Last week on a sunny Seattle Wednesday, the entire b9 office visited our project with Cascade Built on 25th Ave E.

This project is especially unique because all homes are designed to Passivhaus standards and a few of them will achieve certification. Construction has been rigorous as we’re striving for a completely air tight envelope in order to reduce infiltration and heat loss. So far, all of the framing is completed, every edge and crack is sealed, and we’ve just begun putting up the Barnboard siding.

The project is coming along nicely, and the view of Madison Valley from the rooftop deck is sublime..!

What a summer for b9!

Office Outing 2014 | Boating on Lake Union

b9 has turned into “b-almost-9″ (coined by Caroline) with 3 new additions to our formerly modest 5-person team.

There has been plenty to do here, and we’ve been keeping ourselves busy with exciting new projects and a new office! But more on the latter, later…

We’re excited to present the work of local Seattle artist and architect-in-training Becca Fuhrman this Thursday, June 5th from 5-8pm!

Come join us for an exhibition opening and reception of “Early Bird Special” – a mixed media portrait series that examines the “typical” characteristics of a beauty portrait that go past the ideal and captures the idiosyncrasies, imperfections, and humanity of its subjects.

Becca Fuhrman studies a wide breadth of art, design, and architecture. Her interest in the human condition, its representation, and experience are the driving force behind her work. She continues to explore these themes within visual communication and representation as a project manager at Studio 216.

We’re located on 210 S. Jackson St in Pioneer Square, and this exhibition is a part of Pioneer Square’s celebrated First Thursday Art Walk. So stop by, and enjoy some great art, soothing wine, and fantastic company!

We’ve been a little quiet on the blog lately… but that’s because we have been cranking our gears and working on a new project type for b9 – apartments!  Construction has begun on our townhouses in Fremont and we are working in the neighborhood again. The project is a new mixed-use apartment building and the proposed site is 743 N 35th Street.

You are invited to an informal Fremont Neighborhood Meeting to discuss the project.

Come see the preliminary design proposal and share your comments with those involved in designing the project. All are welcome!

Where: Fremont Public Library Meeting Room
731 N 35th Street

When: Saturday April 19th 11:00a – 12:30p  

The formal Early Design Guidance Meeting with the Northwest Design Review Board will be:

Where: Ballard Community Center, Sunset/Captain Ballard Room
6020 28th Ave NW

When: Monday April 28th 6:30pm – 8:00pm  

Contact: info@b9architects.com

This winter, the B9 team spent a portion of our time to focus on the b9Lab aspect of the practice. The b9 Lab was established to explore our interests in architecture, research new materials and building methods, and allow us opportunities to participate in design competitions. The Folly Competition was an exploration of the intersection between architecture and sculpture and the increasing overlaps in reference and concepts between the two disciplines. As the name of the competition suggests, a folly stands between the two disciplines and it is the task to give our interpretation of a folly for the Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York (Sponsored by The Architectural League of New York).  The winner(s) of the competition will be given a $5000 production grant towards realizing the project.

Read more on the Folly competition, Socrates Sculpture and the Architectural League here.

Our competition entry:

What is the current condition of the architectural folly? In a cultural climate so infatuated with imagery and distraction, we can easily imagine the folly as the most fashionable form of architecture; a glossy image, a recent post, a quickly forgotten snippet. In the constructed object, however, we find a different set of values. We can pause at the folly. We can slow down. We can consider the folly as a landmark in our way that disrupts our frantic pursuits.

Lobby is conceived as a disruptive landmark, a threshold between the park and the city. Positioned at the entrance to the Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NY, the proposal pulls visitors through its’ porous edges and separates the experience of the city from the experience of the sculpture park. Inside this folly, space is condensed and the experience is intimated. You can hear the feet of the person just across the aisle. Shadows are cast on flowing walls of fabric. The typical elements of construction are stripped of their solidity and allowed to flap in the wind, open up to the sunlight, and cast unexpected shadows.

Site Plan

View of Lobby from park entry

Sitting on a platform in the Lobby

View at night with light at the heart of the Lobby

Section through Lobby

Lobby is practical and achievable. Standard materials and methods of construction are applied in unusual ways. Our palette is a simple one: dimensional lumber (2×2 and 2×4), steel connectors, plywood, paint and fabric.

Lobby is flexible and adaptable. The construction of our proposal is based on a system of modules that derive from the dimensions of our material. This system can be reordered to accommodate a variety of unexpected challenges and opportunities. This could also mean that elements of the folly begin to spread into other areas of the sculpture park.

Lobby provides a memorable relief valve for the visitor.

View of path into the Lobby

View to the park from the Lobby

There were over 200 entries for the competition and although our entry was not selected, we will be exploring future ways to realize our Folly | Lobby.

Stay tuned for more b9 Lab projects in the future.