lowell Elementary School’s values and culture of inclusivity, and includes a reception area, a large meeting room, and two examination rooms, as well as spaces delegated to healthcare providers and the social work professionals. This expanded SBHC provides students, their families and faculty easy access to affordable, conveniently located health care providers. The center also provides translation services for patients for whom English is their second language.

NOVA@Mann High School SBHC

Schemata designed both the temporary space, and the permanent  Nova Wellness Center at NOVA@Mann HS with a program similar to the Lowell SBHC, but customized based on input from students and faculty. The NOVA SBHC includes a reception area, multiple office spaces, examination rooms,  blood draw & Lab, and a group therapy room and resting space.The NOVA Wellness Center offers no cost comprehensive, trauma-informed, and gender affirming care, provided to students at the school.

Staff New Years Resolutions

In the spirit of the New Year, we asked our staff what resolutions they had for 2023. Below are their responses:

After reviewing the responses, we found that most answers were centered around physical health and personal growth.

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution for 2023? If not, we hope our staff gave you some ideas!

The Gift of Giving: Four Organizations To Support This Holiday Season

As we are in the midst of the holiday season, the spirit of giving is in the air.  At Schemata Workshop, we work with a wide variety of clients, including nonprofit organizations who have commitments to social change. While we support these year-round, it is in the season of giving that we encourage our audience to do the same. Below are a few organizations we partner with that you can support this holiday.

Open Doors for Multicultural Families (ODMF) provides culturally and linguistically relevant information, services, and programming to culturally and linguistically diverse families of persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities. These families are often immigrants, refugees, and/or people of color in South Seattle and Southern King County. ODMF’s staff are not only experts in disability services, special education, and other mainstream social services, but also collectively speak over 20 languages, which helps to alleviate the language barrier between the families served and the services they need.

In addition to providing resources, ODMF also hosts educational workshops for parents, self-advocates and youth experiencing developmental disabilities. These programs aim to educate family members on developmental disabilities and also empower those with disabilities to become leaders in their community.

You can support ODMF this holiday season by volunteering or donating funds toward their daily operations.

Sawhorse Revolution is a Seattle-based non-profit serving high-school students primarily from Central and South Seattle. Their mission is to foster confident, community-oriented youth through the power of carpentry and craft. They achieve this with their summer and after school programs that offer students hands-on opportunities to learn about architecture and community development through services projects.

To support Sawhorse Revolution, you can donate funds to provide students with tools and materials for their projects here.

 Africatown Community Land Trust (ACLT) advocates for Black community ownership of land in the Central District and supports the cultural and economic thriving of people who are part of the African diaspora in the Greater Seattle region. Their board is comprised of real estate professionals, business executives, entrepreneurs, and other professionals and long-time community members from the Central District.

This year, they launched the “From Imagination to Creation” fundraising campaign to support the William Gross Center for Cultural Innovation and Enterprise. Their goal is to raise $300,000  for the Makerspace and Visual Effects Film Studio at the WGC, which provides youth education in manufacturing and design.

Donating to this effort allows ACLT to hire full time instructors, provide technology for operation of the facility, and help launch the Manufacture and Visual Effect program. If you are interested in giving, click here.

Queer The Land (QTL) is a collaborative project grounded in the self-determination of queer, transgender, and Two-Spirit Black/ indigenous/ people of color (QT2BIPOC), and the vision of collectively owning land and labor. QTL’s goal is to not only to provide housing but also a safe space for the QT2BIPOC community. Their mission is to create a movement by building a space that can generate income and become a political hub for QTBIPOC and community organizing. They are fundraising to create a QT2BIPOC-owned and operated cooperative in one of Seattle’s historical communities of color that will include transitional housing, a co-working space, venue space, communal space, and a community garden.

To support this effort, you can donate here.