Architecture is not for selected few but EVERYONE.
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Tag: Renovation

Siebert Remodel (Tacoma, Washington State, USA)

The Sieberts moved into Stevens Addition in early 2022 after purchasing it in late 2021. To accommodate their family of four with two teenagers, they needed to remodel the original house built in 1973 designed by Jane Hastings, FAIA to accommodate an additional bedroom and a bathroom for their daughter. They decided to remodel the […]

WWU Salish Sea Studio (Bellingham, Washington State, USA)

This project is at Western Washington University in their Fairhaven College Academic Building. The recording studio is located within the first-floor lobby of an existing 1970s concrete building, a brutalist building of the time. The recording studio consists of the main studio, voice recording room, control room, and lounge totaling approximately 1,000 square feet. The […]

Lara DADU (Tacoma, Washington State, USA)

The goals of the project as set by the owners are unifying the existing house and detached garage, not replicating the existing house due to cost, having a storage loft, a patio, and additional off-street parking for the Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU). To respond to these goals, a simple concept is deployed. The existing […]

Jeon Remodel (Seattle, Washington State, USA)

Jeon Remodel is a remodel project for a house originally owned and designed by Jane Hastings, FAIA. The house, known as Johnston-Hastings house, was built in 1974 and won a Seattle AIA Honor Award in 1977. The new owners are happy with the house in accommodating their young family of four, but they want to […]

Post COVID-19 Multipurpose Building and Space Studies (Anywhere in USA)

Architecture for Everyone was asked by a contractor to do a series of quick design studies to anticipate future projects after COVID-19 pandemic. It started as a pre-manufactured steel building but then it quickly morphed into redefining surplus of existing commercial space. COVID-19 devastates the world in so many ways but it also allows us […]

Experiential Beer Garden (Castel Maggiore, Bologna, Italy, Competition)

Beer has always been a part of human history.  Whether it is the history of its discovery from Ancient Egypt, its commercialization, its part in the entertainment industry, its pairing with food, or its technological development, beer makes a significant contribution to human social development and interaction.  Its greatest modern era contribution inarguably is its […]

The Ranch House (Yelm, Washington State, USA)

This project is a total renovation on an existing rambler on Washington State rural prairie for an avid horse riding and ranching couple.  They have a limited budget and decide to renovate and expand their house to be more functional and open to suit their needs.  The house is a typical Americana gable rambler with […]

Terpstra (Tacoma, Washington State, USA)

This project is a series of home improvement designs for the Terpstras.  Since they are all small improvements that do not require permit, costly detailed construction drawings were not provided. Instead, detailed sketches of the design showing construction intent and dimensions were produced to allow them to fully understand the design and for contractor to […]

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News

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.

Ko Wibowo presented Texture Materials for Children at Design for Early Learning Conference in Tacoma, Washington State on Monday, January 22, 2024.

Architecture for Everyone and Johnston Architects began designing the Sumner Library for the Pierce County Library System.

Architecture for Everyone was selected as one of the on-call architects for Seattle Colleges.

Architecture for Everyone was selected as one of four architects for the Child Care Capacity Initiative in Pierce County, Washington State.

Sibert Remodel is currently under construction and nearing completion.

Architecture for Everyone is part of TCF Architecture and Skanska Design-Build team to deliver Bryant Montessori School replacement for Tacoma Public Schools. Ground breaking ceremony was May 10, 2023.

Western Washington University Salish Sea Studio at Fairhaven College is now substantially completed. WWU will install acoustical treatments with the projected opening in May 2024.

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.
London is historic, Paris is grand, and Basel is organized.
Recent protests on issues of race and inequalities were staged in public spaces: our streets, parks, plazas, bordered by our buildings. While tolerance is built by understanding each other through listening to others, done as individual human beings, the result is a democracy that takes place in public spaces.  Our behavior in these spaces defines how successful democracy will be.  Thus, the design and quality of these spaces, undoubtedly, influence our behavior.  We learned about listening from Slim’s Table by Mitchell Duneier.  We learned how we instinctively behave on the street when faced with a perceived danger in Street Etiquette and Street Wisdom by Elijah Anderson. We learned how buildings can contribute negatively to our streets in Fortress L.A. by Mike Davis. We learned how we can collectively contribute to segregation in Community Becomes Uncivilized by Richard Sennett. We learned how we prepare and deal with potential negative experiences on our streets in The Uses of Sidewalk by Jane Jacobs. Now it is time we care about our public spaces and apply what we have learned to design these spaces so democracy can flourish and spread out.
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.
The greatest gift architects can give our clients is the added value of their design while they live in and the increased property value when they sell. The increased property value would be much more than the assessed value and beyond the fee they paid for. This could be one of the ways to close the wealth gap.

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