Architecture is not for selected few but EVERYONE.

Sumner Public Library (Sumner, Washington State, USA)

Architecture for Everyone teamed up with Johnston Architect to design the new Sumner Library for the Pierce County Library System.

The project is located east of downtown Sumner where the density begins to taper off into a suburban residential area. The library is designed according to the City of Sumner design guidelines to continue the small-town feel of downtown. The proposed library features a sloped roof as a nod to the surrounding houses and flat roof pop-outs to bring daylight deep into the building and as a civic beacon to the community.

Note: All images courtesy of Johnston Architects

Sumner Public Library (Sumner, Washington State, USA)

Siebert Remodel (Tacoma, Washington State, USA)

Highline College Campus Wayfinding Concept Study (Des Moines, Washington State, USA)

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News

Mahlum, in partnership with Architecture for Everyone, is selected to design New Middle School for Edmonds School District.

Architecture for Everyone is part of BCRA Design and Korsmo Construction Design-Build team to deliver the Lowell Elementary School replacement for Tacoma Public Schools.

Architecture for Everyone and Johnston Architects have been designing the Sumner Public Library for the Pierce County Library System. The project is to start construction in Spring 2025.

Architecture for Everyone is involved in a couple of feasibility studies for The Washington State Fair in Puyallup.

Thoughts

Architecture is not for selected few but EVERYONE. The upper 1% can buy with their wealth, the bottom 5% are taken care of by the government. The challenge for each architect is to also serve the middle from the bottom 5% to the upper 1%. That is social justice in architecture.

If Disneyland is to Apple Macintosh in its integrated design, Las Vegas is to IBM PC in its open-source method. But both employ Robert Venturi’s “ugly and ordinary” design approach.

Creativity is to solve design problems, not to creatively force the realization of a heroic design ideal.

We expect our buildings to be flexible and adaptable but fail to recognize that we, humans, are the most adaptable creature. Architecture is heavy and static and, therefore, shall not be expected to be able to be changed too much without significant intervention.

Between three east Asian traditional architecture of China, Korea, and Japan, the most ornate and decorative is Chinese, followed by Korea and Japan being the least. That is why Japanese architecture can accept and adopt the idea of modernism well, especially minimalism.