#WorksiteWednesdsay South Hill Pediatric Dentistry’s new home is taking shape at the corner of 31st and Grand in Spokane. This new facility will further its mission of providing comprehensive, accessible, coordinated oral health care in a nurturing, child-centered dental office.
Check out this timelapse from Baker Construction & Development, Inc. showing the site-cast concrete panels going up at the Huntwood Cabinets warehouse expansion in Liberty Lake. There were a total of 30 panels – 25 feet wide by 32 feet high. They make it look easy!
Another Worksite Wednesday update, this time out at the Huntwood Cabinets facility expansion in Liberty Lake. Site-cast concrete panels are officially in place. The process was scheduled to take three days, but they only needed a day and a half. Fantastic job, Baker Construction & Development, Inc. Teamwork makes the dream work!
When the existing on-campus facility for the Jesuit Community at Gonzaga University was reaching the end of useful services, the University opted to build a new facility, rather than remodel.
This April marks the 10th Anniversary of Bernardo Wills Architects’ home in the historic Bissinger Building in Downtown Spokane. Bob Wills and Gary Bernardo’s vision transformed an abandoned warehouse building and brought new life to Jefferson Street.
Matthew Halstead, BIM/CAD technician, has joined BWA. He is currently providing drafting, design, and construction support for two new buildings in Washington state: Vivacity Care Center, a primary-care medical clinic in Spokane Valley, and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories’ SEL Event Center in Pullman.
A city parks department goes after funding to update a well-loved park. But in order to apply for various funding resources, they must have a plan – what the industry calls a master plan. A master plan determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. It can both express and regulate public policies on transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing. But where to start? Landscape architects are one of the resources available to parks departments and other public entities, serving as a guide for the development of a master plan. One key tool that design teams utilize for information gathering is a series of public forums with the various stakeholders. Clients generally start the process with many ideas for the plan but need additional input to build a unified vision. This is where the public process comes in: engaging the community (including many user groups with varying needs) to collect an informed response of what everyday users would like to see in their public project.
The public process is important for a variety of reasons. It provides transparency to the public, allows time for feedback, airs concerns, and creates a sense of buy-in and ownership from the community. Feedback gathered from the process informs the design, allowing consultants and public entities to consider additional factors and unique insights. These ideas are potentially not evident solely through site observation and client direction, and all contribute to the overall vision. One challenge we often find in the information gathering stage is engaging a wide range of age groups and families, based on various schedules, comfortability with technology, and access to information. In order to overcome this, it is important to use a multi-faceted public input process, allowing the best range of feedback. Some of the techniques we use include public meetings, mailed surveys, online surveys, voting boards, comment cards, and pop-up studios.
From the Liberty Lake Regional Park Master Plan to the Sandpoint Parks Master Plan Update, our landscape architecture team has been increasingly involved in the public process phase for projects. The success of these projects would not be the same without community members investing their time to share what matters most to them.
Written by Julia Culp, ASLA
We sat down with Chuck Horgan, AIA, Bernardo Wills Architects Associate Principal and member of the City of Spokane Design Review Board (DRB), to learn more about what the DRB is and why it’s important to Spokane and our clients.
What is the Design Review Board, and what is their purpose?
Firstly, the Design Review Board is made up of both citizens and practicing professionals who represent community interests. It is important to have diversity of both design and technical professions on the board in order to represent as many folks as possible. The Board was established to improve communication and participation among developers, neighbors, and the City early in the design of new developments (subject to design review – more on this later). The Board’s job is to ensure the projects under review are consistent with adopted design guidelines and help support the City’s comprehensive plan, as well as add to the overall aesthetic quality of Spokane’s public realm.
What kinds of projects require DRB review?
Publicly funded projects anywhere in the City (Schools, libraries, etc.), any project in the downtown area, and projects that are requesting Design Departures from prescribed standards all require review by the Design Review Board. There are other additional, more specific triggers – a skywalk over a public right-of-way and projects requiring a shoreline conditional use permit (CUP). So far I’ve helped review primarily public and downtown projects, though the DRB is about to review a project due to a shoreline CUP.
Why did you decide to get involved with the DRB?
I felt a responsibility to join the DRB due to my professional interest in helping make Spokane a better community, and personal interest in a vibrant local arts scene. I believe that well-designed buildings and public spaces are important for a vibrant, strong and engaging community, and I’m interested in how the arts can be incorporated into, and enhance, the built environment. Working as an architect gives me a professional understanding of how the design of the built environment affects resident’s and visitor’s experiences in our community. I am also a member of the Spokane Arts Commission, which has a set on the DRB, and they like to fill it with an architect. It’s an honor to serve in both capacities, and it offers both professional and personal fulfillment.
What should our clients know about the preparation for DRB presentations?
For the DRB submittal, the client and design team provide information about the design (site, access, massing) and neighborhood context for the initial meeting, then provide more detail about the specific solutions being proposed, including materials, landscaping, lighting, etc. at the subsequent meeting. Communication with the City staff (early and often!) is encouraged and helps the process proceed smoothly. The DRB presentations can be integrated into the project schedule without adding time to the process, but there is additional work for the design team to prepare for the presentations. In practical terms, there is a cost to the DRB process, but it is small in relation to the overall design effort.
When working with a provider to design or renovate their space, patient experience is everything. Safety, cleanliness, comfort, and clarity are all at the top of the list of priorities. Providers know patients are faced with concerns when entering their office and aim to ease anxiety with the floorplan, finishes, and overall “feel.” When asked what percent of the patient experience is our responsibility, I would say that every inch is in our purview. Every element of a space can either add to or diminish the level of anxiety in patients. Colors, textures, daylight, orientation, circulation patterns, and noise levels should all be considered early in the design process. We benefit from an excellent interior design department that can work with our clients to achieve their desired feel while offering expert space-planning for the best possible outcome for providers and patients.
After completion of the project, we actively seek out feedback (especially the negative) once the space is lived in. We schedule time during our one-year warranty walk through to talk with a variety of staff members about what patients mention about the space, what functions well, and what they would change. Needs and processes change over time, and observing how a project endures helps us improve the next one.
