Sketch & Swap

Well you are in Luck! Come out and go drawing with Architects. We will be meeting up to draw and discuss a few buildings here in our very own Tacoma. This summer’s theme is
Past, Present & Future, so we will be sketching an old building, a new one and one that has yet to be imagined.

May 24th, 2011 @ 6pm
−Meet us @ Amocat Cafe - 625 Saint Helens Avenue, Tacoma, WA
Then we will check out a building designed by E. A. Hatherton that was built in 1893

Please RSVP by e−mail aiasww.elg@gmail.com

WA Trust's Most Endangered Properties List

Announcement 11am May 24

Fireman's Park at S. 7th & Pacific Ave in downtown Tacoma

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to host a press event on Tuesday, May 24th at 11:00 a.m. to announce its annual list of the state's Most Endangered Historic Properties. The event, open to the public, will be held at Fireman's Park, located at the intersection of S. 7th Street and Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma. (Editor's note: it is safe to say that at least one Tacoma property will be named to the list.)

Since initiating its Most Endangered Historic Properties List in 1992, the Washington Trust has identified over 100 historically significant resources experiencing a wide range of pressures. Inclusion in our annual list is intended to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing historic resources across the state and to encourage collaboration with all stakeholders to develop preservation strategies. In numerous instances, Most Endangered status has worked to facilitate solutions that promote the historic significance of sites while retaining important resources as viable, functional components of our neighborhoods and communities. In 2009, the Murray Morgan Bridge was named to the List. Five historic resources are highlighted in the 2011 List.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization, promotes the preservation of historic places in Washington State through advocacy, education, collaboration, and stewardship. Founded in 1976, the Washington Trust addresses its mission through the annual Most Endangered Historic Properties List, educational tours of its landmark headquarters, the Stimson-Green Mansion in Seattle, conferences and training workshops, a quarterly members' newsletter, a small grants fund, and action on legislation and public policy. Visit the Trust website at www.preservewa.org for more information.

Public Art Plan for the Prairie Line Trail

Urban Design & Public Art Coffee Klatch

May 25 10 – 11:00am

AMOCAT Café
625 St. Helens Ave, Tacoma

In March, the team of Todd Bressi with Thoughtbarn (the collaborative duo: Lucy Begg & Robert Gay) were selected after a national competition, to create a public art plan for the Prairie Line Trail. Funded by the National Endowment of the Arts, the plan will provide strategies for the development of public art and public art experiences along the trail. In addition, the team will develop and implement a demonstration project that will engage the community and bring visibility to the project.

Join us for an informal gathering to meet Todd Bressi and Thoughtbarn, learn more about the project and share your visions about Tacoma. French press coffee and baked goods provided.

Todd Bressi is an Urban Designer and Planner. He brings a foundation of research-based design and public participation approaches to the firm’s projects. He edited the design journal, Places, for a decade and teaches various planning and design courses at the University of Pennsylvania. His work has won awards from local and national design organizations and has been published in numerous professional magazines. Bressi received a B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia and a Master of City Planning from UC Berkeley. www.artfulplaces.com

Thoughtbarn, the collaborative team of Lucy Begg and Robert Gay, is a multidisciplinary studio that champions the artful design of everyday spaces through buildings, urban strategies, public art installations, and furniture. Some projects of note include: a solar-powered way-finding system for the Lance Armstrong bikeway; a house which can be fully recycled; a glowing cloud of lights using plastic bottles, LEDs and solar panels. Invention, collaboration, and resourcefulness are at the core of their practice. www.thoughtbarn.us

For more information about this project, please contact Amy McBride at 591-5192 or at amy.mcbride@cityoftacoma.org.

Next AIA Associates / ELG Meeting

We hope you can join us.
Date: Wednesday, May 18th
Time: Noon
Place: The Harmon - 1938 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, WA 98402

Emerging Leaders improving lives

The Emerging Leaders Group (ELG) and the Emerging Green Builders (EGB) teamed up to sponsor a house on National Rebuilding Day Saturday April 30^th. Through two fundraising events in February and some generous donations, the ELG was able to raise the money necessary to sponsor a house. We were grateful that Jim Newman from Rushforth Construction was kind enough to once again be our house captain.

Our homeowner this year was LaVerna, a 69-year-old widow who has lived in the house for more than 30 years. She grew up in the neighborhood only a few houses away. Currently, LaVerna has mobility issues due to a number of knee surgeries and takes care of her adult granddaughter who also lives in the house. Her granddaughter is in a wheelchair while going through chemotherapy.

The scope of the project was to remove an existing, deteriorating ramp and to build a new one in it’s place, replace some rotting decking on her adjacent patio, stabilize the handrail at the front porch and possibly assist with some yard work. As we were demolishing the ramp and removing the rotting wood, it became apparent that there was more work required than anticipated. As the ramp was being taken apart, the adjacent structure covering part of her patio began to collapse. We quickly installed temporary supports to stabilize the structure. Once a few of the decking members were removed it revealed that the supports below were extremely rotted making the decking unsafe and therefore required replacement .

The dedicated team of volunteers stepped up and did what was necessary to complete the project. We were at the home Saturday until 7pm then a small team went back Sunday for a few hours to finish the job. At the end of the weekend, LaVerna had a new safe ramp, half the patio was rebuilt, the handrails at the front porch were secured and her flowerbeds were weeded.

LaVerna was overjoyed and extremely thankful for the new ramp. Now she does not have to worry about the decking giving way as she pushes her granddaughter’s wheelchair up the ramp and that the handrails at the front porch will support her when she needs them.

Rebuilding Together is a volunteer, charitable group who repairs/rebuilds homes at no cost to low-income homeowners, particularly those who are elderly, disabled or families with children. http://www.rebuildingtogetherss.org/

Thanks to everyone that supported our effort!!

Financial support to sponsor the project provided by:
BCE Engineers
Rushforth Construction
Amy Dedominicis - Tacoma Design Collaborative
Enginuity Systems

Coffee provided by Amocat Café - 625 St. Helens Ave, Tacoma http://amocatcafe.com/

Rebuilding Day Volunteers:
Kina Barker, Kelly Braun (Volunteer Coordinator), Joel Braun, Kate Burnham, Brian Corcoran, Amy Dedominicis, Ben Ferguson, LeEllen Ferguson, Les Gerstmann, Brett Maddox, Mark Nelson, Jim Newman (House Captain), Steffany Tilton, Sunni Wissmer and Ryan Wolfe