Archinect - News

Four tranquil Pacific Northwest homes by mwworks: Your Next Employer?

2024-08-12T12:06:00-04:00

Following our previous visit to Tennessee-based HK Architects, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Washington this week to explore the work of mwworks architecture + design.

Founded in 2007, the Seattle-based firm has built a portfolio spanning architectural and interior design services for residential and commercial clients. “Several aspects of our work tend to stand out,” the firm’s founding partners Steve Mongillo and Eric Walter told our Studio Snapshot series in 2021. “The material palette, the attention to craft and detail, and the relationships of spaces — both within the buildings and in the landscape beyond. Our favorite work has a clarity or simplicity but also a calm and warmth that comes from the layering of materials and textures.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently seeking several professionals to join their Seattle office. For candidates interested in applying for the position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, w...

LMN completes overhaul of Buxton Center to connect with history and ecology of Pacific Northwest’s Bainbridge Island

2024-02-13T11:50:00-05:00

LMN Architects has completed an extensive renovation and expansion of the Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Described by the team as marking “a new era for performers and the arts community in the Pacific Northwest,” the center has been upgraded with a renovated main auditorium and lobby.

Image credit: Lara Swimmer

Visitors to the center are greeted by a new two-story lobby enclosed by a wood and glass curtain wall, responding to the site’s woodland context. Above, a wave-form roof and ceiling plane displays an exposed wood structure, tying the new program spaces together to give the building a clear identity.

Image credit: Lara Swimmer

“The roof and ceiling plane echoes the region’s architectural vernacular and is expressive of the building program,” said LMN Architects principal Mark Tumiski about the scheme. “We took advantage of the scale and tectonic identity of the original structure...

Schools and communities in the Pacific Northwest hope for improved building code standards for earthquake preparedness

2024-01-04T08:35:00-05:00

Current seismic codes require public buildings to be built strong enough so they don’t fall down in a quake. Now, some emergency preparedness advocates want to raise the bar. Not only should essential buildings resist collapse in a strong earthquake, but also newly constructed schools, in particular, should be built so in the immediate aftermath they can be counted on to serve as relief centers.

The article mentions the AIA Oregon chapter’s efforts to push lawmakers towards adopting more stringent building codes in preparation for a cataclysmic 9.0 Cascadia earthquake. Some relatively cheaper proactive measures, such as tsunami towers, are being enacted, but the 1,000 or so schools thought to be at risk for collapse statewide just a few years ago still need to enact drastic changes whose costs are proving too much of a burden for local administrators to get behind.

“A lot of districts have been building schools and not doing this,” local Portland-based architect Jay Raskin explains. “Every year we go without requiring that schools be capable of being used as shelters is a year we miss providing shelter for the surrounding neighborhoods during a Cascadia earthquake.”

Another vote on the Oregon legislation is not expected until at least 2025.

Five contemporary timber homes by Wittman Estes: Your Next Employer?

2023-10-30T15:20:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to Wyoming-based Dynia Architects, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Seattle this week to explore the work of Wittman Estes.

Founded in 2012, and spanning architecture and landscape operations, the firm operates on “the idea that buildings and landscapes can be combined into one interconnected whole.” Back in 2017, Archinect sat down with firm founders Matt Wittman and Jody Estes as part of our Studio Snapshot series, in which the duo described their firm as “part of a new movement of young Seattle practices who reject architecture as object and shape-driven form-making in favor of an architecture of experience and site connection.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring a Drafter/Designer to join their Seattle office. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning about the firm’s output, we have rounded up five contemporary timber homes by Wittman Estes that exemplify the studio’...

LMN Architects' Seattle Aquarium expansion receives $1M Murdock Trust grant

2023-07-17T16:59:00-04:00

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust gave the Seattle Aquarium a $1 million grant toward the construction of the new Ocean Pavilion, the Trust announced Tuesday.

The grant will support the completion of the Seattle Aquarium’s new $160 million Ocean Pavilion, which was designed by LMN Architects. The expansion will add 50,000 square feet of exhibits, theatrical spaces, and support areas. It will integrate a series of public pathways that provide vertical connections between multiple levels of plazas. The pavilion sits adjacent to the Seattle Aquarium’s current location on the Seattle waterfront. Construction on the project began in 2020 and is currently in Phase 4, which entails the creation of the interior habitats and spaces, the public rooftop, the elevator and stairs, and the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and animal life support systems.

Previously on Archinect: LMN Architects’ 'sweeping' Seattle Aquarium expansion sees significant construction progress

The Ocean Pavilion forms part of a $750 million project by Seattle to redevelop the city’s waterfront, which includes the creation of public parks and cultural spaces. The pavilion has...

LMN Architects announces progress of its new Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts expansion and remodel

2023-04-11T11:36:00-04:00

LMN Architects is celebrating the near completion of its expansion and renovation of The Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts in Washington.

Located on Bainbridge Island, the new Buxton Center will create a stronger connection to the island by "reorienting its entry sequence to the axial plan of the island’s town square." The Center will have a wood and glass curtain wall that encloses a two-story lobby space. The lobby will serve as a way to immerse visitors within the surrounding woodland landscape. Adjacent to the center is a studio that will operate as a separate performance venue and will be the primary home of the Bainbridge Performing Arts Theatre School program.

“The original theater was a civic treasure for the island and a vital gathering space to celebrate the arts in the local community,” said LMN Architects Associate Erik Perka. “Throughout the design of the new building, our main goal was to preserve the intimacy of the theater while strengthening the connectio...

A job opportunity at the City of Tacoma offers insight into a career in urban planning

2023-04-05T16:36:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for the Architecture Program Chair at the University of Michigan, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for a Senior Planner at the City of Tacoma’s Planning and Development Services.

The role, based in Tacoma, WA with the possibility of a remote arrangement, calls for an individual who is “passionate about working with diverse community members to solve complex problems and building great communities.” The position also asks for either a bachelor’s degree in planning, architecture, urban design, or a closely allied field with four years of planning experience, or a master’s degree with two years of experience in the planning profession.

Why the role interests us

The position at the City of Tacoma offers insight into the role performed by public planning department...

Featured architecture projects from female-led firms based in the American West

2023-03-01T15:20:00-05:00

As we enter Women's History Month today we begin to highlight some of the work produced by female-led firms, to complement our existing stories and profiles.

Pioneering women in the profession continue to make their mark and shift our industry into a more inclusive direction. When you look at a realized design project, however, it's not always clear who the team of leaders and designers are behind that work. To kick off a celebration of women, Archinect launches a new series featuring built projects led by female-owned and operated firms.

For our first installment, we've started with 13 architecture firms based in the American West that have posted projects to their Archinect Firm Profile. Feeling inspired? Check out the job opportunities at female-lead firms in Archinect Jobs.

B+B House by Design, Bitches
The firm is led by Catherine Johnson and Rebecca Rudolph in Los Angeles, CA

B+B House. Image © Yoshihiro Makino. Learn more about the project here.

Armstrong Ave Residence by Robi...

LMN Architects’ 'sweeping' Seattle Aquarium expansion sees significant construction progress

2022-12-14T11:34:00-05:00

Construction has commenced on the $160 million expansion to the Seattle Aquarium. Designed by LMN Architects, the new Ocean Pavilion is expected to open in 2024, and will form part of the campus’ vision of becoming “the world’s first planet-positive aquarium.”

Project construction led by Turner. Video courtesy of Turner Construction.

Along the waterfront, the pavilion’s massing is formed of sweeping geometries that integrate a series of public pathways. The multi-level plazas created by the landscape will become part of a network of open spaces along the waterfront, including the adjacent Overlook Walk designed by James Corner Field Operations, Miller Hull, Jacobs, and the City of Seattle.

Image credit: LMN Architects

Inside, the new waterfront pavilion will include 50,000 square feet of immersive exhibits, theatrical spaces, and support areas, in what LMN call an “engaging human environment linking the city, waterfront, and ocean.” The central exhibit of the pavilion will be the 3...

Inside LMN Architects’ exposed mass timber hall at the University of Washington

2022-11-03T11:25:00-04:00

Work has been completed on the LMN Architects-designed Founders Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. The Seattle-based firm, who recently featured on our Meet Your Next Employer series, used the 84,800-square-foot building to create “a new hub for community, entrepreneurship, and innovation” while incorporating architectural principles of sustainability and harmonization with the wider campus.

Photo credit: Tim Griffith

Now completed, the building becomes the first fully mass timber building on the University of Washington campus. In addition to lowering the scheme’s embodied carbon footprint, the use of Douglas fir was also leveraged to create a “warm and inviting” atmosphere within the school. On the exterior, timber is blended with masonry to both reflect the material palette of the surrounding campus, and “hint at the experience” inside.

Photo credit: Tim Griffith

Internally, the building is composed of three volumes hosting student collaboration spaces,...

21 architecture jobs in Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellingham

2022-09-23T12:00:00-04:00

Looking for an architecture job in the Evergreen State? Start your employment search in three Washington State cities Seattle, Bellingham, and Tacoma. For this curated job round-up, we highlight 11 architecture firms currently hiring.

The Archinect Job Board features 100+ employment opportunities from hundreds of firms each week. Check out who's hiring below.

Opportunities based in Seattle, WA

Golden View Residence by Workshop AD. Image © Kevin Scott

Workshop AD seeks a Project Designer/Architect

Details: "Our practice is growing, we are building projects, and we are seeking motivated candidates to join our team. We are currently seeking a Project Designer / Architect with five years of experience to join our team. This position requires collaboration, motivation, and an interest to work within a broad range of housing typologies and scales. Our work involves a comprehensive approach that incorporates interior architecture." Read more here.

Johnson Oaklief Architecture + Planning,...

Meet radical pragmatists LMN Architects: Your Next Employer?

2022-06-13T11:13:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to New York’s Lang Architecture, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series westwards to Seattle, where we find civic design specialists LMN Architects.

The encounter isn’t our first with LMN. Back in 2018, we spoke to the firm’s partner Stephen Van Dyck as part of our How To Get A Job At ____ series. In the conversation, Van Dyck emphasized the importance of speaking thoughtfully about one’s design process, noting “we want to learn about their approach to, and thoughts on design, and how they demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving skills.”

Now counting over one hundred members, the firm is currently hiring for four positions on Archinect Jobs: a Specifications Strategist, Project Manager, Project Architect, and Interior Designer.

Since their founding in 1979, LMN has adopted what they call a “radical pragmatist” approach to design. By begi...

Tsunami Towers are about to spring up along the Pacific Northwest shorelines

2022-02-08T12:37:00-05:00

“The fact of the matter is that if a tsunami occurs tomorrow, we are going to lose all of our children,” said Andrew Kelly, the superintendent of the North Beach School District, which includes Ocean Shores. Mr. Kelly is one of a growing number of local officials who are calling for a network of elevated buildings and platforms along the Northwest coast that could provide an escape for thousands of people who might otherwise be doomed in the event of a tsunami.

Voters in the Washington state community of Ocean Shores will decide today on a measure that would install a pair of tsunami towers that can hold up to 800 people. Residents in the immediate shoreline region would have only ten minutes to escape potentially 100-foot waves propelled by a quake in the shallow offshore Cascadia subduction zone. The state estimates that around 70,000 people would be trapped in low-lying areas that have no bluffs or tall buildings which can be used as an escape.

The elevated steel platforms can be placed on top of parking garages, schools, and other structures to achieve a safe vertical distance from the inundation, although many such buildings in the area are not sufficiently seismic-ready to withstand magnitude 9.0 tremors. Washington has proposed 58 such towers, which cost around $3 million each to construct. To date, only two structures have been completed: one at a facility operated by Oregon State University, and the other, at Ocosta Elementary Sc...

20 highlighted architecture job opportunities in the Seattle area

2022-01-20T15:06:00-05:00

Searching for a new job in 2022 in the Emerald City? The Archinect Job Board features employment opportunities from hundreds of firms. For this week's curated jobs round-up, we're featuring 20 jobs from 9 firms based in the Seattle area.

As you prepare to find a new job, don't forget to check out helpful resources and articles from our Archinect Tips section. From resume revamps, portfolio breakdowns, and virtual job interview tips, our professional practice-focused editorial will keep you informed and ready to tackle the workforce.

Opportunities based in Seattle, WA

Golden View Residence by Workshop AD. Image © Kevin Scott

Workshop AD seeks a Project Architect and Project Designer

Details: "Our Seattle-based architecture practice is focused on compelling projects across a range of geographies and scales. We believe a workshop is not about a single voice, but a collective effort. We also believe in a workshop’s most honorable commitments to material, craft, and exploration. This mo...

Signal's makeover of historic Fort Worden offers Puget Sound a new arts center

2021-10-13T18:14:00-04:00

Whence a military installation, now an art gallery. A new adaptive reuse project from Signal Architecture + Research has transformed a one-time coastal artillery fortification in Port Townsend, Washington into an eight-acre arts compound with accommodations for studios, exhibition space, and a new artist residency called Makers Square.

Image courtesy SIGNAL

The project took three of Fort Worden’s warehouse buildings currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remade what began a harbinger of violence into a historically sensitive space for creative expression.

Image courtesy Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission

The old quartermasters’ warehouse is now a gallery space complete with new double-height ceilings and a gabled roofline. Two writers’ studios occupy an expanded attic area, and the basement has been transformed into a headquarters for the local station KPTZ with the help of engineering partner Arup. The two remaining buildings became ideal canva...

The new Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal in Washington is inspired by the Coast Salish longhouse

2021-01-05T13:08:00-05:00

The LMN Architects-designed Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal has officially opened in Mukilteo, Washington. The two-story terminal building is inspired by the tribal longhouse built and used by the region's Coast Salish tribes. Designed in partnership with KPFF Consulting Engineers, the new structure replaces the previously existing terminal built in 1957.

"We listened intently and realized our project had to tell a story, one that had been partially hidden from the general public for years and covered under a Cold War fueling tank farm and a pioneer lumbermill before that," said Charlie Torress, Mukilteo Design Project Manager at Washington State Ferries (WSF) in a statement. "The group of designers asked to bring the project together embraced the goal of designing a new ferry terminal that honored and respected the history and values of the Coast Salish people. While only a transportation facility, it owes a debt to the generations of people who occupied this beautiful piece of ...

LMN Architects completes the Grand Avenue Park Bridge in Washington

2020-10-12T14:19:00-04:00

LMN Architects has completed the Grand Avenue Park Bridge in Everett, Washington. The 257-foot-long steel truss structure spans from the hillside to a vertical concrete tower, creating a dynamic civil space that both addresses utility and leisure.

The new bridge solves an intricate sequence of grade changes through a form that weaves pedestrian ramps and stairs throughout a sloping truss, connecting Grand Avenue Park to the waterfront district.

“As designers, we found these circumstances the perfect opportunity to create a place where the accessible features would define the experience,” says LMN Partner Stephen Van Dyck, AIA. “In its design, the Grand Avenue Park Bridge is also a destination. The bridge’s paths, stairs and spaces create a variety of views beyond and within that make it a place of discovery.”

Large cedar trees surround Christopher Wright Architecture's coastal home in Washington

2020-05-20T13:13:00-04:00

Seattle-based Christopher Wright Architecture designed this home for owners who wanted to live in an intimate space with a strong connection to trees, bay views, and the land. Combining Swiss-style architecture with modern influences, the aesthetic nature of the dwelling highlights craftsmanship, structure, and connectivity to the surrounding landscape.

Photos by Anna Spencer.

"We wanted to create a home that seems to belong where it is–as if it could have always been there–but does not necessarily blend or disappear. Here, I like the strength of the simple forms set against the natural landscape," said Christopher Wright, founder of Christopher Wright Architecture in a statement.

Photos by Anna Spencer.

Surrounded by cedar trees, the buildable area of the site was minimal and the team ensured the trees were kept intact. As such, the home was built close to the trees, requiring a modified approach to the traditional foundation so that the roots of the cedars would not be disturbed.

Ph...

Seattle Tunnel trial: contractor must pay $57 million to Washington state for massive Bertha breakdown, jury finds

2019-12-16T14:30:00-05:00

A jury has awarded the Washington State Department of Transportation $57.2 million in damages, after a two-month trial over delays in the downtown Seattle Highway 99 tunnel project. The verdict, reached Friday against the tunnel contractors in Thurston County Superior Court in Olympia, represents the entire amount the state requested at trial.

Remember Bertha, once the world's largest tunnel-boring machine which, very inconveniently, broke down in 2013 after hitting a pipe while digging the Seattle Tunnel, delaying the megaproject for more than two years? A jury just sided with the Washington State Department of Transportation that the tunnel contractors were indeed to blame for the delay and thus owed $57.2 million in damages.

The four-lane Highway 99 tunnel beneath downtown Seattle eventually opened in February 2019.

To recall the massive scope of the SR 99 tunnel-boring machine, watch this video of a drone exploring Bertha's inner workings, published by the Washington State Department of Transportation in 2016.

8 Featured Architectural Job Opportunities in Washington State

2019-05-31T12:00:00-04:00

Besides its amazing landscapes, Washington state is home to several architectural structures. From the iconic Space Needle, Gehry's Museum of Pop Culture, and the Seattle Public Library, the "Evergreen State" is a cornucopia of architecture and design. For this week's weekly job roundup, we feature 8 firms looking for the right intern, junior designer, and senior level architects to join their team.

ACMA Performing Arts Center. Image courtesy of Ankrom Moisan Architects

PRDG architecture + design seeks a Project Architect/Senior Designer
The ideal candidate must have a min. 5-7 years of work experience in all project phases of construction: from feasibility design through construction administration.Experience in coordinating construction document preparation, detailing and interiors. AutoCAD drafting skills, 3D modeling - SketchUP knowledge and Mac proficiency a plus. Immediate hire for June 2019

Ankrom Moisan Architects seeks an Urban Design Lead Architect and Architect Healthcare ...

The fate of Chinatowns: Can they survive displacement and gentrification?

2019-05-29T09:00:00-04:00

The specter of unwanted change has loomed over a quiet corner of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District for nearly the past four years. [...] Displacement is a genuine concern in Network cities, which, in addition to Seattle, include Boston, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Toronto.

Several city staples like Chinatowns are facing the effects of gentrification and urban displacement. "White populations in Chinatowns grew faster, for example, than the overall white populations in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, according to a study by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The study also found that, though Asian Americans remain the largest ethnic groups in those Chinatowns, they no longer represented a clear majority."

Demographic transformations are rapidly growing throughout these "Network cities," which result in areas like Chinatowns to be vulnerable to gentrification, luxury development, and displacement. Using the city of Seattle as an example, a city study revealed that in 2016 the Chinatown-International District plus Little Saigon to the east had experienced redevelopment in some way. Already surrounded by an influx of transit hubs and sports stadiu...

Take a look at the drawings for Jeff Bezos's new D.C. mansion

2018-04-27T13:44:00-04:00

Jeff Bezos has been quietly jetting into Washington over the past few years, becoming quite the hobnobber around town [...]. Soon, Washingtonians may see even more of him. In 2016, the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner paid $23 million in cash for the former Textile Museum in Kalorama (yes, his neighbors are the Obamas and Kushner-Trumps). At 27,000 square feet, the mansion was already the biggest home in Washington before he began a $12 million renovation and expansion last year.

"Overseen by the Barnes Vanze architecture firm, the reno project covers 191 doors (many either custom mahogany or bronze), 25 bathrooms, 11 bedrooms, five living rooms/lounges, five staircases, three kitchens, two libraries/studies, two workout rooms, two elevators—and a huge ballroom," Washingtonian reports.

The renovation is expected to be finished by December.

Renée Cheng named dean of University of Washington's College of Built Environments

2018-03-14T16:05:00-04:00

Renée Cheng has been named dean of the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments, President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty announced today. Her appointment, set to begin Jan. 1, 2019, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents. Cheng is professor and associate dean of research at the University of Minnesota, where she has developed award-winning curricula and recently has been directing an innovative graduate program linking research with practice and licensure.

"The College of Built Environments is a unique collection of disciplines that together, have unparalleled access to, and impact on, the lives and well-being of each and every community around the globe," Renée Cheng said. "I am honored and excited to join the College of Built Environments and work with new and existing partners, in the greater Seattle area and elsewhere, to collectively make the greatest positive impact."

Amazon's Spheres are now partially accessible to the public; here's how to get in

2018-01-29T17:05:00-05:00

Amazon’s Spheres, a botanical gardenlike workspace for the retail giant’s employees, are primarily a private space. But the company has set up a few ways for the public to access the geodesic domes — in downtown Seattle on Lenora Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues — starting Tuesday, when the Spheres officially open to visitors and employees.

The Amazon Spheres, designed by NBBJ, will now be open to the public; however, getting in may be tricky. There is the option of entering from the ground floor to see an exhibition about the Spheres, and the much more difficult option to join a guided tour of the entire headquarters.

Inside the Spheres at Amazon headquarters in Seattle. Image: Seattle City Council/Flickr.

Amazon has created an exhibit space called Spheres Discovery at Understory, located on the ground floor of the spheres. The space will showcase all the details about the design and plants housed within Amazon's newest addition to their Seattle headquarters. Admission is free, but you will need to make a reservation for your visit.

Amazon Spheres in the company's Seattle headquarters location. Image: iTecnologia/Twitter.

Getting in on the guided headquarters tour will give you access to the employee-only areas. These tours are offered on Wednesdays and include a stop at the Spheres, while they are free they are als...

Microsoft offers treehouses to connect their employees back with nature

2017-10-18T14:54:00-04:00

While Apple opens the doors to their new campus, and Amazon looks for a location for its second, Microsoft has gone in a different direction, building Wi-Fi tree houses so staff can connect with nature.

Microsoft's campus is comprised of 120 buildings spread across Redmond, Washington—a suburb of Seattle—and surrounded by 500 acres of woods. After a recent employee survey found many workers would like to work outdoors more, the tech company has added to their campus by rigging up three high-tech tree houses in Redmond's Pacific Northwest Douglas firs. The company is also currently working on other tech enable outdoor districts around the campus for their employees.

Pete Nelson of Animal Planet's "Treehouse Masters" was recruited to help create the new elevated meeting space. Equipped with Wi-Fi, electricity—every weatherproof bench has a hatch containing a power supply—an outdoor gas fireplace, and a shipping container that houses a barbecue restaurant, the company hopes to boost em...

Brutalism lovers rejoice: Plans for a new FBI headquarters are canceled

2017-07-11T14:40:00-04:00

The decision follows years of failed attempts by federal officials to persuade Congress to fully back a plan for a campus in the Washington suburbs paid for by trading away the Hoover Building to a real estate developer and putting up nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to cover the remaining cost. For years, FBI officials have raised alarms that the decrepit conditions at Hoover constitute serious security concerns.

Built in 1975 in Washington DC, at $126 million, J. Edgar Hoover Building was the most expensive federal building ever erected. While much loved by some architectural critics, the building has also been under intense criticism for its appearance and functionality ever since its construction.

J. Edgar Hoover Building from the street - taken in April 2007.

Some of its most distinctive features like its open courtyard, designed to allow visitors to walk freely into the inner courtyard, and its firing range equipped with a 162-seat auditorium, where visitors can sit and watch agents take shooting practice, have become obsolete over the years. The Stanislaw Gladych and Carter Manny-designed Brutalist icon was going to be demolished and replaced with a mixed-use condo building, but as of now, it's destiny is unclear.

According to the Washington Post, "Further retrofitting is prohibitively expensive; despite the Hoover building’s overall size of 2.4 million gross square feet only 53 perce...

The new exhibition at the National Building Museum, 'Architecture of an Asylum', explores the links between mental health and architecture

2017-07-10T17:58:00-04:00

Dix made sure the hospital that became St. Elizabeths in 1916 had heat, tall arched windows and screened sleeping porches where patients could catch summer breezes. Photos, models and floor plans included in the museum exhibit show handsome brick buildings — with towers, high ceilings, open space and river views.

Washington's National Building Museum features an exhibit that tells the story of architecture of St. Elizabeths or, as originally named upon its opening in 1855, the Government Hospital for the Insane.

Started by Dorothea Dix, the 19th century reformer who fought for the facility to represent healthier standards for mental health treatment, the history of the federally-operated hospital bears traces of America's changing healthcare system, evolving theories of how to care for the mentally ill, as well as the later reconfiguration of the campus as a federal workplace and mixed-use urban development.

The porches of the 1890s Allison Buildings, shown above in 1910, were later enclosed to provide more space for patient beds. Image courtesy of National Building Museum

"Some things cannot be cured," says Denise Everson, an architect in the D.C. area who specializes in design and health. "But I think humane treatment — I think, creative treatment — is where we should go as a community, as...

Man Writes 91 Songs About the Washington, D.C. Metro System

2017-06-13T17:28:00-04:00

It took six years, but every subway station in the Washington, D.C. area is now immortalized in song. For musician Jason Mendelson, it’s his magnum opus.

The Magentic Fields wrote 69 songs about love; professional tax manager and sometime musician Jason Mendelson has managed to record 91 songs about the Washington, D.C. Metro system, with one song for each subway stop.

Map of the Washington, D.C. Metro.

While music critics will not be equating these two works anytime soon, it's rare for an entire transportation system to be memorialized in song (although [Get Your Kicks On] Route 66, along with Kraftwerk's Autobahn, come to mind). It's worth noting that Mendelson doesn't play favorites: in the video accompanying the article, he proclaims that "There are no boring commuter stops."

How long until Amazon conquers downtown Seattle?

2016-07-01T15:35:00-04:00

When its spheres and three surrounding towers are completed, [Amazon] will have 10 million square feet of office space in Seattle, more than 15 percent of the city's inventory, on a campus that occupies more than 10 square blocks. That will provide space for Amazon to more than double in size, to 50,000 Seattle workers in the next decade...The spheres, designed by architecture firm NBBJ, are Amazon's boldest statement yet in the first project it's building from the ground up.