May 2008

A/E Bike-to-Work Challenge

For the second consecutive year, SvR hosted the A/E Bike-to-Work Challenge. The challenge ran during May, encouraging employees to commute to work by bicycle. Twenty-two Puget Sound-area architectural and engineering firms competed this year for the Golden Helmet Award, which is awarded based on a formula that includes: total miles ridden; percentage of firm participants; and percentage of trips made. The 22 firms fielded 368 riders who commuted 43,075 miles by bike during May.

At the month’s end, awards were given for the firm with the highest percentage of riders, the top three individual riders, and the firm with the highest adjusted score.

In this year’s challenge, SD Architects won the Firm with the Highest Percentage of Riders award. SD Architects had three out of four employees riding to work in May or 75 percent of the office. Runner ups included SvR and BOLA Architecture + Planning.

The top rider in the Challenge was Notkin Mechanical Engineers’ Igor Rozanski at 1,018 miles. Other top riders included Chris Robertson of Shannon and Wilson at 854.7 miles, and Joe Llona, formerly of TetraTech, at 768.5 miles.

The 2008 winner of the Golden Helmet is SvR, also last year’s winner, with an adjusted score of 1,763.06 miles. In May, SvR rode 4,462 miles in 682 trips with 32 out of 43 employees commuting by bicycle. LMN was runner up with an adjusted score of 761.13 miles followed by Mithun with an adjusted score of 756.92 miles.

Prowalk / Probike 2008 – Schedule and Programs Announced

Prowalk / Probike is scheduled for September 2-5, 2008, in Seattle, Washington. The annual conference brings together planners, engineers, advocates, safe routes to school coordinators, and public health practitioners to discuss and learn about pedestrian and bicycling issues.  This year, SvR is participating in two of the conference’s sessions: “Can Green Streets Be Complete Streets too?” and “The Common Language of the Broken Bone: Effectively Using Public Health to Inform Design Processes and Bolster Advocacy Positions.” For more information on Prowalk / Probike and to register for the conference, please see http://www.bikewalk.org/2008conference/index.html.

116th Avenue NE Non-Motorized Facilities Project – Phase 2

The City of Kirkland recently selected the SvR-led team to complete the second phase of the 116th Avenue NE Non-Motorized Facilities Project. Design will include the addition of bicycle facilities, walkways, and an equestrian trail along 116th between NE 60th Street to Bellevue city limits. The project team will also integrate low impact development systems to address water quality issues and enhance adjacent sensitive areas. SvR will be working closely with the City and team members Natural Systems Design and Alta Planning + Design.

March 2008

Edmonds Cultural Corridor

The City of Edmonds selected the SvR-led team to complete the next step in the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor Project. SvR will lead development of an implementation plan along Fourth Avenue to improve the pedestrian experience and enhance cultural tourism and economic development in downtown Edmonds. The team will be developing options for the right of way as well as partnering with Edmonds to create implementation and funding plans for this historic, art-rich corridor. The core SvR team includes designers from LMN, artist Pam Beyette, and public involvement specialist Marcia Wagoner.

January 2008

High Point Redevelopment Recognized for Site Development

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) honored the High Point Redevelopment with the 2006 Region 8 Outstanding Major Project Award for Site Development. Region 8 includes the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada and Arizona.

Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan

The SvR team was recently selected by the Seattle Department of Transportation to prepare the Pedestrian Master Plan. A walkable city is key to the health and well-being of our citizens as well as the vibrancy of Seattle. SvR will work closely with team members Toole Design Group, Bright Engineering, ReadWagoner, Livable Streets, Mark Fenton, and Heffron Transportation to overcome the hurdles of pedestrian planning and implement solutions for growth in Seattle. For more information on walking issues, please see: Walking.org.

Woonerf for Yale Campus on South Lake Union

SvR has been working as the landscape architect and civil engineer on this two block campus for the Blume Company. The campus will include four new office buildings adjacent to a “living street” where pedestrians, not cars, will be the focus of design. SvR is designing a variety of progressive green infrastructure elements to help the Blume Company realize this vision. These include a water-quality treatment swale, a woonerf that will act as a pedestrian plaza, and rain gardens. For recent press on this project please see the Seattle Times.

Dave Rodgers now a Principal at SvR

June 2007

High Point Redevelopment Receives Awards

The Urban Land Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers (Seattle Chapter) recently honored the High Point Redevelopment with outstanding project awards.

Every year, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) honors outstanding real estate projects. The High Point Redevelopment was one of the 11 winners – from a pool of 170 entrants – of the 2007 ULI Awards for Excellence.

ULI Awards for Excellence recognize the full development process of a project--construction, economic viability, marketing, and management  – as well as design.

In June, High Point also received the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Seattle Chapter’s 2006 Outstanding Project Award in the Site Development category. The project will represent the Seattle Section in the Region 8 awards, which includes competition from other ASCE sections chapters in the Pacific Northwest, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii. 

High Point is an environmentally responsible low impact development community in West Seattle. To learn more about the project please visit our High Point Project Page.

April 2007

UWLA 433 Class

This spring, two SvR staff members are serving as guest lecturers at the University of Washington’s Landscape Architecture class: Large-Scale Site Construction. In this class, the final of a series, landscape architecture students are designing and preparing construction documents for the City of Kent’s Mill Creek Canyon Park Dam project. Greg Giraldo, PE, LEED® AP, and Amalia Leighton, PE, are assisting students in formulating the alternatives for the engineering solution. The City of Kent granted this review primarily because the work will be near and possibly impacting one of the original “earthworks sculptures” in the country. 

March 2007

Vision 2020 Award for the High Point Redevelopment

The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) recently honored the High Point Redevelopment with a Vision 2020 Award. The Vision 2020 award honors projects that direct growth in urban areas and regional growth centers in an environmentally responsible way, fostering economic development, and providing an efficient transportation system. The High Point project is a model of how to incorporate mixed-income, green building, and low impact development design approaches for infrastructure and site development.  SvR is the civil engineer and right-of-way landscape architect for this 120-acre redevelopment. For further information, please see the project description.

February 2007

Zoomazium earns LEED Gold Rating

This January, Woodland Park Zoo’s new interactive play space, Zoomazium, became the first zoo project to attain a LEED Gold rating in the world. SvR provided civil engineering services for the project including: rerouting of utilities and utility hookups for the irrigation of the green roof, design of a regional detention facility, and grading and drainage for the amphitheater and main pathway. The 8,300-square-foot facility demonstrates lessons in sustainability with: a green roof with native plantings, energy conservation methods, use of sustainable materials and recycled content materials, green solar screens, and patterned glass (which reduces bird strikes).