green = practical

[caption id="attachment_1649" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Fern Hill Terrace Apartments"][/caption] Mike and I met with a non-profit housing developer recently who indicated that one of their funders said that we should really stop talking about green building and sustainability. Their opinion was that what we are really talking about is taking a practical approach to design - focusing on reducing energy consumption, lower operations and maintenance costs.

Wow! What a refreshing change to have enlightened funders (who have historically been concerned about bottom line returns and building more with less) who truly get the triple bottom line with respect to affordable housing. By expecting affordable housing projects to be environmentally sustainable, WA state funders are acknowledging the social equity of providing healthy homes for low income families and seniors, but also the economic benefit to housing operators, and reduced energy consumption for low income tenants.

[caption id="attachment_1654" align="alignleft" width="700" caption="Typical Unit Kitchen"][/caption]

Fern Hill Terrace is a project that recently completed construction for the Multi-Service Center and Shelter Resources, Inc. It is a rehabilitation of an existing low income housing property. There are 24 family units in this project located in Tacoma, WA. Due to funding from the state, the project was required to satisfy the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standards - not only for the renovation but also for the 600sf of new construction. The great thing about the project was not only that we were able re-use the existing buildings (the best move we could have made from a sustainability standpoint), but that the residents of this apartment community were not displaced during construction. The construction occurred in a phases such that 4-6 units were renovated at a time. Sure, the residents had to move out of their units as they were being renovated, but they simply moved into another unit within the complex...which allowed them to maintain the same bus routes, driving routes, and daily schedule. For some seniors and families, this was a big deal - they shared that with me during the open house. And they were able to move back into units that were like new - new cabinets, flooring, doors, windows. The energy efficiency is dramatically improved, the indoor air quality significantly improved, and radiant heating elevated above the window to eliminate the fire hazard of the previous electric baseboards. Not to mention the improved laundry facilities, community room, low impact landscaping, and new kids playground.

Schemata Workshop is proud to serve low and moderate income families and seniors in Washington state by designing safe and decent homes - you can call them green, we call them practical.

The Italy of the Italians Part 1

Italian culture is arguably the single most important contributor to western civilization. Whether in the arts, sciences, commerce, or even governance (current intrigues, of course, excluded) both the legacies of individual such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Lorenzo De Medici, and Justinian, or the collective influences of the Renaissance and Roman Empire of which they were are part, the Italians' contribution to our way of life is immeasurable and profound. A living testament to this legacy is found in the many fine cites throughout Italy, a few of which form the basis of this series of posts. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"]

Mantua Skyline[/caption]

Having seen many the cities one typically thinks of when thinking of Italy, my recently completed trip focused on what one may call second (and third) tier cites, in this case mostly in Emilia Romagna. I use the term second and third tier advisedly, for the cities visited are amongst the finest urban environments anywhere, and their lesser notoriety in not a slight to their beauty or charm, merely the lack of recognition of their qualities amongst non-Italophiles.

Visiting Mantua, Ferarra, and Bologna (along with brief stopovers in Modena, Parma, Turin, and Varese) was an opportunity to see a side of Italy unavailable to those whose focus is only on the country's most popular destinations. Unavailable, because those cities are filled not only by their residents, but also throngs of visitors, whose impact on the cityscape is significant. Without the crowds and tour buses, one can arrive at a better sense of how these spaces function on a day-to-day basis -- to see how they function as working cities – and not merely places of leisure. The public spaces visited were filled with the population of the city served, allowing a more tangible measure of their utility and their successes.

[caption id="attachment_1606" align="alignnone" width="300"] Ferrara Streetscape[/caption]

Italy, of course, was not a nation until 1861, so I use the term Italians not to describe a nation in the contemporary sense, but really the group of people who shared a common language and a common history. Unlike say France, Great Britain, or Spain, there was no country of Italy ruled by a powerful gentry (much of Italy was in fact ruled by foreign powers). What it lacked in national unity it made up for in strong regional identity forged by leading cities, with each being the head of government, commerce, and culture for the region. Each primary city was therefore, a distillation of all of the qualities we identify with modern nation states. We too have cities such as these today: London, Tokyo, Paris, and so on, each the cultural, financial, and governing capital of their nation. What is remarkable about the Italian cities described here, is they achieved comparable levels of greatness in their own time, with populations of maybe 30 to 60 thousands and not millions. This compact size relative to greatness allows an intimate relationship to be forged,, even during a brief sojourn.

[caption id="attachment_1597" align="alignnone" width="700"] Bologna the City of Colonnades[/caption]

Mantua, Ferarra, and Bologna’s origins can be traced back prior to the Roman Empire, though they did not flourish until the late Middle Ages or the Renaissance. In addition to this shared imperial heritage they rose to prominence while ruled by a leading family, whose power came from commerce, banking, or land holding. They were also the seats of bishops. Perhaps it was the concentration of governance (both secular and ecclesiastical) and commerce, and its resulting artistic patronage, which fostered these city-states to greatness. A physical manifestation is to be found within the constructs of the city itself. And even though some grounding in history would help one arrive at a conclusion with greater haste, the observant traveler is bound to come to similar conclusions. The palazzo and duomo fronting the piazza (the traditional market place) is an urban typology typical to almost all cities visited; or, in other-words, both the secular and sectarian seats of power defining the place of public assembly and commerce. Always in the center of the historic city, and always easy to identify by the splendor, size, and regalia of their construction, this logical assembly of edifices imparts to one a knowledge of arrival and of place. With the exception of the duomo, the uses of the buildings may have evolved to our present day, but their function has remained the same: clearly designating a hierarchy of relationships and methods of interaction among the citizenry of the city. And though predictable, there is certainly an abundance of variation within the typology to lend interest to each town visited.

Building a Team

[caption id="attachment_1555" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Schemata Bowling Team - in a league of our own"][/caption] Last fall, a friend lent me a leadership / management book to me called the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (written by Patrick Lencioni of the Table Group). I gladly accepted it and upon return to office, it was promptly buried on my desk. 4 months later, as I was preparing for our annual staff retreat, I pulled it out and read it. It was a quick read – accomplished on the flights to/from San Fran.

It wasn’t your typical dry management book, but more of a concept described in roughly 20 pages at the back of the book, with a “leadership fable” preceding which illustrated the concepts. The fable was high drama and included dialogue – so it was quite easy to immerse myself in the story and imagine the scenarios playing out in my own work team (except that we weren’t a silicon valley technology start-up, gunning for an IPO).

The premise of Lencioni’s concept is that a truly effective team has to be built upon a foundation of trust. Not the touchy feely trust about falling back into each others arms…but of really knowing your teammates well – how they might react in a specific circumstance and being supported by them in a variety of situations.

Once you have foundation of trust, then you can comfortably and confidently engage in passionate debate that allows all viewpoints to be heard. This level of unfiltered and productive conflict (not conflict for conflict sake - aka "drama") results in genuine buy-in from all members of the team. Teams that can commit to a decision are not hesitant to hold one another accountable for adhering to decisions and performance standards. And ultimately, this all helps us keep our “eyes on the prize” and act on what is best fo the team, not letting ego or personal aspirations get in the way. Lencioni's diagram of the model looks like this:

5 Dysfunctions Pyramid

[caption id="attachment_1567" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="5 Dysfunctions Pyramid"][/caption]

In our annual retreat, we discussed this model in detail. And did some exercises and brainstorming about the year to come. And then we did something we unexpected by all – we went bowling and drank beer. After a day spent strategizing and conversing, this was by far the funnest part of the day…and yet the most important. As I learned from a studio head during my days at SOM in Chicago – it’s important to work hard and play hard…together.

Maintaining Brand Integrity

[caption id="attachment_1558" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Maintaining brand integrity through Customer Service"][/caption] Customer Service is a high priority for us at Schemata Workshop. The architectural services we provide are the commodity that we have to sell. And our past experience has proven that our satisfied customers are the best marketing tool we could ever hope to have. So we work hard to do good work, communicate well, and cultivate a culture of customer satisfaction amongst our employees. That’s the only way to preserve and build brand integrity.

On a flight down to San Francisco last month, I purchased a Picnic Pack from the flight attendant. It included olives, almonds, hummus and some other tasty treats – tasty enough that I bought one on my return flight. Hungry, I tore open the package of almonds and popped one into my mouth. I reached in for another and to my surprise pulled out a white rubber gasket.

I looked around thinking “did that really happen?” and looked back at the rubber band in my hand. I was about to get the flight attendants attention to request a replacement, but quickly stopped myself. At that point, I wasn’t going to eat any more almonds, but more importantly, if I handed over the almonds, the company who produced it would never know of this incident. So I tucked the bag of almonds into a plastic bag in my purse and resumed eating the rest of my snack.

When I returned to the office, I wrote the company a letter explaining what had occurred. And more importantly explaining that as a small business owner who was committed to supporting American businesses, I wanted them to know so they could improve their quality control. I included the small packages of almonds and mailed it off without a second thought.

Fast forward 2 weeks.

I returned to office after lunch to find a large box next to my desk. The return label was from Madison’s Grand Avenue Chocolates in La Verne, CA. The company name rung a bell, but I couldn’t place it so I opened it. To my surprise, it was filled with 5 boxes of almonds from the company I’d written to.

In the well-composed letter accompanying the variety of raw and roasted almonds, the company owner apologized for the problem and offered appreciation for my support of their business. To make up for my inconvenience they were offering me a sampling of their almond line (which made me wonder if they had erred in sending me 5 boxes vs. 5 samples).

Nevertheless, the moral of this story is about building a brand. In this case, one bad customer experience could have resulted in a barely-grumpy customer who may stop to consider purchasing her next Picnic Pack. They could have written me off and said “oh well” or “oops, I hope that never happens again.”

Instead, their acknowledgement of the problem and simple attempt to remedy it has resulted in me blogging about their company -sharing their name with all of you. What better marketing can you get than that?

This is a lesson that I can directly relate to in our practice. Customer Service is a high priority for us at Schemata Workshop. Sound cheesy? Well, yeah, I can see why someone would think so. However, I will point out the obvious by stating that architects provide professional services. Most of us don’t have patrons that enable us to do self-glorifying projects. Thus, the architectural services we provide are the commodity (or widget or almonds) that we have to sell. And our past experience has proven that our satisfied customers are the best marketing tool we could ever hope to have. So we work hard to do good work, communicate well, and cultivate a culture of customer satisfaction amongst our employees. That’s the only way to preserve and build brand integrity.

Earth day – clean up

For some, Earth Day only reminds them of childhood activities long ago when they cleaned up a nearby neighborhood and were rewarded for the number of cans they gathered. But for others earth day is no different than what they do every day – being prudent consumers and fully aware of their carbon footprint. I have committed to being more aware of my carbon footprint and strive to consider Earth Day as an every day event. This commitment was energized by taking part in the bi-annual Duwamish Alive river cleanup, held every April and September. Last Saturday, April 16^th I participated at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Seattle. The event is sponsored by Soundkeeper Alliance, People for Puget Sound, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, NOAA, Argosy Cruises, and Alki Kayak Tours to name a few. For a list of all sponsors go to http://www.duwamishalive.org/

The clean up at the South Park site was twofold which included both shore-side park beautification and, most anticipated by me, in-water cleanup via Kayaks.   

During the park beautification shift a few people from the Nature Consortium, my brother, and I tackled the invasive black berry bushes on the banks of the river (see the before photo above) and I have scratches on my arms from the thorns to proof it! I felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with each branch I tore out (see the after photo below). The removal of the invasive weeds allows for the native plants to return taking a small step toward restoring the natural habitat of the area.  

In mid afternoon it was our turn to commandeer the kayaks and I was excited! We immediately spotted trash on the opposite side of the river and paddled over to pick it up, Styrofoam! Styrofoam was the most obvious trash on the water and banks, understandable given the industrial nature of the area. But, unfortunately, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and plastic bags were our most commonly gathered trash. The event was eye opening to say the least. With every plastic bag I found I remembered all the times at the grocery store when I forgot to bring my reusable bag. I vowed to be more mindful of having it with me in the future. In the end, my brother and I filled 3 large bags of trash (the most we could safely fit on our kayak). It felt good to contribute this small amount to the total collected by the entire group at the Duwamish Waterway Parkand the total trash gathered from all 13 sites along the Duwamish by approximately 1,100 volunteers all together! 

If you are interested in striving to consider Earth Day as an every day event the next clean up sponsored by Soundkeeper Alliance is May 14^th where we will be removing trash in Lake Union and Portage Bay. For more information go to http://pugetsoundkeeper.org/programs/partnerships/waterway-cleanups/waterway-cleanups