Hygge

There's an article on Mother Nature Network about the word Hygge (a Danish word) and how it can get you through winter. It's an interesting read that is pertinent not only as the days get darker but also as we enter the season of holidays and family and joy and giving. As the article points out, Denmark is a pretty great place to live statistically and maybe it's small things like Hygge that make it that way.

http://www.meettheboss.tv/blog/the-worlds-happiest-countries/

While there is no English equivalent for the word, I latched onto a loose translation of it as togetherness and well-being. It's similar to cozy, yet it comes from interaction instead of space. People are at the core of Hygge's meaning. 

This togetherness may occur in Denmark during the darkest, longest nights but in its truest form, it's a part of everyone's consciousnesses. It's easy right now to be inspired to share this feeling with people around you, to give time and money to those less fortunate. This is a season of abundance in America, and it's true that people like to share when there's so much to give.

Hygge, though, is a year-round endeavor. People should feel cared-for and happy in any season, and while the article highlights slowing down, the focus should also be noticing those around you. If you never see the people who live next door, how can you feel connected to them?

Mira leading a tour of Lowell Elementary Students through the Schemata Office

Schemata is a firm that values community in the every day. It's not only our mission to listen to the people who our work directly affects, but also to have a presence in our local community with community service and by giving directly.

Our bicycling coworkers at National Bike to Work Day 2012

This year, through donations and community service, as a company and as individuals, the Schemata team has been honored to support the following organizations:

Alley Cat Project, Arcade, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Bellwether Housing, Bike Alliance of Washington, Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, Capitol Hill Housing, Cascade Bicycle Club, Coyote Central, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, Friends of Washington Music, Friends of Youth, Greater Seattle Business Association, Green Plate Special, Homestead Community Land Trust, Housing Development Consortium, Habitat for Humanity, InterIm CDA, KEXP, KUOW, Lowell Elementary School, Low Income Housing Institute, Mercy Housing, Mountaineers, Neighborhood House, New Futures, Northaven Foundation, PSKS, Plymouth Housing Group, PPUNC, ROOTS, Sawhorse Revolution, Seattle AIA (Design in Public, Women in Design, Women's Leadership Summit, Historic Resources Committee), Seattle Animal Shelter, Seattle Architecture Foundation, SCIDpda, Seattle Planning Commission, The Service Board, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Washington Middle School, Washington Trails Association, Wing Luke Museum, Women's Funding Alliance, YouthCare

Scott discussing construction with Sawhorse Revolution students

As our calendar's pause this week, and we look back over the year, there is much joy to be found. There are accomplishments to celebrate, new team members to welcome, and events to remember. Through it all though, we will try to continue to serve in our community, share our happiness, and lend our support. 

Bellevue, Bellevue, and Bellevue Part 1

Buildings are relatively simple to write about. They are objects within the landscape and as such are easy to quantitatively define easing the path to a qualitative assessment. Landscapes, on the other hand, can be more challenging as they are often composed of a seemingly infinite number of parts. The relative position between landscape and viewer can present challenges as well. Buildings typically has a front, back, and sides. The main facade, often where the entry is, usually grabs the most attention and is the view seen in glossy magazines. Landscape lacks such frontal qualities. What tree, hill, river, or plaza has a defined front (or back, for that matter)? While there are certainly advantageous views that elicit  feelings of lesser or greater satisfaction, landscape’s ensemble of vegetation, geography, geology, buildings, and other characteristics make it more challenging to succinctly describe; yet, it is these very qualities that also make it more satisfying and emotionally evocative than most buildings. It is these multifaceted and often elusive qualities that keep me writing about what I enjoy most about Capitol Hill, the amazing variety of landscapes both architectural and otherwise. Landscape is all encompassing, yet hard to distill to key points that are succinctly shared.

With landscapes as diverse as Pike|Pine and Volunteer Park, one would have to put conditions on what constitutes one's favorite Capitol Hill landscape, such as: which is my favorite commercial street, distant view, or verdant park? Despite this inexorable taxonomical quandary, Bellevue, Bellevue, and Bellevue, on the northwest corner of the Hill, certainly presents opportunities to engage landscapes that are among the Hill's finest. Its charms are many -- too many for just one post -- so I  start with with that quality which I think is the most noteworthy: the combination of both close-in and distant vistas as well as the variety of both natural and created landscapes that are all available for enjoyment within a two or three block area.

The first landscape considered is one to the northwest of the Hill, as framed by Belmont Avenue. It proves an excellent example of both near-in and distant landscape: lush foliage in the foreground, Lake Union in the mid-ground, and the handsome Aurora Bridge with Ballard/Fremont in the background. Any of these landscapes in and of itself deserves at least passing attention -- combine all and you really have something special .The Japanese have a term for the conscious layering of near and distant views --shakkei -- or, borrowed scenery. It is hard to know if city planners had scenic views in mind when the street-grid was mapped, but I would not be surprised if capturing these views was a conscious decision. A more compressed view immediately to the south of the first is one of Queen Anne, again with Lake Union in the foreground. It lacks the distant spatial layering of the first image, but consequently allows more detailed views of the boats and shoreline buildings.

A block to the west offers mostly mid and distant views, including one containing Seattle's most famous built landmark; the cacophony of cranes a reminder that landscapes are constantly changing. Beyond Paul Allen's domain, there is a glimpse of the southern peaks of the distance Olympic Mountains. This overall landscape exhibits the ingredients that many of us cherish about living in Seattle -- a dynamic urban realm set in a spectacular natural setting.

Equally compelling is a sequence of landscape views quite different from the previous, and conveniently nested between them. They are more compact and do not rely on distant vistas to lend them their richness, yet Capitol Hill's diverse topography remains a vital ingredient. Capitol Hill streets often traverse at rather oblique, off-grid angles in order to negotiate the abrupt changes in elevation. The combination of steepness and off-grid leads to  juxtapositions between building and landscape. The first image of the pair above is a Capitol Hill favorite, with the angle of the Ben Lomond and its position down hill of Bellevue Avenue lending a bit of serendipity to our normally orthogonal streetscape. The second image is looking from the front of the Ben Lomond further down to Belmont, where the stair-stepping of the garages in the background are evidence of the street's steepness. What I really treasure about this landscape is that the floors of the apartments they serve are actually aligned -- even as the garages step -- offering a dynamic visual contrast.

The down the hill view of the previous image captures all of the above and adds to the story. This time the cobblestone slope of Bellevue Court dominates the view, especially as it gently conceals the entrance of the Ben Lomond. A bit of hide and seek, as it were, and lending a rare sense of mystery to our otherwise relentless street grid. Being at the base of such a steep and short hill places one below objects normally seen at a higher vantage; the apparent size  of the pair of trees is dramatically increased due to one's vantage point being below the base of the tree, giving a sense that the street is dominated by green.

Next time: the flat lands of Belmont, Belmont, and Belmont.

Housing Washington 2014

In early October, Grace and Christopher attended Housing Washington, a 3-day conference that takes place annually in either Tacoma or Spokane and focuses on affordable housing. It brings together all manner of people and organizations who have a role in the affordable housing world - from developers and architects to lenders and facilities staff.

This year's conference in Tacoma had dynamic speakers and numerous learning opportunities, with sessions on topics such as housing for veterans, how mid-term elections may impact the legislature, and basic construction tips. The conference kicked off with a tour of the Schemata Workshop-designed Kirkland Avenue Townhomes in Renton. Grace also presented a "lobby talk" on lessons learned from the project.

We were happy to see our friends at Beacon Development Group win a "Friends of Housing" award for their many years of hard work developing thousands of affordable housing units. The award explained why so many from the office were attending the conference - and their more-dapper-than-usual appearance :)

The conference was also a great opportunity to catch up with old friends in the field, and make new connections. See you next year!

Mingling between sessions. Photo credit : www.PDixonPhotography.com.

Grace discussing the Kirkland Avenue Towmnhomes. Photo Credit : www.PDixonPhotography.com.

Friends from Ally Development and InterIm CDA. Photo Credit : www.PDixonPhotography.com.

Award-winning Beacon Development Group. Photo Credit : www.PDixonPhotography.com.

Mingling between sessions. Christopher is way in the distance. Photo Credit : www.PDixonPhotography.com.

Schemata Travels!

The Old Farmer's Almanac is currently the oldest continually published periodical in the United States. Its first issue came out in 1792. Many from generations prior would say they lived by it, and some still do. Topping out at 4 million distributed this year, it seems to still exist as more than a kitschy historical item. If so, I wonder if it predicted the unending Seattle summer this year? Were there clues in its depths to the surprising warmth and lack of rain - the people outside from dawn to dusk celebrating? Did the almanac's foreknowledge motivate a great urge to be outside, or was it a spur of the moment decision, the sun just too irresistible?

Whatever it was, the Schemata team thrived in it. We traveled, we celebrated, we connected with each other and family and friends and nature. We explored every corner of Washington, and then ventured further into the Pacific Northwest, and the south, and the east. Some of us made treks across new countries, others found little known areas to play near home.

I searched for a quote that could sum up all of our travel experiences. I had hoped there would be one philosophical, all-encompassing statement but I found that each individual story, told through the pictures they brought back, was just too interesting to be looped in with the rest.

Orcas Island- Mira

Bridal Veil Falls- Will

Victoria- Mike, Grace, & Ella

Chicago- Mike, Grace, & Ella

Chicago- Mike & Grace

Chicago- Mike & Grace

Quebec- Mira

New York- Mira

Maui- Christopher

Maui- Christopher

Latvian Countryside- Christopher

Lithuania- Christopher

Lithuania- Christopher

Paris- Kurt

Paris- Kurt

Florence- Kurt

Florence- Kurt

A detailed look at modular construction

The Kirkland Avenue Townhomes are on site and well under final construction in Renton.  To further describe modular construction in process, here are images from the Champion Home factory in Weiser, Idaho. The following photos and descriptions are describing the 1st seven stations in the manufacturing process. 

Station 1 | Framing

The floor is framed and the subfloor is glued and nailed into place.

Station 2 | Rough Wiring and Plumbing in Floor

The floor is lifted and placed on jacks so workers can comfortably access the underside of the floor.  Electrical and plumbing runs are put into place to align with future walls.  This sequence of work is very different from standard site built construction and relies on well detailed shop drawings.  Typically a plumber would install all runs after the framing is in place, it takes a bit more planning to do the plumbing this way, but we’ll see why it is of benefit in the following stations.

Station 3 | Flooring, Cabinets, and Shower Installation

The floor is taken off of the jacks and placed onto rollers, the floor from this point on will be slid along these rollers and pieces will be craned onto the platform.  The linoleum flooring is now placed first.  Since we’re in a factory environment there is no concern about installing the floor prior to the townhome being dried in.  Putting the floor down before the framing make it easier to install, minimizing cuts around walls and cabinetry.  Carpet will be installed near the very end since it’s more difficult to protect during construction.

After the floor is set cabinets are plumbed and the shower are installed.  This is another stage that a very different from standard construction; plumbing into the shower and cabinetry is made easier without walls in the way, so it’s done now, before we move on to vertical framing elements.

Station 4 | Wall Framing

Walls are framed flat, with gypsum wall board (GWB) running continuous over all framing members.  The gyp is installed on one side only, to keep the other side exposed  for access.  The plant attempts to keep the side that will be the most accessible once set into place as the exposed side.  This simply makes it easier to install the remaining GWB and typically makes installation of electrical boxes, switches, and receptacles easier as well.  Once the walls are framed and gyped, they are stood into place between station 4 and five, vertically.  Batt insulation is installed and any penetrations through the sill plate are drilled here before they are craned into place in station 5.

Station 5 | Placement of walls and Electrical Runs 

The initial framed walls are craned into place with overhead rolling cranes.   While the remaining walls are framed in station 4; electrical work begins, bringing in wiring and junction boxes for fire control systems, and outlets.  Plumbing is routed vertically and other connections are made for sanitary wastewater lines.  Fire control boxes are installed an conduit pull runs are installed for routing of all conduit to be installed in the field.

Since the GWB is run continuous over the framing members in Station 4, conditions where framing and finish materials overlap are commonplace.  It’s simply easier to run the GWB continuous than try to cut back around corners.  In standard construction this simply could not happen.

Station 6 | Ceiling Framing

While the walls are just being framed in station 4, the roof is framed in a very similar manner to the walls, laid flat on a platform, with GWB installed prior to setting the onto the walls.  It remains in this station while fire suppression piping and electrical wiring is installed.

Station 7 | Ceiling Drywall

Just before the floor platform in station 4 is moved into its next position at station 8.  Electrical Junction Boxes and stubouts for fire suppression sprinkler heads are installed.  The drywall for the ceiling is also taped and mudded prior to the entire assembly being craned over the box in Station 8.