The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP

We’re excited to announce our collaboration with African Community Housing & Development (ACHD) on an inspiring new project, set to be unveiled?this Friday?at ACHD’s inaugural Journey Home luncheon. The afternoon will feature dynamic guest speakers, cultural performances, community success stories, and more. This year’s event is centered on ACHD’s work promoting the economic development of African Diaspora communities: from resilience to prosperity. In alignment with this mission, Journey Home will host a panel, "Cultural Integrity in Innovation: Black Leaders Redefining Business on Their Own Terms." Panelists Lenny McNeill, National Head of Inclusive Growth at U.S. Bank; Keisha Credit, MSE, 5x CEO & Business Coach; Leslie Byrd, Co-Founder & Principal of Alpha Sharp Development Partners, Inc.; and Efrem Fesaha, CEO & Founder of Boon Boona Coffee, will reflect on journeys towards building equitable spaces rooted in community. Join us from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM at Seattle’s Grand Hyatt. Click the link for more details and to secure your spot:?achdo.org/events.

Inter(MH)ission is an internal initiative where we take a monthly break from office work to talk about ideas we find interesting. The themes are wide-ranging and help us reflect on our practice and motivations and carry the discourse forward about the past, present, and future of our built environment. In a recent session, we invited architect Adam Thibodeaux to unpack individualized behavior conflicts in standardized "containers" in public spaces. Adam is a Chicago-based architect and educator with a Post-Professional Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas. He is a licensed architect in the State of New York and has taught undergraduate design studios and graduate seminars in Inclusive Design as a Clinical Assistant Professor at The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. In his presentation, “Private Containers in Public Spaces - an exploration of "noncompliant" bodies in heteronormative spatial templates,” Adam discussed his teaching and research projects on queer gathering spaces and their histories marked by a need to assimilate in unwelcoming urban conditions. Beginning with a brief historical survey of design for the “normate template", he spoke about how “noncompliant” bodies have been overlooked in favor of a mythical average standard design. Adam's work investigates how marginalized bodies, particularly queer users, have reclaimed and appropriated these normative containers as places of gathering, finding shelter within a standard designed to exclude them. The ideals of standards, proportions, and norms define an overarching metanarrative that his work questions. Restrooms, locker rooms, abandoned buildings, and interstitial spaces become centerstage, where these norms are prevalent or get broken down. His students’ work picks subthemes within this "normate template" and studies how perceived functions are actually utilized. The projects often explore "queer as a verb rather than an adjective." Ultimately, Adam's work raises intriguing questions, including who designs spaces, for whom, and how these spaces eventually get occupied. Images 1-3: Adam's exhibited work questioning the "Containers" (https://bit.ly/3zS7vnD) Image 4: Alvin Baltrop's capture of the Intimate Queer History of Manhattan’s West Side Piers (https://bit.ly/3YehDjV) Image 5: The "Standard" graphical template in question (https://amzn.to/3Y3IT3A)

Before summer came to a close, our team took a well-deserved break to recharge and enjoy some time outside of the office together. The Seattle office headed to Sun Lakes Resort in eastern Washington, while the San Diego crew soaked up the sun at La Quinta in Palm Springs—a perfect way to reflect, connect, and recharge for the season ahead.

Last Friday marked the opening of the Overlook Walk, a transformative public space that enhances pedestrian access between Pike Place Market and Seattle’s redeveloped waterfront. We are proud to have played a role in this vision since 2013, beginning with the design and development of the MarketFront—the first major addition to Pike Place Market in over 40 years. Completed in 2017, the MarketFront expanded the historic Market with new public spaces, retail, residential areas, and a public plaza, while serving as a critical connection point to the evolving waterfront. The Overlook Cafe is our latest contribution, a one-story structure that occupies the east edge of the Overlook Walk, between the existing Heritage House garage structure and the new primary pedestrian pathway. Designed as a shell for a future restaurant, the project creates active uses on the Overlook Walk and features a large canopy with sheltered views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. Miller Hull Design Architect/Project Manager, Malika A. Kirkling, AIA, Associate, commented on the new project for the Seattle DJC. “‘In collaboration with our structural engineering partners at Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), we developed a design that integrated the structural framing of the canopy and the cafe such that roof framing of the cafe serves as the shear diaphragm of the canopy, meaning the two structures are structurally interdependent upon one another,’ Kirkling said. ‘At completion, we achieved a lighter, more efficient, and integrated framing design that gracefully frames views across the Overlook Walk and complements the geometry of the landscape and urban design elements of the site, securing the canopy as a critical design element for the project.’” Click the link to read more: https://bit.ly/3YeLf0M. Structural Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates Contractor: Hoffman Construction Company Photographer: The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP

Miller Hull architectural designer Tobias Jimenez and Senior Associate Cory Mattheis, AIA, came in first place in the Arquine Competition, a competition to build a temporary pavilion at the Mextropoli Architecture Festival in Mexico City. Entitled, “(after the) BILLBOARDS,” their installation celebrates the history and craftsmanship of billboards by utilizing residual hand-painted advertising panels from the 1990s and composing them into an "accidental collage," a phenomenon that occurs naturally after advertisements become obsolete. For decades, billboards have stood as dominant symbols on Mexico City’s skyline, shaping not only our visual impression of the city, but also forming an often overlooked piece of the informal economy. Citing safety concerns and the removal of “visual contamination,” the local government has enacted policy changes that have led to the removal of numerous rooftop billboards, inadvertently generating a new waste stream in the city. Recognizing this, the opportunity arises to reuse the agile components of demolished billboard structures as a ‘kit of parts’ for new installations in the city. “(after the) BILLBOARDS” harvests materials solely from former billboards, building with their inherent structural logic but defining a new spatial configuration and public opportunity. Click the link to learn more about the winning installation: https://bit.ly/3TEZl8Q.

Lake Union Piers is featured in the September Sustainability issue of The Architect's Newspaper. “Lake Union Piers includes three buildings that were completely renovated to match both EMission Zero standards along with Seattle’s current Energy Code. Miller Hull senior associate Cory Mattheis provided insight into how the design team used a “subtractive” process for the design. ‘The subtractive approach to making space came from very pragmatic reasoning. The existing buildings were constructed in 1986, at a time when shoreline setbacks and environmental concerns were different,’ Mattheis explained. ‘Faced with this challenge, we decided that carving away at the existing massing was the best way to redefine the language of the project while providing necessary relief to the previously hardened perimeter.’” “‘To us, this project represents a way for architects to embrace the value of existing buildings rather than always turning to new construction as the answer,’ Miller Hull principal Jim Hanford said. In a way, Lake Union Piers mirrors the surrounding area by also living multiple lives—but this time, with an environmental grasp that is here to stay.” Click the link to read the story: https://bit.ly/3ZKkOks. Client: Vulcan Real Estate Architect: The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP Contractor: Abbott Construction Photographer: Ben Benschnieder

Vision 2074 is a challenge set by World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 (WDC 2024), which asks designers to tackle the social, structural, and environmental issues that will shape our region over the next 50 years. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of "Temporary Paradise?", we were encouraged to reimagine the future of the region through bold, visionary designs, using a poetic and passionate approach. Our proposal focuses on the revitalization of the Tijuana River and estuary region, a vital resource connecting the two countries. We approach this from the perspective that by 2074, ongoing efforts to heal this area will have succeeded. This revitalization will serve as a catalyst for prosperity across both San Diego and Tijuana, driving natural resource renewal and economic growth.?Our graphics depict visions of this prosperous future, highlighting innovations in solar energy, water management, agriculture, and community. The background includes a map of the region, envisioned as a hub for progress, drawing people into a future of opportunity and renewal. As one of the winning submissions, our board will be displayed at SDSU Art Galleries from?Oct 1?-?Dec 5. Project team: Benjamin Dalton, AIA, Heather Ruszczyk, Jeff Umphres, Danielle Page Buttacavoli, Sam Geibel, Rosina Diaz, Tohotmos Egara, Mike Jobes, Victoria Clarke, Michelle Petersen, Maaike Post, AIA, DBIA, and Tobias Jimenez.

For the Seattle DJC’s Back to School issue, Miller Hull Partner, Ruth Baleiko, FAIA, LEED AP, and Principal, Elizabeth Moggio, AIA, wrote a piece on our pre-design for a new academic building for Western Washington University at the Olympic College Poulsbo Campus. The article highlights the strategic importance of meeting students where they are and the critical role a new facility will play in education and workforce development in the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas. "Each college and university has a unique approach to supporting its students along a continuum of care, particularly for place-bound and non-traditional students. To craft a successful predesign, architects must collaborate with critical campus voices to make a clear and compelling case to the Legislature for funding. It is essential to set the document and the ultimate project up with flexibility and adaptability, particularly in the program, to weather the uncertainties of funding and economic conditions over time. This predesign described a new 44,200-gross-square-foot facility that will provide essential spaces dedicated to hands-on learning, student support and technological research. It will house critical programs in high-demand fields and serve as the new home for WWU’s Cyber Range Poulsbo program, a vital resource for cybersecurity education and research across the state. By enhancing access to post-secondary education and aligning academic offerings with regional workforce needs, this project is set to transform the local economy and support the state’s goal of increasing credential attainment among adults. This initiative underscores the strategic importance of expanding higher education opportunities to meet students where they are." Click the link to read the full story: https://bit.ly/3XIaQO1

Attending a’24, AIA San Diego and AIA Palomar’s Annual Conference on Architecture? We will see you there! Miller Hull Associate, Heather Ruszczyk, AIA, is participating in “Is San Diego a World Design Capital?: A Turncoats-Style Debate,” and Architect and Regional Design Advisory Committee Chair, Jonathan French, AIA, is speaking in “Faster Housing & Better Places, through Effective Objective Design Standards: A Dialogue.” The conference takes place on September 26 from 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Click the link to learn more and register: https://bit.ly/47wHPcJ.

Congratulations to Crystal Day of The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP on becoming a member of the 2024 AIA Next to Lead Cohort - a leadership development training that removes barriers to The American Institute of Architects (AIA) volunteer leadership positions for racially and ethnically diverse women in architecture.