GRAY No. 25

INTERIORS • ARCHITECTURE • FASHION • ART • DESIGN ™

BRILLIANT DESIGNERS, VISIONARY PROJECTS, AND THE BEST OF WHAT’S AHEAD The DESIGN MAGAZINE for the Pacific Northwest

SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY ISSUE COVER BY THE PRESSURE

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cont 48

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december.15 january.16

14. hello Reasons to celebrate.

48. context Artist Maya Lin makes her mark on the Northwest landscape.

78. furniture Vancouver woodworker Kate Duncan turns tragedy into career triumph.

SCENE

54. photo essay Arctic architecture in two seasons.

86. interiors Andy Beers hits a high note.

29. conversation Kengo Kuma discusses his plans for the Portland Japanese Garden.

34. happenings News, events, and openings.

40. awards GBD Architects wins the GRAY Award for a restrained renovation.

FEATURES 61. hot new next The PNW designers, makers, and visionaries you need to know now.

62. architecture Lever Architecture’s rising influence.

42. future Nancy and Niels Bendtsen unveil their vision for the Jervis.

68. architecture Measured Architecture melds modern and historic in a singular house.

44. conversation Architect Joe Herrin and chef Holly Smith share the recipe for Café Juanita’s renovation success.

74. architecture Ben Waechter forges his own path.

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90. shop A new source for Moroccan rugs.

92. graphics Schema visualizes complex data.

94. lighting GRAY chats with the two women whose bright idea launched L A M P. 96. shop The Edit: Old guard meets vanguard.

98. fashion Portland Garment Factory founder Britt Howard debuts a new brand.

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102. textiles 21st-century textiles mix ancient craft with modern style.

106. made here House of Castellon embarks on a “Made in America” knits crusade.

110. hospitality A stylish hotel unexpectedly takes shape in rural Joseph, Oregon, with rooms spotlighting local designers.

114. future BIG’s Vancouver House reenvisions a challenging urban site.

116. architecture Lanefab gains a following for its ultra-efficient alley-facing homes.

120. interiors Former Californian Courtney Nye finds eager clients—and her own entrepreneurial streak—in Portland.

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124. fashion Portland’s premier performance apparel company blends style and sustainability in its new recycled down collection.

BACK OF THE BOOK 136. hospitality With Mosquito, burgeoning Vancouver design firm Ste. Marie scores another smash hit.

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✤

On the Cover

HOT NEW NEXT

GRAY celebrates the movers and shakers in the Pacific Northwest design world.

Cover design by The Pressure.

Photo by Greg Hennes.

142. resources Your guide to the designers, shops, furnishings, craftspeople, and suppliers featured in this issue.

146. last word Illustrator Kate Bingaman-Burt walks (or should we say draws) us through the lifelong artistic process.

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A tall order: Can you love it any more than you already do?

Yes, if you’ve ever been called “Stretch.”

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| hello |

TAYLOR GRANT

CHARLIE SCHUCK

FROM LEFT: Honorable Mention–winning entry from GRAY contributor Courtney Ferris and her team in AIA Portland’s “Stitch” competition. GRAY’s newest team member, account executive Kayse Gundram. Rachel Gallaher, GRAY editor, named one of FOLIO’s “30 Under 30.”

Founder and publisher Shawn Williams with special projects director Stacy Kendall celebrating the launch of GRAY magazine in December 2011.

t

Reasons to Celebrate he Pacific Northwest design community is loathe to toot its own horn. But high-caliber, groundbreaking work has always been here, a slow burn compared to the bright flash of other cities. When we launched GRAY four years ago, we bet on the PNW as a global design force and made it our mission to help raise its profile.

Now Pacific Northwest design has caught the world’s attention. Many Seattleites—early pioneers in the national maker movement—have become household names in design. Portland can give serious side-eye to any town claiming a larger craft culture. (Not naming names...

Brooklyn.) Vancouver is home to some of the most exciting hospitality work happening right now. And new development projects across the region are attracting global design stars, from Snøhetta to Philippe Starck to Bjarke Ingels’s BIG architecture group (see page 114).

This issue, dubbed HOT NEW NEXT, draws together some of the most stellar and inspiring design surfacing in our region today. We introduced you to top talent the moment you picked up the magazine—we handed over the reins of our cover design to special guest contributor Adam R. Garcia, founder of Portland-based creative studio The Pressure. Inside, you’ll find a selection of architecture, interiors, fashion, furniture, art, textiles, and hospitality and retail projects that make our hearts pound, from some of the region’s brightest rising stars.

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As we gathered info and deliberated all year long over potential content for this issue, I couldn’t help but reflect on all the HOT NEW NEXT talent we have on our own team. Each of GRAY’s editors, contributors, and sales executives is a rock star in his or her own right. Take editor Rachel Gallaher—this September, she was awarded FOLIO’s prestigious “30 Under 30” award, recognized as one of just 30 in the country who are executing the publishing industry’s most innovative ideas. In June, the American Institute of Architects’ Portland chapter awarded contributing editor Courtney Ferris’s team an honorable mention in its 2015 “Stitch” competition for their concept design to transform unused land under the city’s I-405 bridge. And this fall, GRAY scored when Kayse Gundram came aboard our executive sales team after 16 years at TransWorld Media, during which time she won Bonnier Corporation’s Global Sales Award.

----To our entire community of design junkies and lovers of the Pacific Northwest—including our huge family of employees, contributors, advertising partners, sponsors, readers, and cheerleaders, all of whom make GRAY what it is today: I am eternally grateful and honored beyond words to know you, work with you, and collaborate with you.

Thank you for another great year!

-----

Shawn

Founder + Publisher shawn@graymag.com

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™

FOUNDER + PUBLISHER

Shawn Williams shawn@graymag.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Jaime Gillin jaime@graymag.com SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR

Stacy Kendall stacy@graymag.com EDITOR

Rachel Gallaher rachel@graymag.com MARKET EDITOR

Jasmine Vaughan jasmine@graymag.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Nicole Munson nicole@graymag.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Courtney Ferris, Alexa McIntyre, Brian Libby, Lindsey M. Roberts COPY EDITOR

Laura Harger NEWSSTAND MANAGER

Bob Moenster ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER

Tally Williams INTERNS

Dzenita Goletic, Nessa Pullman CONTRIBUTORS

William Anthony, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Greg Comollo, Sherri Diteman Kaven, Adam R. Garcia, Glasfurd & Walker, Alex Hayden, Greg Hennes, Eirik Johnson, Jordan Kushins, Andrew Latreille, Jamie Mann, Stuart Mullenberg, Lindsay Nead, Tom Nugent, Olivia Ashton Photography, David Papazian, Colin Perry, Ema Peter, Miranda Ross, Charlie Schuck, Jami Smith, Lindsay J. Westley, Andy Wright ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Craig Allard Miller Erica Clemeson Kayse Gundram

ADVERTISING: shawn@graymag.com SUBMISSIONS: submissions@graymag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: subscriptions@graymag.com No. 25. Copyright ©2015, 2016. Published bimonthly (DEC, FEB, APR, JUNE, AUG, OCT) by GRAY Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint or quote excerpts granted by written request only. While every attempt has been made, GRAY cannot guarantee the legality, completeness, or accuracy of the information presented and accepts no warranty or responsibility for such. GRAY is not responsible for loss, damage, or other injury to unsolicited manuscripts, photography, art, or any other unsolicited material. Unsolicited material will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope.

If submitting material, do not send originals unless specifically requested to do so by GRAY in writing.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GRAY, 19410 Hwy. 99, Ste. A #207, Lynnwood, WA 98036.

Subscriptions $30 us for one year; $50 us for two years.

Subscribe online at graymag.com

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| contributors |

GUEST COVER DESIGNER ADAM R. GARCIA thepressure.org

For our second annual guestdesigned cover, we turned to The Pressure, an up-and-coming creative studio based in Portland. Founder Adam R. Garcia—creative director, designer, illustrator, and educator—interpreted GRAY’s “Hot New Next” theme with a design that’s simultaneously earthy and sleek. “The raindropinspired shapes relate to the winter weather of the Pacific Northwest, while the metallic surface of the three-dimensional typography creates a bold juxtaposition to the grainy photography,” Garcia explains.

WILLIAM ANTHONY wmanthony.com pg 29

KATE BINGAMAN-BURT katebingamanburt.com pg 146

LAURA HARGER lauraharger.com pg 30

ALEX HAYDEN alexhayden.com pg 44

Louis Kahn: Louis The Power ofKahn: Architecture is an exhibition The of the Power Vitra Design Museum, of WeilArchitecture am Rhein, in is an exhibition of the Vitra Design M JORDAN KUSHINS EIRIK JOHNSON Louiscollaboration Kahn:collaboration The Power ArchitectureArchives is an exhibition of the Vitra Design Museum, WeilNew am Rhein, in with theofArchitectural of The with University of the Pennsylvania Architectural and The Institute, Archives of The University of Pennsylvan jordankushins.com eirikjohnson.com collaboration with thelocal Architectural Archives The University of by Pennsylvania and The New Institute, Rotterdam.

Rotterdam.

The presentation of this of exhibition The is curated local Stefanopresentation Catalani. of this

by Stefano C 96, 114, 116 pg 54 exhibition is pgcurated Rotterdam. The local presentation of this exhibition is curated by Stefano Catalani.

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graymag . com Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture is an exhibition of the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, in collaboration with the Architectural Archives of The University of Pennsylvania and The New Institute, Rotterdam. The local presentation of this exhibition is curated by Stefano Catalani.

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Gray_Dec-Jan_CHWN_3.5625-9.75.pdf

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ANDREW LATREILLE andrewlatreille.com pg 68

BRIAN LIBBY brianlibby.com pg 62, 74

JAMIE MANN jamiemann.ca pg 96

DAVID PAPAZIAN papazianphoto.com pg 74, 106

COLIN PERRY twocolumn.com pg 116

EMA PETER emapeter.com pg 78

MIRANDA ROSS lewistonphotography.com pg 48

CHARLIE SCHUCK charlieschuck.com pg 98

LINDSAY J. WESTLEY lindsayjwestley.com pg 136

ANDY WRIGHT andyjwright.com pg 110

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ARCHITECTURE / Graypants

PHOTOGRAPHY / Amos Morgan

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WILLIAM ANTHONY

A Shinto priestess participates in the dedication of the reenvisioned Portland Japanese Garden, a project helmed by Tokyo-based Kengo Kuma and Portland firm Hacker.

For more, see page 30.

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conversation |

Tokyo-based architect Kengo Kuma at the soon-to-be-expanded Portland Japanese Garden.

“This project is a confluence of a beautiful site, passionate and forwardthinking clients, and collaborators interested in upholding a cultural mission that is simultaneously Japanese nd American for the benefit of Portland,” he says.

How the Garden Grows Portland’s beloved Japanese Garden is reinterpreted and expanded by a multinational design team.

Written by LAURA HARGER : Portrait by WILLIAM ANTHONY

Kengo Kuma—the illustrious architect

of ultra-spare structures seemingly made as much of air as they are of austere steel and wood—might not, at first glance, seem a natural choice to helm the expansion of a garden, even one as treasured as Portland’s Japanese Garden. Yet despite his roster of ethereal projects—from China’s Bamboo Wall House to Tokyo’s Suntory Museum of Art—the Tokyo-based architect is more than willing to get his hands dirty. “This garden is moving and spectacular—even compared to some gardens in Japan—set as it is against a backdrop of Pacific Northwest firs, cedars, and pines,” he observes of the 5.5-acre oasis, considered by garden aficionados to be among the world’s most authentic Japanese gardens outside the nation itself.

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His mission? To integrate a new cultural center into the garden and expand its public offerings. Cynthia Haruyama, garden deputy director, notes the garden’s need to separate its “lively social experiences” from its quiet, reverent spaces.

That’s no easy task, but Kuma’s new Cultural Village, a ring of traditional Japanese structures circling the new Tateuchi Courtyard, achieves a calm balance. In his first public U.S. commission, undertaken alongside Portland’s Hacker firm, the garden will gain a new hillside entrance gate, a gallery, a café, classrooms, a library, and workspaces. The $33.5 million expansion will add 3.4 acres to the site, which reopens to the public in spring 2017. As the shovels hit the ground, GRAY spoke to Kuma about his vision and goals for Portland’s growing garden. »

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Karuna House, designed by Holst Architecture and built by Hammer & Hand 2013 AIA Portland Design Award, 2014 National Institute of Building Sciences Beyond Green Award graymag . com

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conversation |

What was your opinion of the garden at first sight? The site was already powerful and specific.

Along with garden curator Sadafumi Uchiyama, our approach was to merely “edit” visitors’ existing journey to the top of the garden hill, to reduce clutter, and to fill in what was missing. Ultimately, the new sequence of buildings, landscape, views, and space will give visitors, as they enter, a frame of mind well matched to the beauty of the existing gardens.

Tell me about Japanese monzenmachi—those little villages outside temple gates. Did they influence the architectural choices you’ve made here? Yes—traditionally, monzenmachi were places for pilgrims to rest, eat, and socialize near Shinto and Buddhist shrines. The term means “town in front of the gate,” and our design for Portland’s garden is a contemporary example of it. Here the destination is nature-oriented more than religious, but the new buildings take on monzenmachi activities.

The Cultural Village—a series of small buildings arranged around a casual but important shared public space—appropriately separates the garden’s programmed activities from its tranquil spaces, something not possible until now.

“Our idea was to create a cluster of small, human-scaled buildings so as to not overwhelm nature,” Kuma says of the new pitched-roof, wood-façade structures composing the Cultural Village. At the center is Tateuchi Courtyard, which will host performances and cultural gatherings. The buildings’ cedar eaves provide both intimacy and shelter from wet weather.

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Which other details will visitors spot when they return to the new garden? There will be a bonsai terrace, a tsubo-niwa [tiny] garden, and the first chabana [“tea flower” or arranged-flower] garden in the country, plus a terraced water garden. And there’s a traditional Japanese castle wall built by a 16th-generation Kyoto craftsman who is from the last remaining family skilled in this ancient craft. It is 22 feet tall and constructed of Oregon granite, and it creates the Cultural Village’s western edge. h

RENDERINGS COURTESY KENGO KUMA & ASSOCIATES

You’ve often said that your work aims to reinterpret Japanese building traditions for the modern era. How does that goal express itself in the Portland garden? Traditional domestic architecture in Japan lends itself to this location. Large eaves, low roofs, and emphasis on gardens and nature— all are found in Japanese space. We have simply developed these elements down to their essence, and thus they appear modern in their simplicity, crispness, and material purity.

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NOW OPEN Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

(1) Here’s a new thing about one of the oldest things: the recently opened Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, in the Pipestone Creek Bonebed in Alberta. A 29,000square-foot complex, it now houses some of the world’s foremost paleontological and natural history collections. Toronto’s Teeple Architects designed the space with exposed timber beams and struts (a nod to the assembled bones within its walls), and British Columbia–based companies StructureCraft Builders and Fast + Epp engineered and fabricated the many components of the building’s complex structural skeleton. This is design for the ages. ›› dinomuseum.ca

SIP Green Room

(2) Anyone who’s tried to get into Portland’s Multnomah Whiskey Library without a reservation knows the definition of patience.

The über-popular downtown bar opened two years ago, and its inbound traffic hasn’t slowed since.

In a bid to ease the jam, this spring MWL opened its aptly named Green Room just downstairs. Designed by local firm Elk Collective, the cozy, European-inspired space is sparked with jade and gold accents.

Wine, snacks, and five exclusive cocktails are on offer here, so it’s understandable if you never make it upstairs. ›› mwlpdx.com

DINA AVILA TOM ARBAN PHOTOGRAPHY

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SHOP

3. SCHOOL OF ART AND ART HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, IOWA CITY, IOWA, 1999-2006; CONCEPT WATERCOLOR. © STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS. REPRINTED FROM STEVEN HOLL (PHAIDON, 2015)

Aēsop

(4) Beauty and body care cognoscenti already prize Aesop, the 28-year-old Melbourne-based skincare line. Now Vancouver and Seattle residents can pop into its latest shops, which opened this past summer in the Gastown and Fremont neighborhoods, respectively. The floor and walls of the Gastown location (pictured) are clad in Douglas fir—an homage to the region’s historic forestry and lumber industries. And the low-lit Seattle boutique is a moody stage for oxidized steel and stone fixtures, a design scheme inspired

by Fremont’s numerous public sculptures. From the bottles to the buildings, it’s beauty all around. ›› aesop.com

READ Steven Holl

(3) Even though he long ago decamped from the Northwest for New York City, we still celebrate the prolific architect Steven Holl (Bremerton, Washington–born, University of Washington-educated) as one of our own. A new monograph, Steven Holl, written by award-winning author and architecture critic Robert McCarter, hit the shelves this fall and features hundreds of color photographs, as well as a selection of Holl’s own exquisite watercolors. » ›› phaidon.com

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MARK WOODS, COURTESY GREG KUCERA GALLERY

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SEE Through Jan. 10

(5) Looking for enlightenment?

Look no further than Seattle’s Frye Art Museum, where the current “Genius” exhibit is challenging perspectives on the social, political, and cultural change that’s shaping both the city and the global community.

The show encompasses work from more than 65 local artists, filmmakers, writers, composers, musicians, and performing artists (You Always Leave Me Wanting More, an installation by SuttonBeresCuller, is shown here). ›› fryemuseum.org

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“THE LOWRISE WOODEN BUILDING ALONG THE STREET IS INSPIRED BY HOW THE STREETS IN VANCOUVER WERE BUILT IN EARLIER TIMES. THE MODEST, ALMOST DOMESTIC SCALE WILL ENHANCE THE CHARACTER OF OPENNESS AND VISIBILITY FOR EVERYONE.” —JACQUES HERZOG, ARCHITECT

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HEAR

IWAN BAAN

Jan. 25–27

(6) Internationally lauded Dutch photographer Iwan Baan is known for breaking with traditional architectural photography by highlighting the ways people use and interact with buildings, as well as the environments surrounding structures. This month, the Alaska Design Forum is bringing Baan to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau to talk about his work, his approach to his subjects, and his career shooting for iconic architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid. ›› alaskadesignforum.org

© HERZOG & DE MEURON

PREVIEW Through Jan. 24

(7) We think art museums should be as beautiful as the work they hold. Vancouver Art Gallery clearly agrees. In September, the popular downtown museum unveiled Herzog & de Meuron’s conceptual design for a new building just a few blocks east of its current location, which will double the institution’s size to 85,000 square feet and add a new education center. Working in collaboration with Perkins+Will’s

Vancouver office, the Swiss-based Herzog & de Meuron plans to clad the 230-foot-high building in wood, a sustainable choice that evokes the region’s architectural history. Groundbreaking for the pagoda-esque structure is planned for 2017, but you can get a look at the design now—an architectural model, videos, and renderings will be on display for the public through January 24, 2016. ›› vanartgallery.bc.ca h

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awards |

and the gray award goes to...

At GRAY, we see a lot of renovation projects.

PETER ECKERT

In selecting the winner of the second annual GRAY Award, bestowed at the IIDA Oregon Design Excellence Awards this past October, we looked for an interior that surprised us.

This year, the award went to GBD Architects for its design for AKQA’s Portland headquarters, located on three floors in the city’s historic Brewery Blocks. The project struck us—odd as it might sound—for its restraint. As GBD principal Agustin Enriquez affirms, the firm’s decision to “leave as much existing funk as possible and add new design elements only where needed was the single most important guiding principle.” That meant allowing the building’s century of heavy use to shine through—rusty old ceiling, paint-encrusted brick walls, and all. It’s this restraint—coupled with strategic design moves such as enlisting Portland’s Black Rabbit Builders to create custom furniture pieces—that makes for such a striking space. AKQA’s new conference room epitomizes this old-meets-new approach—it’s set into the former Brewmaster’s Suite, a dramatic space dripping with rich historic detail.

The renovation is especially striking when you consider what occupies this space—a global ideas and innovation company whose mission statement is “We exist to create the future with our clients.”

Enriquez put it well—and even poetically—in the firm’s award submissions text: “As the digital revolution creates increasingly slick and futuristic visual effects in our everyday lives, seeing real materials and their authentic aging is profound.” h

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life styled

One part lifestyle boutique, one part restaurant, Secret Location offers thought-provoking fashion and food.

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sky-high style

Good design is in the DNA of a new Vancouver development.

Who better to dream up the consummate modern residence than Vancouver design power couple Niels and Nancy Bendtsen? Their recent partnership with local development firm Intracorp has yielded the Jervis—a 19-story building project in Vancouver’s West End neighborhood that features 58 luxurious residences. For this, their first development project, they considered “how we would want to live,” says Nancy, and they designed the spaces (all corner units) with “breathing room for real furniture, space to hang art, and terraces for indoor-outdoor living.” The Jervis is the only project announced in Vancouver in 2015 helmed by an all-local design and architecture team, which also includes NSDA Architects, Richard Henry Architect, and Trepp Design. Units are available for presale by appointment only, and construction will be completed in 2018. h

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Interior Jan 21-24 Design 2016 Show Toronto

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DESIGN TEAM

architecture: Heliotrope Architects construction: Krekow Jennings

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As part of Café Juanita’s renovation, Heliotrope Architects added a chef’s table to the dining area, backed by a custom wool wall covering. OPPOSITE LEFT: Chef Holly Smith and architect Joe Herrin in the revamped restaurant in Kirkland, Washington.

OPPOSITE RIGHT: The exterior retains the original home’s midcentury modern style, with a few additions—notably the 6-foot-wide entry door with a leather-wrapped handle that Smith calls “the restaurant’s handshake. It’s our first chance to ‘touch’ guests, to convey that we’ll take care of the details so they can relax and enjoy the experience.”

Food for Thought Architect Joe Herrin, principal of Seattle’s Heliotrope Architects, and James Beard Award–winning chef Holly Smith talk us through Café Juanita’s sophisticated remodel.

Written by STACY KENDALL : Photographed by ALEX HAYDEN

Serious food lovers from around the globe have pilgrimaged to Café Juanita since chef Holly Smith purchased the Italian restaurant 15 years ago. Though the restaurant’s food and service win prestigious industry awards, until recently its look—it’s housed in a converted midcentury residence in suburban Kirkland, Washington—was a downbeat contrast to the high-toned cuisine created inside.

Built as a family home in 1955, the structure was remodeled into a restaurant by acclaimed architect Paul Kirk in 1980. By 2015, the place was riddled with water damage, the interiors were dated, and the kitchen was about to fall through the floor. So Smith hired architect Joe Herrin, cofounder of Heliotrope Architects, to renovate and expand it. Shortly after the reopening, in July 2015, we sat in on a dialogue between chef and architect, curious to find out how they’d combined fine cuisine and the new setting, all infused with the warmth of home dining. »

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HOLLY SMITH: My first job cooking, in 1992, was in an old stone house in Maryland. The kitchen space was constricted, but it felt really good to cook in. Afterward, I dreamed of having my own restaurant in a house.

The first time I saw this place, my heart jumped. We built the restaurant around the food and service rather than prioritizing design, but eventually the house needed structural work.

Joe designed the place that I’d probably deluded myself into thinking we’d had the whole time.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

A lighting cove around the dining room’s perimeter imbues the space with an atmospheric glow. The renovated open kitchen, with an expanded prep area, is elegant and streamlined.

A custom steel hostess table and artwork by Andreas Kocks, sourced through Winston Wächter Fine Art, greet diners upon entry into the restaurant.

JOE HERRIN: We held onto three main elements in our renovation: the amber glow of the original space; the acoustics, which dampened conversations; and the residential scale. The food and service couldn’t get any better, so the challenge as a designer was: How can you equal them?

Holly, one thing you told me after the remodel was that a diner had said, “The duck is so much better now!” Yet it was exactly the same entrée you’d served before the renovation. That’s how much our surroundings affect us—and that’s the reason you did what you did here. Besides the fact that your floor was going to collapse!

SMITH: Yeah, well, there was that. The house is inherently imperfect.

HERRIN: It’s wabi sabi as hell. But you work with what you’ve got—no one has an unlimited checkbook. You don’t fight what’s inherent to a project; you celebrate it.

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creating a continuous trim element along the top of the windows, with integrated linear up-lighting.

That was sort of a “bring it on” move from us.

When you emphasize an element that can be perceived as a weakness, like low ceilings, you make them into a strength. The lighting scheme preserves the building’s residential character.

So do the materials we chose—like the chair upholstery. It’s all very tailored and high-touch.

SMITH: People have been touching these felt walls! It was both a blessing and a curse that I didn’t create a restaurant—and you didn’t design one—from a blank slate. The existing house informed things, for better and for worse.

HERRIN: At first, the house seemed a little Frankenstein and patched together—the basement was stuck in the ’50s; an outdoor winemaking shed was connected by a breezeway. In our remodel, we focused on the house’s fundamental aspects. Kirk might’ve done what we did, if he’d had the budget. And yet we also didn’t want to be pretentious.

SMITH: That’s so Seattle. . . .

HERRIN: There is a tornado path of failed restaurants in Seattle. People have spent a fortune opening them, and then they close. Go to New York, Philadelphia, DC, Chicago—there they spend so much money creating extravagant spaces, and people love them. But here that puts you out of business. Pacific Northwesterners are so attuned to authenticity. Ostentation doesn’t fly.

SMITH: You can feel the heart in our approach— basically, I just want people to be comfortable.

SMITH: Like these darn low ceilings, right?

HERRIN: When you design a museum, its structure can’t compete with the art. It’s similar with a restaurant—the emphasis is on food and service.

Particularly for Café Juanita, there’s no reason for the architecture to be more than quiet.

HERRIN: The ceilings are 7 feet, 9 inches, high, and it wasn’t in the project’s scope to raise them.

So we highlighted the dining room’s horizontality,

SMITH: It’s quiet but so well done. Since we reopened, people have said that no restaurant in Seattle looks like this one. And I like to be different! h

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“THE LANDS THROUGH WHICH WE PASSED TODAY ARE FERTILE . . .

The Listening Circle, designed by Maya Lin, is on an island in the Snake River near Clarkston, Washington. Lin envisioned the basalt-rimmed amphitheater as a place for gatherings, storytelling, theater performances, individual contemplation, and ceremonies by local Nez Perce people.

It’s the fifth in a series of six artworks created by Lin over the past 14 years for the “Confluence” project—a nonprofit dedicated to exploring the history, culture, and ecology of the Columbia River in the context of Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the region more than 200 years ago.

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Etched in the Earth

A project launched to commemorate the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark’s expedition goes much deeper, thanks to the attuned vision of acclaimed artist-designer Maya Lin. Written by COURTNEY FERRIS : Photographed by MIRANDA ROSS

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Last spring, 200 people convened at Chief Timothy Park, in south-

ABOVE: Lin (best known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC) speaks with Nez Perce spiritual elder Horace Axtell during the Listening Circle dedication ceremony in May 2015. OPPOSITE: A Nez Perce horse rider in traditional dress prepares to parade around the amphitheater to start the ceremony.

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eastern Washington, to dedicate the latest outdoor art installation by acclaimed artist Maya Lin. Under a wide sky and bright sun, Nez Perce representatives, community members, and arts supporters watched as tribal elders led a traditional drumming and round dance ceremony to bless the site. The Listening Circle is number five in Lin’s “Confluence” project, a series of six landscape interventions that commemorate and explore the cultural and ecological transformations begun by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s westward journey of 1804–1806.

On each of the project’s sites, tracing a 438-mile stretch of the Columbia River system, Lin has embedded reflective and educational moments for visitors. “The ‘Confluence’ project [intends] to reveal the deeper history of the place,” says the artist, who consulted with the Northwest’s Chinook, Umatilla, Yakama, and Nez Perce peoples to select the locations and express their true significance. After all, “Lewis and Clark did not ‘discover’ the Northwest,” says Colin Fogarty, executive director of the Confluence nonprofit. “But they did take excellent notes about what they saw and who they met along their route. So the expedition allows us to understand what things were like before Lewis and Clark’s arrival, during their journey, and all the way up until today—and what that means for us in the future. It’s a profound notion: looking back seven generations as a way to look forward seven generations.”

The first “Confluence” installation, completed in 2006, marks the endpoint of Lewis and Clark’s 4,133-mile westward journey: the mouth of the Columbia River, opening to the Pacific Ocean in Washington’s Cape Disappointment State Park. Within a restored native landscape, Lin placed a massive (and functional) basalt fish-cleaning table inscribed »

“. . . CONSISTING OF A DARK RICH LOAM. THE HILLS OF THE RIVER ARE HIGH AND APPROACH IT NEARLY ON BOTH SIDES. NO TIMBER IN THE PLAINS . . .

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“. . .THE HILLS OF THE CREEK WHICH WE DESCENDED THIS MORNING ARE HIGH AND IN MOST PARTS ROCKY AND ABRUPT.” —MERIWETHER LEWIS, MAY 4, 1806

with a Chinook origin story. Nearby is a viewing platform etched with text from the journals Lewis and Clark kept throughout their travels.

Four additional artworks have since been completed, all set along the explorers’ route through Oregon and Washington. The Listening Circle is notable for its preserved natural setting: its gentle hillsides and basalt cliffs are much like the landscape Lewis and Clark observed while passing through two centuries ago. Here Lin carved out an amphitheater planted with native grasses and ringed with arcs of local stone. The meditative site is designed to help visitors tune into the land and its sounds—the breeze through the trees, the lapping of the river—and to host performances, gatherings, and ceremonies by local Nez Perce.

The sixth and final site, Celilo Park, will complete “Confluence” when it opens in 2017. This stretch of the Columbia once plunged into a massive, roaring waterfall, but in 1957, the Dalles Dam closed its gates and submerged and silenced the falls, which were “a center of culture and commerce for local tribes for thousands of years, and one of the most productive fishing grounds in North America,” says Fogarty. To reconnect people with this iconic place—one lost in the name of progress and hydroelectric energy—Lin has designed an elevated wooden walkway inspired by traditional fishing platforms that once cantilevered out over the falls.

The end of the walkway will be etched with a quote describing the water’s once-thunderous sound. It’s quiet art, but it resonates. h

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TOP: The sixth “Confluence” project, a curved wooden walkway at Celilo Park, is slated for completion in 2017.

MIDDLE: Seven “story circles” at Sacajawea State Park— the fourth “Confluence” artwork, completed in 2010—are etched with narratives of Native cultures and the natural history of the site. BOTTOM: An elliptical bird blind, built by Krekow Jennings and James E. John Construction, sits on the third “Confluence” site, at the Sandy River Delta outside Troutdale, Oregon. Its wooden slats are inscribed with the name and current conservation status of each of the 134 species Lewis and Clark observed on their westward journey.

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Total Whiteout Intrepid photographer Eirik Johnson captures Arctic architecture in Barrow, Alaska, in two seasonal extremes.

Written by JAIME GILLIN : Photographed by EIRIK JOHNSON

Seattle-based photographer Eirik Johnson has had his share of odd adventures and unusual assignments. He’s photographed mushroom auction houses in Japan, landscapes in the Peruvian Amazon, and exotic-meat farms in California. But exploring Barrow, Alaska, was something else. He first landed in the United States’ northernmost city in August 2010 on a commission to photograph environmental cleanup of its abandoned navy base. Summer days are long in Barrow—“the sun never sets; it just scratches the horizon and then comes back up,” says Johnson—so when he’d finished photographing scientists at the base, Johnson wandered the city’s outskirts, large-format film camera in hand.

He soon stumbled onto seasonal hunting cabins set at the edge of the Chukchi Sea. Cobbled together by native Iñupiat from materials salvaged from the navy base, they captured Johnson’s imagination: “They were like portraits, each one unique and expressing something about its maker.” He shot as many as he could before returning home. Two years later, he boarded another plane to Barrow—this time in December. “I liked the pictures I’d made in the summer, but I felt something was missing,” he says. “It took me a couple of years to figure that out. The Arctic is a place of extremes, so I decided to return at the winter solstice—a kind of self-imposed exile. Seeing the landscape at two seasonal extremes gave me a better sense of just how remote Barrow is, and how much it changes in the course of a year.” »

ABOVE: After shooting the Arctic coast in summer

2010, Eirik Johnson returned two years later to capture the same view in the winter.

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C R E A T E M O D E R N S P A C E

2 0 2 9

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AV E .

S E AT T L E , W A 9 8 1 2 1 T. 2 0 6 . 4 4 8 . 3 3 0 9 W W W. A L C H E M Y C O L L E C T I O N S . C O M

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During Johnson’s summertime visit to Barrow, Alaska, he photographed the hunting cabins between midnight and 3 a.m., enjoying the eerie extended “magic hour”—that glorious time for image-making when the world is bathed in soft pastel light. When he returned in the winter two years later, he found less hospitable conditions—but similarly transcendent light. With temperatures hitting –40°F and pitch-black darkness prevailing 19 hours out of every day, Johnson ventured out around 11 a.m. to capture the same scenes he’d shot in summer, his camera wrapped in plastic bags and his fingers taped to hand warmers. The resulting images, captured with long exposures of up to three hours, appear lit from within. “As amazing as the light was during the summer, the light in those few winter hours was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen,” Johnson says. “The sun never rises, so the light is indirect and filtered. And because everything is covered with ice, the light reflects and the landscape glows.”

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“BARROW IN THE WINTER IS A SURREAL PLACE. THE SUN NEVER FULLY RISES; IT ONLY GETS HIGH ENOUGH TO LOOK LIKE DAWN FOR THREE HOURS. OTHERWISE IT’S PITCH-BLACK. WHEN YOU STEP OUTSIDE, IT FEELS LIKE YOU’VE LANDED ON THE ICE PLANET HOTH FROM THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. IT’S LIKE A WHITE ERASURE OF THE LANDSCAPE.” —EIRIK JOHNSON, PHOTOGRAPHER »

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Johnson, a self-described fan of “makeshift architecture,” found beauty and intrigue in the small, distinctive cabins. “One owner tried to soup his up by building a two-story veranda that looked almost midcentury-inspired, while others were more humble in their design,” he says. To identify the sites in the winter, when snow and ice obscured the landscape’s features, Johnson carried small laminated copies of his summer shots. “Most of the time it worked out, but occasionally the shack was completely gone,” he recalls.

In the image at top, a snow-encrusted children’s playhouse offers the only evidence of human life amid the relentless white. h

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hot new next Last year we devoted a section to the topic—this year, we’re giving it our whole issue.

HOT NEW NEXT is our gin rummy hand of the best and brightest in Pacific Northwest design, from established firms shaking up the status quo to newcomers whose rise is only just about to hit escape velocity. Doers and dreamers alike take note: Extraordinary things are happening in these pages.

Designer-woodworker Kate Duncan in her East Vancouver condo. For a closer look at her work, home, and studio, see page 78.

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JEREMY BITTERMANN

An appropriately honeycomb-patterned screen marks the entrance of iconic Portland furniture store Hive Modern, designed by Lever Architecture in 2014.

OPPOSITE: A rendering of Framework in Portland, which combines offices and affordable housing in one of the nation’s first high-rises framed with crosslaminated timber, an innovative and environmentally friendly construction method that’s just catching on in the United States. The building is currently under construction and slated for completion next winter.

Seizing the Light

Rising-star firm Lever Architecture gains notice for its precise and original vision.

Written by BRIAN LIBBY

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ABOVE: Residents of Lever’s hillside Tree House project at Oregon Health & Science University enter by crossing a bridge spanning the site’s 20-foot elevation. BELOW LEFT: The octagonal Tree House is clad in custom metal panels, with glass on all eight sides, and is surrounded by a grove of beech trees. “You feel that you’re looking out at a forest even though you’re on an urban campus,” says architect Thomas Robinson, Lever’s founder. BELOW RIGHT: At Union Way, Robinson (pictured opposite) carved a sky-lit shopping arcade through the center of an old garage.

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PORTRAIT: DINA AVILA; OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: LARA SWIMMER; JEREMY BITTERMANN; LARA SWIMMER

It’s a sunny lateFriday afternoon at Lever Architecture’s studio in Portland’s Pearl District, but no one is leaving early. As evidenced by a conferenceroom wall festooned with renderings, the firm is suddenly busy with a range of upcoming projects, from winery tasting rooms to offices and housing. Each is classic Lever: a combination of simple materials, razor-sharp logic, and natural light that will penetrate deeply into interiors. “We’re as interested in the way a building is actually put together as in the experience it will create,” says Thomas Robinson, who founded Lever in 2009 after working for Portland’s Allied Works Architecture and renowned Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron (known for London’s Tate Modern museum and Beijing National Stadium).

Lever gained local notice with two 2013 projects: ArtHouse, a metal-clad and light-filled residence hall at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and Union Way, an early-20thcentury West End garage transformed by cutting a wood-clad shopping arcade through its middle as if turning the building inside out. Soon afterward came Five Square House, which boldly and ingeniously added a glass cube atop a historic American foursquare, and Tree House, the jewel-like apartment project set atop Marquam Hill at Oregon Health & Science University. Concurrent with its Northwest work, the firm developed a portfolio of highprofile projects in Los Angeles, designing offices for the Walt Disney Animation Studios (a client for which Robinson first designed at Allied Works) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lever’s recent commissions reimagine Portland’s urban fabric. A pair of office buildings with some of the city’s biggest open floor plans will soon break ground in

the Zidell Yards, the former riverfront shipyard beside the Ross Island Bridge. “It’s an opportunity to create a new part of the city,” Robinson says. “We had a rare chance to help determine the site’s location and size.” Given that the project’s developer, Zidell Marine, operates a barge-building facility next door, Robinson says he envisions the new buildings as “an authentic architectural experience that connects to the legacy of making, and of steel fabrication, that is in Zidell’s DNA.” Lever’s recently designed Framework project in the Pearl District, a mixed-use office and affordable housing building that’s among the first in the United States to be framed with cross-laminated timber (a technology embraced in Europe that significantly reduces the amount of carbon required for construction), recently won the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s prestigious Tall Wood Building Prize Competition.

Raised in California and finding his architectural influences in Europe, Robinson sees his own career as a metaphorical bridge between the two regions. “It’s taking the discipline of Swiss and German contemporary architecture and giving it a bit of breathing room,” he says. “One thing I learned in Switzerland at Herzog & de Meuron was that every vent, every light switch, every building component had its place and had to be considered. The difference between something really beautiful and something just good is as simple as that. But design is also a little more lyrical here in the West, and that’s informed by our l andscape and a sense of things being more possible and unfinished.” These contrasting influences take an appealing physical form: not only beautiful architecture, but also buildings in which people want to linger. »

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A rendering of Block 4, one of two Lever-designed office buildings under construction in the Zidell Yards, a former shipyard in Portland’s South Waterfront district. “We wanted to make a strong statement that also connected people at the pedestrian level to the river,” Robinson explains. h

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“ONE THING I LEARNED IN SWITZERLAND AT HERZOG & DE MEURON WAS THAT EVERY VENT, EVERY LIGHT SWITCH, EVERY BUILDING COMPONENT HAD ITS PLACE AND HAD TO BE CONSIDERED. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMETHING REALLY BEAUTIFUL AND SOMETHING JUST GOOD IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.” —THOMAS ROBINSON, ARCHITECT

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a modern intervention

Restoring architectural glory to one of the oldest houses in Vancouver’s Shaughnessy neighborhood meant highlighting, not hiding, the new additions.

Written by STACY KENDALL : Photographed by ANDREW LATREILLE : Styled by PAULA METCALFE, REVISION INTERIORS

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DESIGN TEAM

architecture: Measured Architecture construction: Powers Construction heritage consulting: Donald Luxton & Associates landscape architecture: Paul Sangha Landscape Architecture planting design: Tammyanne Matthew

ABOVE: Walking through the original front door, visitors confront a striking staircase that winds up to the third floor. “We turned it into a sculpture—almost like a chandelier—that runs up the center of the space, giving it an incredible, cathedral-like quality,” says lead architect Clinton Cuddington. LEFT: To preserve the neighborhood’s historic spirit, the front façade of the Clayton House was left untouched. OPPOSITE: Modern furnishings accentuate the interior’s contemporary feel, including the Willypads Giverny rug from Salari Fine Carpet Collections and an Altopiano sofa by Zanotta and Ile Pouf by Bensen, both from Inform Interiors.

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R

ather than fade into architectural obscurity, one original home in Vancouver’s storied Shaughnessy neighborhood has risen again—and in bold new form. The Clayton House was built in 1910 for a British family.

But 100 years and a bad 1980s renovation later, the house needed some TLC. The answer easily might have been another unexceptional suburban renovation. Yet after a young family of three (now four) bought the Clayton House in 2011, they shifted its game plan toward a remarkable remaking. The homeowners had a clear vision for their new-old home: they aimed to preserve its defining historic architecture while layering in modern, family-friendly design.

To better understand what in the house merited saving, the homeowners contacted Donald Luxton, a Vancouverbased heritage consultant. They also brought on board Measured Architecture, a firm whose work they admired, and Powers Construction, a company with experience working on both modern and heritage buildings.

The team thus assembled, the homeowners, architects, contractor, and heritage consultant held a roundtable to

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FROM LEFT: The second-floor landing features B&B Italia’s Up 5 and Up 6 armchair and pouf, an Eileen Gray bench, and a cluster of Moooi Random lights, all from Inform Interiors. Around the staircase, Measured Architecture styled a dynamic marriage of old and new wood, highlighting the schism instead of covering it up. As heritage consultant Donald Luxton puts it, “You want to see contrast and opposition—some tension between new and old. This project boldly says, ‘Here’s heritage’ and ‘Here’s what’s new.’ We consider that the best practice: not to see historical buildings as museums but to integrate the new in an elegant way.”

discuss a unique modern-meets-heritage strategy that could pass muster with the stringent city-appointed First Shaughnessy Advisory Design Panel, which makes recommendations on neighborhood building plans. Luxton highlighted the important architectural elements of the Edwardian-era foursquare house, and the group settled on its symmetrical design, pyramidal hipped roof, and wraparound veranda as the most characteristic architectural elements to preserve. But they weren’t shy about catapulting some unexpectedly modern elements into the mix.

“We looked to a European approach as precedent,” says Measured co-principal and project lead Clinton Cuddington, who worked closely with firm architect Tobi May on the project. “We paid respect to and reinforced the home’s history by creating alterations in stark contrast to the original design rather than blurring them into the existing structure. The modern additions are like a parasite—in the best possible sense. They infiltrate the host but can’t kill it.”

Throughout the interior, stark white walls give way to floor-to-ceiling wood panels that hide storage; there’s tall base molding but no crown molding; and rooms are punctuated by contemporary light fixtures. New, light maple »

The house boasts a completely new kitchen, since a 1980s remodel rendered the space nonmeritorious by heritage standards. The 12-foot-long honed marble countertop incorporates a Sub-Zero wine refrigerator. Overhead hang three Dome pendants by Viso, sourced from Lightform.

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wood floors meet the original oak floors at various angles, creating dynamic visible seams.

To bring light into the dark core of the house, “we elected to create an open atrium to connect all levels through the center of the foursquare. That was our modern intervention,” says Measured co-principal Piers Cunnington. The breakout star of the design is the three-story steel-andblack-walnut staircase, fabricated by Epic Metalworks with wood elements by Intempo Interiors, that winds dramatically through the center of the house.

To help achieve household interconnectivity while maintaining privacy, Measured enlisted Ravi Design to install thick wool curtains on tracks in the dining room and master bedroom. “The curtains are a fascinating thread throughout the house, allowing moments of visual and acoustical

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separation without disturbing the original footprint of the building,” says Cuddington.

Out of respect for the neighborhood’s historic spirit, the home’s front façade was left intact. But that doesn’t prevent it from standing out. Phase 2 of the design, kicking off in about a year, will introduce a hint of modernism with a contemporary landscape scheme from Paul Sangha and a new backyard garage by Measured—a dramatic black cube visible from the street. Rather than balking, the First Shaughnessy Advisory Design Panel encouraged the house’s modern elements to extend to the outside. “It is not often that you’re encouraged to push the envelope in an historic neighborhood,” says Cuddington. “But that’s the momentum a neighborhood needs to remain a leader in the future instead of a protector of a past moment.” h

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:

The dramatic first-floor powder room features the Starck 3 vanity sink by Duravit, the Tara faucet from Dornbracht, and Inax wall tiles and porcelain floor tiles from Stone Tile.

The light fixtures are the Mini Glo-Ball by Flos. The central staircase carves a dramatic silhouette through the center of the house. The master bedroom, in the erstwhile attic on the third floor, is the couple’s private retreat. Steel-framed windows overlook the backyard and punctuate the exterior façade, acting as a dramatic architectural lantern. A Moooi Random light hangs over the Canyon daybed by Bensen.

Luxurious felt curtains, when fully closed, envelop the room in peace and quiet. OPPOSITE: Original ceiling supports were retained in the master bedroom. The Onto bed

by Bensen is from Inform Interiors, and the Central Park rug is from Salari Fine Carpet Collections.

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sculpting simplicity

Ben Waechter refines architecture to its essence no matter his projects’ scale.

Written by BRIAN LIBBY : Photographed by DAVID PAPAZIAN

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After making a name for himself with his cleverly designed, sculpturally bold residences, Portland architect Ben Waechter (opposite) has begun to work on larger-scale projects, including the 2015 Sawtooth rowhouse project in Lake Oswego, Oregon— a signature blend of simple forms, refined material clarity, and copious natural light. »

“ONE’S MEMORY AND EXPERIENCE OF A PLACE HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT THAT PLACE IS MADE OF. WE SIMPLIFY AND REDUCE DESIGNS TO A POINT WHERE IT’S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE ANYTHING ELSE, AND THUS THE MATERIAL IS REALLY CONTAINING THE SPACE.” —BEN WAECHTER, ARCHITECT graymag . com

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For projects such as the Garden House (above), an 800-square-foot accessory dwelling unit in Southeast Portland, and the Sawtooth rowhouses (left), Waechter makes a succession of study models (in foam, wood, or other materials) that allow him to approach design as a carving-out process rather than as an assemblage of walled spaces.

B

en Waechter burst onto Portland’s architecture scene in 2008 with the Z-Haus, which ingeniously arranged a split-level duplex around its stairways, placing a series of identically sized rooms at alternating half-story increments. Since then, Waechter, who got his start working under legendary Italian architect Renzo Piano and later acclaimed Portland architect Brad Cloepfil, has continued to turn heads. This fall, for example, Waechter Architecture snapped up regional American Institute of Architects awards for both its metal-clad, pentagonal Pavilion House and its Garden House, an 800-square-foot

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accessory dwelling unit whose cantilevered second floor gives the building an arrow-shaped profile. Today Waechter is graduating to bigger work: currently under construction is Milwaukie Way, an L-shaped office building wrapped around a historic Spanish Colonial building in Portland to create a pedestrian shopping alley, and Claybourne Commons, a set of 20 rowhouses clustered in four groups that, in their simple pitched-roof geometry, resemble Monopoly hotels.

Waechter’s designs make simple and affordable materials feel luxurious—sometimes by eliminating trim or adding small, elegant details. Tower House, a contemporary reimagining of a medieval turret, is wrapped in corrugated

Waechter’s white metal–clad Pavilion House, which recently won a regional American Institute of Architects award, is pentagonshaped to orchestrate residents’ views and provide privacy from nearby neighbors.

JEREMY BITTERMANN

metal that curves smoothly around corners to eliminate clunky fasteners and make the three-story hillside building look gently cylindrical. The recent Sawtooth rowhouse project, in Lake Oswego, is clad in cement-board siding, usually the antithesis of chic design. But here the panels are paired with custom trim for a crisp look.

Waechter also favors an economy of materials, as in 2013’s Oakley residence, whose great-room walls and floors are clad in oak to cocoon its residents. “One’s memory and experience of a place have, to a large degree, to do with what that place is made of,” the architect says. “We simplify and reduce designs to a point where it’s physically impossible to remove anything

else, and thus the material is really containing the space.”

In an age when architects are ever-more reliant on sophisticated 3D design software, Waechter has doubled down on creating study models for each project, which help him intuit how spaces should be configured. After the buildings are completed, he crafts polished wood models that help him understand what he’s done. “We like to think about architecture as a mass that’s carved out rather than one that’s built of wall planes,” he explains. “It’s about creating what I call vivid experiences, which you can get from great architecture or from nature—those moments when you have a really strong sense of place.” h

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furniture

MATERIAL GIRL After a motorcycle wreck tossed her out of work for more than a year, Vancouver woodworker-designer Kate Duncan turned her lifelong love of woodworking into an unconventional form of therapy—and a new career.

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER Photographed by EMA PETER

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“I LOVE JOINERY AND ALL ITS TRADITIONAL MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES—SOLID HARDWOOD, DOVETAILS, SIMPLE LINES—SO I DESIGN FURNITURE THAT LETS ME INCORPORATE THOSE VALUES.” —KATE DUNCAN, WOODWORKER

OPPOSITE: Duncan in her woodshop. THIS PAGE: Like her furniture, Duncan’s living room has, she says, a “masculine bent.” Duncan’s own pieces, including a maple coffee table and black walnut nesting side tables, all with oxidized steel bases, cohabitate with purchased pieces such as the cowhide rug from Room & Board and a chair and couch that Duncan found on Craigslist and updated with new upholstery and black walnut legs.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Duncan’s handcrafted furniture collections include the Parallel bed and nightstands, the Thru credenza, and the Pare table. OPPOSITE: The cheeky neon sign was a gift from a friend, inspired by Duncan’s love of the popular television show RuPaul’s Drag Race and a reflection of her effervescent personality.

Duncan designed and built the black walnut bar cart. Her own exquisite serving trays and cutting boards complement her furniture.

i

n the past two years, Kate Duncan’s handcrafted wooden tables, credenzas, and bedroom sets have caught the public eye. Though her streamlined pieces are beautifully designed, the 34-year-old primarily identifies as a woodworker.

“It’s so much more than furniture design,” Duncan says, standing behind the sawdustcovered worktable in her East Vancouver studio. She leans on her elbows and spreads out her hands, a gesture that encompasses the surrounding tools, raw materials, and a fleet of dining chairs in various stages of construction. “I love joinery and all its traditional materials and techniques— solid hardwood, dovetails, simple lines—so I design furniture that lets me incorporate those values. If a design is too

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complicated, you end up making sacrifices within the craft, and the piece is compromised.”

Looking at Duncan’s work, it’s easy to see why it’s often described as “honest.” Inspired by Japanese and midcentury aesthetics, the pieces boast clean contours and skillfully built components that underscore their maker’s 22 years of experience and deep respect for her craft.

At age 12, Duncan took a junior-high woodworking class and was, as she says, “instantly hooked.” For the next five years, woodshop was a permanent fixture in her schedule, and she entered weekend woodworking competitions, often the only teenage girl on the circuit. Duncan later pursued a degree in education, coming full circle when she began to teach woodshop at a local high school. »

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furniture Duncan’s bed is from her Parallel Collection, crafted from black walnut with black leather veneer. The matching bedside table showcases items Duncan collected on her international travels: the camel is from Morocco, the Buddha from Tibet, and the owl from Spain. The lamp is an heirloom from Duncan’s grandmother, and the plant is in a Gainey Ceramics pot. Artist Troy Moth, a two-years-running Address participant, gifted Duncan the photographs above the bed. »

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In the dining area, a simple white oak table and chairs are crowned with a Lindsey Adelman DIY kit light; on the wall in the office hangs another teasing gift from a friend. Two prints are by Ohio-based artist Joshua Minnich, whom Duncan discovered on Instagram. In the bathroom, the maple vanity features a live edge—a design choice Duncan favored in her Routed collection. She made the sconce from parts ordered online.

In 2008, she helped to set up a woodworking pilot program at a youth detention center in Burnaby, British Columbia.

“It was a fantastic experience to see these kids making things and taking so much pride in their work.”

And if anyone knows about the restorative power of honing a craft, it’s Duncan. Five years ago, a debilitating motorcycle accident—and ensuing hip surgery—left her unable to teach, and it was her work that kept her sane.

“The woodshop was my therapy,” she says. “Instead of meditating or going to yoga, I went to the shop. Working with my hands was healing—it allowed me to forget the accident.”

Over the next two years, she slowly designed and built a collection of handcrafted furniture, including the straight-edged Parallel bed and nightstand. Soon orders started to roll in.

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Yet she had mixed results when exhibiting at trade shows—“I was always beside someone selling gift cards or ceiling fans, and I realized that these were not my people,” Duncan says with an infectious laugh—so she decided to rally her own people. In 2014, she launched Address, a four-day event that’s part gallery and part pop-up shop and spotlights an array of Vancouver-based designer-makers.

She projects that 20 designers will participate in the May 2016 show, where Duncan will also launch a new collection, including a dining table, chairs, a credenza, and a bedroom set with details such as leather-lined drawers and hardware.

With this much energy, ambition, and raw talent, Kate Duncan’s swift ascent up the ladder of success is no surprise.

Her motto? “Just keep it real, and be true to the craft.” h

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interiors

pitch-perfect design With his nimble creative spirit and keen eye for blending styles, Andy Beers pivoted from classical singing to interior design, swiftly pushing his Seattle firm to the forefront.

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

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Andy Beers didn’t discover his love for interior design in a typical way—he didn’t constantly rearrange his bedroom furniture or obsess over pictures in magazines. Instead the spark was lit in high school, when the artistically inclined teenager performed in his school’s theater productions.

“I wanted to be a classical singer,” he recalls on an overcast afternoon in his bookshelf-lined office in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. “But in high school theater, you’re roped into every aspect of the production, including set

OPPOSITE: Interior designer Andy Beers in his Ballard studio.

BELOW: Beers furnished the living room in this midcentury

North Seattle remodel and addition project by architect Jay Coupard. The sectional is from Vancouver-based Bensen.

“Shades of gray and cream mix easily,” Beers notes, “while green accessories reinforce the views. The butterscotch leather on the Ole Wanscher Colonial Chair echoes the custom stain on all the fir trim and casework that Coupard designed for the house.”

ANDY BEERS

design. I discovered that I was really interested in the challenge of designing smaller-scale spaces.”

Despite relatives who worked in construction, Beers didn’t realize that design alone could be a career. He continued to pursue singing, eventually receiving a bachelor of music degree from Boston’s prestigious New England Conservatory. But when he moved to Eugene, Oregon, with his girlfriend (now wife) in 2003, he finally decided to turn his nonmusical interest into a profession. He enrolled at the

University of Oregon, earned his master’s in interior architecture, and soon landed a job with prominent Portland designer Jessica Helgerson.

“Working closely with Jessica was the perfect foundation, and it set me on course as a designer,” Beers notes. “Her work is beautiful and functional, but she also has an important sustainability agenda. She’s the gold standard.”

After a year with his mentor, Beers moved back to the East Coast when his wife received a job offer in Rhode Island. » graymag . com

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He picked up freelance interior design work and eventually partnered with former graduate-school classmate Cara Scarola to form Ore Studios, a residential design firm that embodied their elegant yet laid-back style. Fast-forward to 2012, when, in yet another cross-country move, the Beerses relocated to Seattle to be close to family. That’s when Ore Studios really took off: after a small powder room renovation in Sammamish, Washington, “all of a sudden,” Beers says, “I was designing an entire house in La Conner, working with local architects like John DeForest, and moving into commercial projects.”

He and Scarola amicably parted ways in 2014, but Beers carries on as Ore Studios, creating beautifully styled, unfussy spaces that use traditional and midcentury furniture as anchors and vibrant colors, art, and layered accessories to add panache. And although he does not sing professionally, Beers sees a deep link between music and design. “At their core, they’re both about connection,” he says. “I ask my clients to be vulnerable with me so I can deliver work that is sincere and personal to them. As a classical singer, I struggled to fully let down my guard; I focused on the pursuit of perfection. Yet as a designer, I’m relaxed and excited about what we share and what makes us who we are. Ultimately, success in either realm requires letting people hear or see something honest.” h

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ANDY BEERS; TOP: JEN DILLENDER

COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Beers’s design work ranges from custom wallpaper for Lucky Lab Coffee Co.’s mobile truck in Austin (a collaboration with Bainbridge Island, Washington– based Abnormals Anonymous) to interiors for a Ballard living room remodeled by DeForest Architects; retail design for Heritage Dry Goods in Eugene, Oregon; and a white-and-wood kitchen.

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shop

east to west

Portland boutique Kat + Maouche elevates a bohemian staple to a high-design must-have.

“Once you start buying rugs, you don’t want to stop,” declares Katen Bush, co-owner of Kat + Maouche, an enchanting new rug shop in Portland that offers vintage Berber rugs straight from the source in Morocco.

For years, she and her husband, Latif Bezzir, had fantasized about selling Moroccan furnishings. They finally made it happen in early 2015 when they opened their brick-andmortar shop, which has quickly become a cult favorite among interior designers hungry for unexpected rug designs from new sources. “I’m proud that the culture I grew up in is accepted and acknowledged through its art—that something I love from North Africa translates to my American life,” says Bezzir, who grew up in a Berber family in Algeria. They’ve been flying under the radar for the past year, but now the secret’s out—so you’d better hurry in. h

Katen Bush and Latif Bezzir opened their vintage Moroccan rug shop in Portland’s Chinatown in early 2015. Their dazzling stock and personal ties to North Africa’s textile culture generate a unique visitor experience.

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graphics

VISUAL PROCESSING Digital storytellers for a new era, Schema merges data and design to tackle some of the most important questions of our time.

Written by COURTNEY FERRIS

Working at the intersection of art, interactive design, and data visualization, Seattle- and New York City–based Schema doesn’t fit the typical studio model. Its day-to-day operations—which can include illustrating how the legislative process operates, working with hip-hop artist Big Boi to graph Outkast’s social media buzz on its reunion tour, and mapping public transit usage in three major cities over 24 hours—mark it out as an incubator for fresh ideas born from cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Christian Marc Schmidt, who founded the company in 2012, describes Schema as “a design firm for the information age,” citing the increasing difficulty of processing the barrage of information society generates and uses on a daily basis.

Working with startups, corporations, and cultural and government organizations, Schema’s designers and consultants synthesize complex webs of data across a broad spectrum of platforms—from mobile applications to print publications and site-specific installations.

As Schmidt explains, “Design and the use of data visualization as interface help us not only to better access and understand information, but also to gain insights we can use to take action and make better decisions.” By rendering dense information both legible and beautiful, Schema is laying the groundwork for design-driven social change. h

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COURTESY SCHEMA

“THE PRESENT INFORMATION AGE CALLS FOR NEW INTERFACES AND METAPHORS THAT GIVE PEOPLE CONTROL OVER AND INSIGHT INTO THE GROWING AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THEY CREATE AND CONSUME.’’ —CHRISTIAN MARC SCHMIDT, FOUNDER, SCHEMA

The latest: ✘ GRAY’s design-driven gift guide–something perfect for everyone on your list

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

✘ Sneak peek at the new GRAY Design Labs series, kicking off December 12 with a living wreath workshop in Vancouver ✘ The backstory on the buildout of Girin, Seattle’s chic new Korean steakhouse

graymag.com Get access to more photos and details from stories in each issue, find the most important design events happening near and far, and discover the people, projects, and places you need to know—all from the only Pacific Northwest magazine that gives design its undivided attention.

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lighting

2015 “ESTABLISHED” WINNER:

“Gweilo,” by Alex Josephson and Partisans

Two Vancouver women brighten the world of lighting design.

WE LOVE LAMP AS MEDIA SPONSORS FOR THE L A M P COMPETITION, GRAY CONGRATULATES THE WINNERS!

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Written by STACY KENDALL : Portrait by JOHANN WALL

2015 “STUDENT” WINNER:

“Diverge,”

by Christina Wilkinson and Danna Lei

2015 “EMERGING” WINNER:

“Eclipse,” by Annie Tung

Nicole Fox and Annika Hagen aren’t designers (Fox has a background in choreography; Hagen, film). But in 2013, the two Vancouver women decided to launch L A M P, the Lighting Architecture Movement Project, an exhibition (and, later, competition) meant to provoke creative, high-concept lighting design.

“We wanted to collaborate on the kind of event that we were interested in attending,” says Fox. “Through our brainstorms, we found a through-line: design, lighting, and architecture were things we wanted to bring to the forefront in Vancouver.”

In its first year, L A M P was an invitation-only lighting exhibition featuring installations by artists and architects.

But soon more people contacted Hagen and Fox, asking to participate. In 2014, the two women reenvisioned L A M P as an international lighting design competition with top-tier industry judges, and they opened entry to the public. This year’s contest, built around the theme “Crystallize,” saw 90 entries from 19 countries, and the illustrious panel of judges included Tom Dixon, Michael Anastassiades, and Omer Arbel. The winners were announced in November 2015, and their work was displayed alongside the top 10 finalists in a three-day exhibition at the Finlay and Kath showroom in Railtown.

As for the future, the pair wants to expand L A M P: to increase entries and tour the resulting exhibition around the world. “As it grows each year, it’s clear to us that we have hit on something important,” Hagen says. We heartily agree. h

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shop

deal with it

Wunderkind decorative arts dealer Jamie Pryde opens a new Vancouver shop.

Written by JORDAN KUSHINS : Photographed by JAMIE MANN

For Jamie Pryde, antiques are no mere pastime or profession—they’re a calling. “They’re in your blood—they pull you to them,” he says. These are strong words for a man who hasn’t yet celebrated his 30th birthday, but they capture the enthusiasm and heart with which he approaches his career. “You don’t choose this life. It chooses you.”

The Vancouver-based decorative arts dealer found his niche early on. “My Nana and I went to a lot of garage sales,” he says of his childhood in northwestern Ontario. “We’d meet so many personalities. She always encouraged me to buy things we couldn’t find anywhere else, and hearing the stories behind what we acquired was so interesting. They’ve always stuck with me.”

As Pryde matured, so too did his fascination with antiques, gradually developing from weekend treasure hunts to the higher stakes—and prices—of the professional trade. After a stint in fashion retail, he began to work for a well-known dealer in 2011, and when the business moved to a new locale, he took on the responsibility of designing its showroom and exterior. There he honed his own style and vision—which included pursuing a certificate in interior design—and shaped what would eventually become his own business.

Last year, while still attending school full-time, Pryde founded The Edit to function as an online hub for his unique finds and became a dealer on 1stdibs. While Pryde considers Web-based shopping to be “where the industry is going,” this November he opened a 1,200-square-foot brick-and-mortar showroom— also called The Edit—in downtown Vancouver to showcase his wares. In addition to antiques, he represents a selection of Pacific Northwest–based artists and designers, including Foster Eastman, MEGA, and Propellor. “Heirloom-quality pieces are still produced,” he says. “Displaying them alongside older pieces that are already vetted elevates the experience for both the creator and the client.” h

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With his new shop The Edit, Jamie Pryde plays matchmaker between person and product. “I want to give people the opportunity to touch and feel a piece. I love watching them fall in love with something.�

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fashion

brazenly simple Britt Howard secures a seat among the Pacific Northwest’s fashion elite.

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Photographed by CHARLIE SCHUCK : Styled by MICHELLE ANDREWS

At 5,000 square feet, Portland Garment Factory’s modest size belies its significant impact. Since

opening in 2008, it has served the manufacturing needs of more than 50 local and national companies, including New Balance, Nike, Levi’s, Wieden + Kennedy, and Creatures of Comfort.

The sewing machines and cutting equipment are now humming with a project very close to factory founder and co-owner Britt Howard’s heart: her own fashion label, Howard, and an inaugural women’s clothing collection. The line launched in September 2015, composed of 25 pieces crafted from comfortable fabrics in relaxed but feminine shapes. Each features surprising, quirky details—delicate shoulder cutouts; a foldover bib—sure to appeal to the sartorially savvy. “The woman who wears Howard is bold and urban—she does a lot of things throughout the day, and I want to make her clothing that is a beautiful, functional addition to her life,” the designer says. The Howard woman will have to wait a bit longer for the brand’s next iteration—its SS2016 line will hit stores in February. »

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Subtle elegance never looked so cool. Worn over an extra-widelegged jumpsuit, this top can be styled two ways: Wear it with its sleeves for a traditional silhouette, or adjust the drawstring neck and tie the sleeves in front for a hit of the unexpected. OPPOSITE: An all-black ensemble—the perennial uniform of fashionable women from New York to L.A.—needn’t be boring. Designer Britt Howard reenvisions the classic look with a drapey Tencel twill smock coat layered over a wrap skirt with a thick waistband and a turtleneck tank top with buttons down the back.

“The woman who wears Howard is bold and urban—she does a lot of things throughout the day, and I want to make her clothing that is a beautiful, functional addition to her life.” —BRITT HOWARD, DESIGNER

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“Style is about the attitude and confidence of the person wearing the clothes. I don’t get wrapped up in whether my clothing is trendy— I just make it simple.”

—BRITT HOWARD, DESIGNER

Jumpsuits are back in a big way, but this piece stands out in the crowd.

Featuring a banded neck detail and oh-so-necessary pockets, this number can be dressed up with heels and a jacket or worn with tennis shoes and a chunky sweater for weekend errands. h

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NEXT ISSUE

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Luxury

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textiles

WARP SPEED

The work of three local textile artists proves that the 21st-century textile resurrection runs deeper than surface patterns.

Written by NICOLE MUNSON

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© ROBIN STEIN

NATIVE LINE Justine Ashbee, founder of Native Line, has continued to make her mark on the textile scene since returning to her native United Kingdom after a decade in the Pacific Northwest.

The artist and Rhode Island School of Design alumna uses a four-shaft weaving process on a wood jack loom to create luminous wall hangings and bracelets interwoven with threads of silver, gold, and precious metals. Working out of her countryside studio near Brighton, England, Ashbee focuses mostly on private commissions but offers a limited line of ready-to-hang woven pieces on her website, along with her newly created gold Talisman cuff.

“A movement is building toward creating a life dedicated to natural materials and sustainable processes,” she muses. “Whether it’s a handmade ceramic cup or handspun naturally dyed cloth against your skin, you feel that it was created by hands, and with time and energy. In this technological world, people crave grounding, natural materials.” »

Photography: Michael Stearns / Hybrid3 a design studio

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Whether in cans or kegs, at our pub in Astoria or on your front porch, our brews bring people together in aromatic headiness and lupulin ecstasy. fortgeorgebrewery.com103 graymag . com

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textiles

ANTIPOD WORKSHOP Flipping the switch on the habitually muted palette of the Northwest, the first collection by Vancouver-based Antipod Workshop derives its complex patterns from the rough edges of the city’s vast urban fabric. At the studio’s helm is New Zealand–born Stephanie Symns, whose 20-piece Artifact pillow collection draws graphic inspiration from photographs of layered, decaying posters plastered throughout the city’s Chinatown. “The collection became a metaphor for the huge changes that we’ve seen in Vancouver’s cityscape,” explains Symns, who moved to British Columbia in 2000. “Look closely, and you’ll see the fragmented texts—artifacts of a city in flux.”

Symns, who’s studied both traditional weaving and textile and surface design, has joined up with Vancouver-based Oden Gallery as well as a new online initiative called Guild Trip, a virtual gallery of international contemporary artisans. The Pacific Northwest increasingly shapes her aesthetic: “I certainly haven’t given up my crazy color palette, but lately I find myself drawn to earthy patterns and textures—natural linen and hemp, charcoals and pale colors, and organic forms,” she explains. “You can’t help but be affected by the presence of nature and all the wonderful forests, beaches, and mountains on our doorstep.”

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FRANCESCA CAPONE Portland-based textile designer Francesca Capone represents the next wave of an old art in our postmodern world. A recent transplant from Rhode Island and New York with dual degrees in weaving and writing, Capone has leveraged the medium’s crossovers with contemporary art, describing her work as “streamof-consciousness weaving” that focuses on experimentation and the dictates of the materials. Whether she’s designing commercial textiles for major companies (Capone has worked for Marc Jacobs and Coach in New York and is currently a materials designer for Nike) or crafting woven-art pieces for exhibitions, Capone looks for opportunities to incorporate narrative into her art.

“Textile-based forms—from nomadic peoples’ pictorial weavings to Incan knotting systems and European tapestries—have historically been places for storytelling and recordkeeping,” Capone explains. “Even now we write ‘threads’ via email—something both ancient and completely contemporary.” For her solo

© ANDY ROMER

exhibition “Writing in Threads,” held at Brooklyn’s 99 Cent Plus Gallery this past fall, Capone invited 15 writers to pen responses to her work, which were then exhibited alongside the corresponding weavings. “It was an epistolary project,” says Capone. “I wanted to address the connection between historical textile languages and contemporary Web-based writing practices, which occur in a warplike, vertical, and linear fashion.”

During a recent residency at the Jennings Hotel in Joseph, Oregon (for more on the hotel, see page 110), Capone worked in the open air with locally harvested Targhee wool, wondering how the view of the Wallowa Mountains in the distance might shape her practice.

The experiment “taught me that the experience of weaving can be uniquely dependent on a location and the materials available there,” she says. “Now I plan to weave onsite often in the Pacific Northwest to see how it affects the evolution of my work.” h

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made here

bringing it all home

Pamela Hill creates American-made knitwear that escapes the trap of trends.

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Portrait by DAVID PAPAZIAN

Modern heirloom. What might seem to be an oxymoronic phrase is the basic motto of House of Castellon—a tiny Portland company producing locally made knitwear as timeless as the craft itself. Launched in late 2012 by Pamela Hill, retail experience director for Vizwerks, House of Castellon was rooted in necessity: Two years prior, when Hill was putting the finishing touches on a residential design for Vizwerks, she sought a blanket that could be passed down through the family for decades. After a futile search for a suitable high-quality piece, Hill decided to have one made from scratch. “I had a picture in my head of the family returning to this vacation house year after year, and this blanket would always be there,” the designer says. “Everything is so disposable now. I wanted to create a beautiful piece that would stand the test of time.”

Two months after producing that bed cover, Hill and her husband traveled to China, seeking a knitter to produce her other commissions, which were booming thanks to trunk shows, »

FROM RIGHT: House of Castellon’s Portland bag.

Designer Pamela Hill models her forthcoming snood, a capelike garment that will be available spring 2016. Like all her products, it’s made in Portland from exclusively American-sourced wool.

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made here “I come from a family of makers.

I grew up with handmade things that were passed down through my family, and I treasured them.

Nowadays, unfortunately, such pieces are hard to find.”

—PAMELA HILL, HOUSE OF CASTELLON

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT:

A selection of Hill’s new recycled cotton throws. In the Portland factory where House of Castellon products are made, Kim, a factory knitter, works on a striped bed cover. Black wool yarn threaded onto the knitting machine. Sheep graze at Imperial Stock Ranch in Wasco County, Oregon, the source of the heathered charcoal wool used in many House of Castellon products.

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SHERRI DITEMAN KAVEN (FAR LEFT); DAVID PAPAZIAN (BLANKETS)

referrals, and requests from her design clients. She worked with a studio in Shanghai for two years before her husband found local Portland knitters capable of creating similarly high-quality items. The couple reevaluated House of Castellon and mapped out its future evolution, and Hill decided that U.S. production was critical: “I was making my knits all the way in China, but I should have been trying to make a ripple in my own backyard.”

Armed with her new focus on local sourcing and production, the designer teamed up with Portland commercial knitters to produce her first official House of Castellon product in 2012: a three-panel wool bed cover that used yarns sourced from Maine. Soon afterward, a friend told Hill about Jeanne Carver, co-owner of Imperial Stock Ranch, a family-owned operation in Wasco County, Oregon, known for producing the yarn for Ralph Lauren’s Team USA opening-ceremony sweaters for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Hill and Carver spent six months developing a batch of heather-toned charcoal wool made entirely in the United States from American fibers. The end result is a machinewashable yarn that’s unusually soft to the touch. Hill uses it for capes, two-panel throws, and woolly wraps.

Since then, the designer has expanded her line to include more blankets, pillows, wraps, and a bag, each piece striped or color-blocked. “I can’t produce my pieces on the scale of larger companies,” Hill says, “but I am proud of making quality goods.

As long as I keep producing my yarn and knits in the United States, I feel that I’m doing incredible things.” h

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hospitality

Brick by Brick An intrepid Portlander transforms a historic hotel into a design outpost in rural Oregon.

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY GREG HENNES

Written by ANDY WRIGHT

Greg Hennes’s fantasy of transforming a neglected building in Joseph, Oregon, into a design hotel is becoming a reality thanks to a phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign—and Hennes’s own sweat equity. Room 8, the Jennings Hotel’s first remodeled room, is now open to guests. It features salvaged wood floors and a pendant lamp from Rejuvenation (the company is donating fixtures to Hennes’s project). OPPOSITE: Hennes captures a friend paddling a cedar-strip canoe on Wallowa Lake, a short drive from the Jennings Hotel. »

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Thanks to Hennes (opposite top), the Jennings is returning to its original glory, offering comfortable and welcoming accommodations in a rural setting notable for its natural beauty.

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M

ost people, upon falling in love with a small town, might buy a vacation home. Greg Hennes bought a hotel.

Hennes first passed through Joseph, Oregon, 320 miles east of Portland, in 2004. “And that’s where it happened,” he says. An entrepreneur based in Portland at the time, he was enchanted by the rural outpost, home to about 1,000 people and surrounded by stretches of prairie, the soaring Wallowa Mountains, and a postcard-perfect lake. He returned to Joseph regularly for a decade and found himself drawn to one particular building on Main Street: the 1910-built Jennings

Hotel, both a slice of town history and a major fixer-upper. “It called to me,” he says.

Hennes viewed the property six or seven times before finally purchasing it in 2014, planning to resurrect the building as a design-centric hotel. Although he intended to restore it largely on his own, drawing on his prior construction and renovation experience, he knew he needed capital to make his vision a reality. So he turned to the crowd-funding site Kickstarter and set a goal of $80,000 (restoration of the brickwork alone was pegged at $26,000). And backers responded—to the tune of $107,070. In April 2015, Hennes relocated to Joseph and threw himself full-time into revamping the property.

ARCHIVAL IMAGE COURTESY THE COLLECTION OF EDSEL WHITE

hospitality

STUART MULLENBERG

An archival photo (opposite top) shows the Jennings circa 1920, 10 years after it was built. The renovated portions of the hotel include room 8 (right and opposite), with its rustic simplicity, and the hotel’s hand-built sauna and sitting room (below right), with a reclaimed redwood bench by Tom Bonamici and the Grandview Triple Sconce from Rejuvenation.

At the core of Hennes’s vision is collaborative design: he’ll invite a different designer to oversee the design and renovation of each of the hotel’s 10 rooms, granting them full creative freedom—and a budget of just $20 per square foot. “It’s an extreme design challenge to make something on so little money,” Hennes acknowledges. “But I firmly believe that good design is born from constraints. I’m interested in expressing coziness through materiality and craft.”

Hennes himself designed the first room, which opened for reservations in September. Each room will act as a showcase—and essentially a permanent pop-up shop—for its designer.

“Everything will be for sale,” Hennes says.

Though the hotel will remain under construction for at least another year, Hennes will roll out additional rooms as they’re ready. Next up is room 3, designed by Ben Klebba of Phloem and Matt Pierce of Wood & Faulk.

The hotel will also host an artists’ residency program, the first slots of which were granted as rewards during the Kickstarter campaign.

Moving forward, each invited artist will be asked to produce a piece for the hotel. For Hennes, the allure of a visit is obvious. “Wallowa County is incredibly special and spiritually transcendent,” he says. “Every time someone visits me, they say, ‘What’s up with this place?’

Something is going on here.” h graymag . com

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future

tower of power Vancouver’s architectural landscape goes BIG. Written by JORDAN KUSHINS

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Vancouver House, a Westbank development designed by international architecture firm BIG, is a future landmark for the city. Slated for completion in 2019, the building’s broad base and slender tower is a contemporary take on “Vancouverism,” a regional architectural typology that aims to preserve view corridors through the city.

COURTESY BIG

Building within the constraints of an already dense downtown area can be a challenge. Vancouver House, from international architecture firm BIG, is a paragon of site-specific design that has overcome such barriers, an ambitious exercise in how to transform and optimize complicated real estate into a boon for the built environment and inhabitants alike.

The condo tower’s unique 59-story silhouette ascends from a three-sided footprint—set within the land-bound fork of the Granville Street Bridge— to a rectangular top that’s twice that size. “We were influenced by ‘Vancouverism’: the urban typology characterized by skinny residential towers,” BIG partner Thomas Christoffersen says. Consider this project Vancouverism with a twist. It’s a feat of both architectural engineering and infill ingenuity that will, by the time of its planned completion in spring 2019, transform both the skyline and the tricky developments below it.

Around the tower will be a trio of triangular mixeduse buildings for offices, retail, and condos, connected by courtyards and terraces. These al fresco sites are directly adjacent to, and in some cases beneath, a high-traffic interchange—a challenging location, to be sure—but BIG envisions them as open-air oases, part of a brand-new community flush with local art and bustling with city life. “It’s a model for architecture as added value,” Christoffersen says.

“We’re transforming ‘undesirable’ real estate into something sought-after.” h

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architecture

smart density The economic downturn of 2008 rattled the building industry, but it was the springboard to an innovative, sustainable future for one Vancouver building designer.

Written by JORDAN KUSHINS : Photographed by COLIN PERRY

Green building is gaining ground globally—and, of course, that’s a good thing. Yet Vancouver designer Bryn Davidson believes that, too often, the movement focuses on “idealized rural sites—the perfect home in the middle of nowhere.” A more pressing design problem, he says, is urban infill—developing new construction on vacant or underused plots within a city. It’s in this realm that Davidson has worked for nearly a decade.

After graduating from architecture school in 2005, Davidson launched his own practice and began to consult on sustainable city-planning projects. Three years later, the global

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economic crisis hit. When this tumult “melted the building industry,” Davidson, like many others in his field, swiftly found himself out of work. Meanwhile Vancouver was in the process of considering a new bylaw that he thought might be a silver lining in the gloomy financial clouds. The legislation would permit construction of compact 500- to 1,000-square-foot homes in place of alley-facing garages on the majority of the city’s existing properties.

Anticipating enactment of the new law, Davidson teamed up with general contractor and project manager Mat Turner. In early 2009, the duo established Lanefab »

OPPOSITE: Vancouver laneway house pioneers Bryn Davidson and Mat Turner, founders of the design-build firm Lanefab, recently completed their 50th laneway home—the 940-square-foot Two Birds House. THIS PAGE: The kitchen features a Fisher & Paykel fridge that complements the Ispira range hood by Venmar, hanging above the Cambria quartz-topped island. The old timber ceiling beams were such a hit that Davidson used them as legs on the custom dining table.

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architecture FROM TOP: Shou sugi ban, or charred-cedar cladding, brings interior warmth to the exterior.

The salvaged beams appear in the living room, too, outfitted with a Soft Line sofa from Vancouver Special and furnishings and accessories from West Elm. Davidson custom-built the wall cabinetry in the bedroom, with a special sliding door constructed from fence planks reclaimed from another job site.

Design/Build, a firm focused on energyefficient homes in an alley-facing format.

“We didn’t know if the bylaw would actually pass, but we did some risky work anyway: creating our brand, handing out fliers, and putting together prototypes.” Five months later, the bylaw passed, and within a year Lanefab had completed the firm’s—and the city’s—first laneway construction.

Today nearly 1,300 laneway houses are scattered around Vancouver. Lanefab has completed about 50 of them—including, recently, the Two Birds House, designed for Daniel and Tiffany Andrew, the husbandand-wife founders of Two Birds Apparel, which creates environmentally and ethically conscious Canadian-made men’s clothing.

“My wife and I both like minimalist Scandinavian design,” Daniel says, “and we have core beliefs about living sustainably.”

In the summer of 2014, Davidson and Turner broke ground on the project—a 940-squarefoot house with two wings connected by an expansive glass entryway. The sun-soaked space is bright and cheery, thanks to crisp white walls and multifold doors that completely open out to a whopping 17 feet. At the clients’ request, reclaimed and sustainable materials weave prominently throughout the house, including beams salvaged from an old Granville Island factory. Davidson also incorporated a host of passive design elements into the structure, including tripleglazed windows, heat recovery ventilators, and 13-inch-thick walls built with prefab SIP panels. They secure the home’s envelope so efficiently that the residents rarely turn on the heat or air conditioner.

Since founding their firm, Davidson and Turner have expanded Lanefab’s portfolio to include larger homes—but pushing the limits of possibility with laneway lots remains a passion. Davidson says their work is about “adding more people where there are existing amenities, as opposed to creating more urban sprawl on the fringes. This is a true model of how to effectively densify a city.” h

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interiors

west coast cool California transplant Courtney Nye cuts a promising new design path in Portland.

“PORTLAND HAS MORE UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE THAN OVERT OPULENCE. THERE’S AN APPRECIATION FOR BOTH TIMELESS MODERNIST DESIGN AND WELL-MADE, LOCALLY HANDCRAFTED GOODS.” —COURTNEY NYE, DESIGNER

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Courtney Nye was a decidedly coastal California gal—until family drew her north. After receiving her interior architectural design degree from Long Beach State in 2008, she worked her way up from intern to full-time designer on large-scale commercial projects at the successful Newport Beach architecture firm H. Hendy Associates. Along the way, she honed an aesthetic inspired by the laid-back vibe of her locale.

When Nye and her husband moved to Portland in 2011 to be closer to family, her intent was a geographic—not a career—reroute. “Moving to Portland was a hard transition, since I was already established in California. It required me to reexamine my overall career,” she recalls. “But Portland is such a creative and inspiring city that I soon grew excited to see how I could fit in.”

Nye’s trajectory took a serendipitous—and entrepreneurial—turn when she accepted a referral from a friend and local designer to work on a residential project. At the time, she was interviewing for jobs at several firms. But once she’d experienced the autonomy and creative freedom of independent work on small-scale projects, she was hooked.

Since that time, Nye has run her own design business and built her brand organically via one word-of-mouth recommendation at a time.

While Nye still looks for opportunities to incorporate pieces from California designers such as Eric Trine, Sean Woolsey, and Brendan Ravenhill into her work, living in Portland has introduced a Northwest point of view, sparking collaborations with local brands such as Esque and Black Rabbit Builders. “The two regional aesthetics are a natural fit,” Nye says. “California style has a casual effortlessness, and Portland is laid-back.” Her style and disposition may be calm and self-assured, but her work is making a big splash that’s impossible to miss. »

PORTRAIT: LINDSAY NEAD; OPPOSITE: LINCOLN BARBOUR

Written by JASMINE VAUGHAN

For a Portland family with young kids, Nye designed a dining room and kitchen that’s both high-style and durable. The dining chairs, table, and kitchen stools are from Restoration Hardware.

The light fixture is by Jonathan Adler.

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:

In this office, Nye opted for a dark, cozy palette.

She had the vintage taxidermy display cabinet repainted and retrofitted with brass hardware from Schoolhouse Electric. Nye often selects accessories and furnishings for their sculptural qualities, as seen in this living room; the sectional is from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and the lamp is from Schoolhouse Electric. The vintage modernist painting over the fireplace is by Ham Morton, sourced from The Good Mod.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: LINCOLN BARBOUR; LUKE AND MALLORY PHOTOGRAPHY; LUKE AND MALLORY PHOTOGRAPHY

interiors

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NB Design Group |Photo Benjamin Benschneider

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fashion

the upside of down

The new recycled-down collection from Portland-based outerwear company Nau is a feather in the cap of green fashion.

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

Nau just opened a new store in Portland’s Pearl District—the company’s first brick-andmortar retail space in nine years. On offer is the company’s full line of functional-chic outerwear, including the newly updated Allee Down Pullover (pictured here), now filled with recycled down for fall 2015. The weather-resistant piece has a subtle ombré fade that’s an instant boost to daily street style.

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© GREG COMOLLO

Mixing style and sustainability, Portland outdoor-clothing expert Nau launched a new line of recycled-down garments in September.

Available in six designs for men and women, Nau’s coats use down from a French company that recycles cast-off European duvets and pillows. The down is cut out of the donated items and then sent to a Hungarian factory that cleans and sorts it, a process that yields down that performs as well as virgin feathers sourced directly from the birds themselves. Nau’s 650fill goose- and duck-down outerwear maintains the same weight, quality, and insulation quality as garments made with new down—demonstrating that in fashion, it’s what’s on the outside and inside that counts. h

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WILLIAM ANTHONY

PHOTOGRAPHY

true story WMANTHONY.COM

A unique, retro West Coast hotel concept unlike anything else in Vancouver, B.C. — The Burrard is right downtown, on the edge of the West End and Yaletown neighbourhoods, making it easy to explore the real Vancouver.

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TheBurrard.com • 1.800.663.0366

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GRAY presents...

LEFT TO RIGHT: Beyond Beige, page 128; Semihandmade, page 130; Postmark Brewing, page 132.

A LOOK INSIDE

We often see their ads, yet we seldom hear their stories.

Throughout the following promotional pages, we invite you to take a closer look inside these dynamic companies to hear their inspiring stories . . . why were they founded, what keeps them going, and what’s next? Visit their websites, drop them a line, source them for your next project. And be sure to let them know GRAY sent you!

Enjoy,

Shawn

Shawn Williams

Founder + Publisher

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GRAY presents

beyond beige

qa

+ REISA POLLARD

DON’T PUT BEYOND BEIGE IN A CORNER—SPACES DESIGNED

BY THE EVER-EVOLVING VANCOUVER INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM ALWAYS SURPRISE AND DELIGHT.

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Designer Reisa Pollard’s renovation of a West Vancouver home combined elegant restraint with unexpected fun. The living room’s subdued palette and sophisticated finishes play to the superstar city view (right).The kitchen is a study in shapes, with a cylindrical hood and spherical pendant light (below). The playful powder room adds a bit of drama to this refined residence (opposite).

INTERIORS PHOTOGRAPHED

BY BEMOVED MEDIA

The name says it all. Beyond Beige Interior Design, the boutique Vancouver design firm founded by Reisa Pollard in 2003, is a full-spectrum studio that steers clear of the stagnation of a “signature look.” While undertaking residential, commercial, and hospitality projects, Beyond Beige has always embraced the ideas that every client is different and that design should never be predictable. Pollard recently spoke with GRAY about the big picture of design.

How do you design a room to give it both contemporary spirit and staying power? I constantly look to sources of inspiration from around the world, and I try to recognize what’s emerging in design so that we’re constantly evolving as a firm.

However, I encourage clients to stay away from an obvious trend if it has no connection, intimacy, or value for them specifically. I ask, “Can we consider something you love for a reason?” That gives the design staying power. Contemporary spirit comes from adding unexpected elements—a light fixture in a contrasting style; a colorful high-gloss finish—that save a space from predictability.

Which three things must every room design incorporate? Start out with a focal point, good lighting, and texture. During the design process, I put together the bones of a design—the big elements—and then I step back, revisit it, and ask myself how to push it further to make it better. I identify details I can add to really bring it home—usually an element that brings in edge. I love hanging abstract art in a traditional room. Or, if the room is really modern, I add a peculiar, sentimental piece to add a human element and make it warmer.

©JEREMY JUDE LEE

Which guiding principles have you created for your design process? I always want to push a design. It’s my responsibility to listen—but then I will take you where you couldn’t have gone yourself. When clients get just outside their comfort zone, that’s where you create something that really speaks to who they are. I joke that I always work harder, rather than smarter: I never want to use a formula. I want to create something new each time. h beyondbeige.com graymag . com

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GRAY presents

semihandmade

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JOHN MCDONALD

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Semihandmade’s made-to-order cabinet doors are available in a vast array of materials and finishes. These include reclaimed lumber (below, a collaboration with Stikwood); high-gloss colors and recycled skateboard panels (opposite bottom, a collaboration with Plyboo and Art of Board); and sequence-matched flatsawn walnut (opposite top, shown in a project by William Howard Studio).

IT’S AN INGENIOUS CONCEPT AND A SOUGHT-AFTER PRODUCT: WELL-DESIGNED, HIGH-QUALITY DOORS FOR IKEA CABINETS. SEMIHANDMADE’S FOUNDER JOHN MCDONALD TALKS SHOP.

PORTRAIT: HAPPY ANGEL PHOTOGRAPHY; OPPOSITE, TOP: WILLIAM HOWARD STUDIO; THIS PAGE, TOP, AND OPPOSITE, LOWER RIGHT: SUZANNA SCOTT

In 2001, aspiring screenwriter John McDonald decided it was time

for a new chapter in his career. And, despite his lack of woodworking experience, the Southern Californian plunged into custom furniture and cabinetry. Nine years later, he spotted a gap in the market—namely, customers had little ability to personalize or upgrade Ikea cabinet bases—and he nimbly morphed his enterprise into Semihandmade.

The company offers made-to-order cabinet fronts that fit Ikea bases, and its mix of affordability and customization—the doors are available in nearly every style, from sleekly modern to traditional—has proved irresistible to design lovers. Three showrooms and thousands of projects later, McDonald reflects on his company’s evolution.

Tell us about your product line. How has it changed over the years, and what’s in your future? In the beginning, we took any kind of work to keep the lights on, and we offered whatever materials clients wanted.

From there, we built lines based on what was most popular—unpainted DIY Shaker and slab doors; real mahogany, teak, and walnut veneers cut in sequence from the same trees to make each kitchen totally unique.

We now also offer custom upgrades such as matching bookcases, wine cabinets, floating shelves, and appliance panels.

I’m most excited about our recent collaborations with Mirth Studio, Art of Board, and Stikwood, which have yielded doors made from everything from recycled skateboards to reclaimed lumber. Soon we’ll offer doors incorporating powder-coated steel and licensed artwork.

Looking farther ahead, we envision a greater retail presence, regional distribution centers, and a private-label cabinet line for both consumers and the hospitality market. We plan to be in Europe within two years.

How would you characterize your relationship with Ikea? Ikea doesn’t require people to buy doors when purchasing its cabinets, so we’re not direct competitors. The company is aware that people who might not normally buy Ikea kitchens are buying them because of the upgrades we offer. Generally, they’ve been supportive.

Earlier this year, Semihandmade placed #489 on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing privately owned U.S. companies. What’s the secret of your success? We’re thrilled to be included. We credit hard work, perseverance, black coffee, being in the right place at the right time, and loans from friends and family. Fear and desperation also help.

What keeps you motivated as a designer? My partner Ivan Sokolov and I handle design, and because neither of us has any formal training, that includes a lot of trial and error. One of the best things about being a small company is the lack of red tape. New products can be available in a matter of days. Forget beta testing and inventory—you make some doors, upload photos to Instagram, and see if the needle moves. That’s the most fun, and it keeps us coming to work every day. h semihandmadedoors.com

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GRAY presents

postmark brewing

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STEVE THORP STEVE THORP, COFOUNDER OF POSTMARK BREWING, SEES SOMETHING SENSATIONAL BREWING IN VANCOUVER’S UP-AND-COMING RAILTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD—AND HE ISN’T JUST TALKING ABOUT HIS BEERS.

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“We look for a smooth combination of malt, hops, and yeast, which yields a beer that is flavorful yet balanced,” says Steve Thorp, who, along with business partner Nate Rayment, runs Postmark Brewing, a craft brewery based in Vancouver.

For Steve Thorp and Nate Rayment, the West Coast is more than a destination—it’s a way of life. When the two friends achieved their longtime dream of opening a Vancouver craft brewery last year, they aimed to create beers that capture the essence of West Coast life. And that essence has materialized in small-batch, craft-brewed, session-style beers characterized by low alcohol content—a trending category in beer. Postmark’s strong focus on aesthetics drew it to house its tasting room and retail shop in the historic Settlement Building (home to the group’s other businesses, including Vancouver Urban Winery and Belgard Kitchen), which is among the hottest destinations in Railtown, the city’s budding design district. Thorp let us in on how the Pacific Northwest shapes their brand and what’s on tap for 2016.

How does the Pacific Northwest inspire your work? It’s everything to us—we live and breathe it each day. Postmark came out of our love of spending time outside with friends and the inspiration they provide us. Photography, design, travel, events, adventures, and taking risks for our passions are other influences.

The region’s such a big focus for us that we launched Postmarkbranded collaborations with local companies: an umbrella with Vancouver’s Westerly Goods. Leather growler holders for bikes with Union Wood Co. All our 650ml bottles—14 to date—feature labels shot by different photographers. There are not many places in the world as beautiful as the B.C. coast, with its mountains, oceans, rivers, and wildlife. This is Postmark’s home.

JESSIKA HUNTER; THIS PAGE, TOP: STEVE THORP

Tell us about your location in Vancouver’s Settlement Building—what does this space mean to you, and how does it connect to your craft? This building has an energy you can’t ignore. It dates back to the 1920s and was built with a true West Coast material, Douglas fir. Its 26-foot ceilings provide an incredible atmosphere, and our tasting room shares a kitchen with Belgard Kitchen, so people can order from our full lunch, brunch, and evening menus.

Railtown, one of Vancouver’s oldest neighborhoods, is exploding into life as creative people open shops and offices.

Postmark thrives off community support, so naturally we love being in this booming area, with lots of businesses in the design and tech industries. We have created an experience destination— people are blown away when they walk into the building.

What’s new at Postmark, and what’s next? Art, design, and photography are my passions, so blending them into a craft beer brand is special. About a year ago, I started to work with my longtime industry friend Tim Barnard on an illustrated craft brewery map of Vancouver. I wanted something real and well designed that people could pin to their walls. Tim spent hours hand-sketching the map, including every little detail and story of Vancouver. We just began offering it in the store in June, and it’s one of the favorite pieces I’ve ever commissioned.

Spring and summer collaborations will play into the festival– road trip–camp vibes Postmark lifestyle. And with new brewmaster Dominic Giraldes on board, we will launch a new flagship 355ml can this spring. I’ll give you a hint—it has “Session” in the name! h postmarkbrewing.com

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style

hospitality |

in the shadows There’s nothing sweet about Mosquito, Gastown’s sleek new dessert-and-champagne bar.

Written by LINDSAY J. WESTLEY : Photographed by GLASFURD & WALKER

LOCATION 32 Water Street Vancouver, B.C.

DESIGN TEAM

interiors and custom furniture, accessories, and lighting: Ste. Marie branding and identity: Glasfurd & Walker construction: Harmony Pacific Projects custom metalwork: Al MacIsaac Blacksmith

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THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE:

Custom champagne holders by Ste. Marie flank curved walnut tables and poured-concrete banquettes at Mosquito, a dessert-and-champagne bar in Vancouver’s Gastown neighborhood. Formerly home to a clothing boutique, the 40-seat space opened in March 2015 after an extensive renovation headed by Ste. Marie and built

by Harmony Pacific Projects.

Champagne bar. If that term evokes a fussy,

frilly, girly-girl club, think again. Mosquito, Vancouver’s first dessert-and-champagne bar, drew inspiration from a darker muse. Project designer Craig Stanghetta, who left the acting industry to start the design firm Ste. Marie in 2010, plays with character whenever he approaches a new space. Were Mosquito a woman, he says, she’d be “a little edgy and peculiar. More Balenciaga than Chanel.” He’s created spaces for some of Vancouver’s hottest eateries, including Meat & Bread, Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, and the brand-new Osteria Saviovolpe, so his staging is impeccable.

Yes, the place does serve bubbles and macarons.

But Stanghetta and Kate Snyder, the project lead, knew they needed to wrest their design concept away from the saccharine champagne bars of the ’80s and ’90s. They relied on swaths of poured concrete, sculptural metal, and Calacatta marble, working with frequent collaborators Glasfurd & Walker to hone the brand and identity of the intimate 40-seat lounge.

Their juxtaposition of masculine and feminine elements materializes everywhere: bulky, monolithic poured-concrete banquettes topped with black leather cozy up to warm walnut tabletops. The striking focalpoint back bar mixes curvilinear chrome, brass, and cast-plaster elements under a theatrical wash of blue »

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“We juxtaposed really beautiful materials with monolithic concrete forms and twisted metal to push the concept away from prissiness and toward romanticism and sex appeal.”

—CRAIG STANGHETTA, DESIGNER

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Banquettes covered with luxurious black leather provide Mosquito’s perimeter seating.

An unexpected mix of brass, concrete, and marble creates an androgynous, moodily sensual aesthetic. Âť

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style

hospitality | TOP LEFT AND OPPOSITE:

The back bar, designed by Kate Snyder of Ste. Marie and created by blacksmith Al MacIsaac, boasts brass and steel panels that fold into a smoothly integrated floating shelf. “The mix of materials—chrome, brass, rough ceramics—plays on the shapes and soft curves throughout the space and brings a sculptural element to the bar,” notes Snyder.

light and merges Art Deco detail with contemporary cool. “We used a lot of ‘cold’ materials—like the concrete and the mix of metals—to create a strong identity, but we executed them in a sculptural way,” notes Snyder.

And then, of course, there’s the matter of atmosphere.

Developing a darkly romantic after-dinner identity for Mosquito—and differentiating it from a first-date, take-the-edge-off cocktail bar—challenged Ste. Marie.

The designers responded by counting on the space’s tall, vaulted ceilings to add elegant scale, while slender fluted borosilicate light fixtures, hung at varying heights around the room, keep the scale intimate.

Custom tables and chairs by Ste. Marie, cloistered invitingly in just-dark-enough corners, do the rest of the mood-setting. Each table is illuminated by candles that Stanghetta imagines as miniature campfires creating “glowing orbs that ensconce people in their own little worlds.” Fur throws draped invitingly around the space complete the effect, while gleams of brass and steel keep it from dipping into contrivance.

Yet the concept was still a risky one, even for a design firm with chops as well-honed as those of Ste. Marie. “Vancouver is a bit fickle. You’re not in a big city like Berlin or Paris, where you can do something so niche that you can risk alienating people,” Stanghetta says. “But we stuck to our guns and stayed beholden to the dark muse we’d created.” h

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30. CONVERSATION Hacker Architects Portland hackerarchitects.com

42. FUTURE The Jervis Vancouver intracorp.ca

Donald Luxton & Associates Vancouver donaldluxton.com

78. FURNITURE Address Vancouver addressassembly.com

98. FASHION Howard Portland howardwoman.com

Kengo Kuma & Associates kkaa.co.jp

Inform Interiors Vancouver informinteriors.com

Dornbracht dornbracht.com

Kate Duncan Vancouver kateduncan.ca

Portland Japanese Garden Portland japanesegarden.com

NSDA Architects Vancouver nsdabc.ca

Portland Garment Factory Portland portlandgarmentfactory.com

Walker | Macy Portland walkermacy.com 34. HAPPENINGS Aesop Seattle and Vancouver aesop.com Alaska Design Forum Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, AK alaksadesignforum.org Fast + Epp Vancouver fastepp.com Frye Art Museum Seattle fryemuseum.org Green Room Portland mwlpdx.com Phaidon Press phaidon.com Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum dinomuseum.ca StructureCraft Builders Delta, B.C. structurecraft.com Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver vanartgallery.bc.ca 40. AWARDS AKQA Portland akqa.com Black Rabbit Builders Portland blackrabbitbuilders.com GBD Architects Portland gbdarchitects.com

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Richard Henry Architect Vancouver 604-683-7559 Trepp Design Vancouver treppdesign.com 44. CONVERSATION CafÊ Juanita Kirkland, WA cafejuanita.com Heliotrope Architects Seattle and Portland heliotropearchitects.com Krekow Jennings Seattle krekowjennings.com Winston Wächter Fine Art Seattle seattle.winstonwachter.com 48. CONTEXT Confluence Vancouver, WA confluenceproject.org Maya Lin Studio mayalin.com 54. PHOTO ESSAY Eirik Johnson Seattle eirikjohnson.com 62. ARCHITECTURE Lever Architecture Portland leverarchitecture.com 68. Architecture Bensen Vancouver bensen.ca

Duravit duravit.com Epic Metalworks Coquitlam, B.C. epicmetalworks.com Flos flos.com

Lindsey Adelman lindseyadelman.com Troy Moth Photography Victoria, B.C. troymoth.com

Inform Interiors Vancouver informinteriors.com

86. INTERIORS Abnormals Anonymous Bainbridge Island, WA abnormalsanonymous.com

Lightform Vancouver lightform.ca

Bensen Vancouver bensen.ca

Moooi moooi.com Margranite Industry Burnaby, B.C. margranite-ceramstone.com

DeForest Architects Seattle deforestarchitects.com

Measured Architecture Vancouver measured.ca Paul Sangha Landscape Architecture Vancouver paulsangha.com Powers Construction Vancouver powersconstruction.com Ravi Design Richmond, B.C. ravidesign.ca Salari Fine Carpet Collection Vancouver salari.com Stone Tile Vancouver stone-tile.com Sub-Zero subzero-wolf.com Tammyanne Matthew Vancouver tammyanne.ca 74. ARCHITECTURE Waechter Architecture Portland benwaechter.com

Heritage Dry Goods Eugene, OR heritagedrygoods.com J. Coupard Inc. Seattle jcoupard.com Ore Studios Interior Design Seattle orestudios.com 90. SHOP Kat + Maouche Portland katandmaouche.com 92. GRAPHICS Schema Design Seattle schemadesign.com 94. AWARDS LAMP Vancouver welovelamp.ca 96. SHOP The Edit Vancouver theeditinc.com

102. TEXTILES Antipod Workshop Vancouver antipodworkshop.com Francesca Capone Portland francescacapone.com Native Line nativeline.com 106. MADE HERE House of Castellon Portland houseofcastellon.com Imperial Stock Ranch Maupin, OR imperialstockranch.com 110. HOSPITALITY The Jennings Hotel Joseph, OR thejenningshotel.tumblr.com Phloem Studio Portland phloemstudio.com Rejuvenation Seattle and Portland rejuvenation.com Tom Bonamici Eugene, OR tombonamici.com Wood & Faulk Portland woodandfaulk.com 114. FUTURE Bjarke Ingels Group big.dk Westbank Corp.

Vancouver westbankcorp.com 116. ARCHITECTURE Fisher & Paykel fisherpaykel.com

| market | THE ULTIMATE BUYER’S GUIDE

| COUCH | Jamieson Furniture Gallery For the past 25 years, designer Richard Jamieson has been recognized as a leader in the modern urban plank movement. Jamieson Furniture’s large Bellevue showroom artfully blends handcrafted live-edged tables with unique and custom-designed hardwood furniture for all the rooms in your home.

10217 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98004 www.jamiesonfurniture.com (425) 577-8627

At COUCH we custom build each piece from scratch to the specifications you select. We offer quality US construction that ranges from mid-market to high end. Our flexibility means any of our hundreds of styles can be built at any size at all. It means you pick legs, fabric or leather, and cushion firmness.

Our experienced staff will help you create a finished product that is both comfortable and beautiful. “Custom’”used to mean built from the ground up, exactly like you want it. At COUCH it still does. www.couchseattle.com (206) 633-6108

Tom Bakker Design

not2big®

Are you building a new home, condo, or office, or are you planning to remodel?

As a professional interior designer, I would love to work with you. I’m a great listener and have been involved in projects all along the West Coast, from Vancouver, B.C., to La Jolla, CA. I also create one-of-a-kind contemporary art, and I’d be happy to discuss your custom-art needs as well. My latest commission was recently installed in a home at Big Horn Golf Club in Palm Desert, CA.

React. Reduce. Rethink. Recycle. Relax. At not2big, we build modern artisan furniture and accessories one piece at a time. Handcrafted and individually numbered, no two pieces are exactly alike. Our designs combine the warmth of wood with a creative mix of other materials to produce timeless furniture that is functional and beautiful. Whether you choose an in-house design or a custom piece, it will be a true original. Our goal is to inspire, delight, and surprise, bringing our clients a personalized experience and providing them with a unique product not available anywhere else. We’re rethinking how furniture is made.

Call me today to book your first consultation.

(206) 877-3327 • (604) 329-9419 tom@tombakkerdesign.com • www.tombakkerdesign.com

www.not2big.com (425) 503-0710

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Lanefab Vancouver lanefab.com Two Birds Apparel Vancouver twobirdsapparel.com Venmar venmar.ca West Elm westelm.com 120. INTERIORS Black Rabbit Builders Portland blackrabbitbuilders.com Brendan Ravenhill brendanravenhill.com Courtney Nye Portland courtneynye.com Eric Trine erictrine.com Esque Portland esque-studio.com Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Portland mgbwhome.com Restoration Hardware Portland and Vancouver restorationhardware Schoolhouse Electric Portland schoolhouselectric.com Sean Woolsey seanwoolsey.com The Good Mod Portland thegoodmod.com 124. FASHION Nau Portland nau.com 136. HOSPITALITY Al MacIsaac Blacksmith Vancouver almacisaacblacksmith.ca Glasfurd & Walker Vancouver glasfurdandwalker.com

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Harmony Pacific Projects Inc. Vancouver harmonypacific.ca

23. Bradlee Distributors, Inc. Multiple locations bradlee.net

Ste. Marie Vancouver stemarieartdesign.com

16. Bright on Presidio San Francisco brightonpresidio.com

146. LAST WORD Kate Bingaman-Burt Portland katebingamanburt.com

AD INDEX 95. Agnes Underground Seattle agnesunderground.com 55. Alchemy Collections Seattle alchemycollections.com camerichseattle.com 59. Anderson Poolworks andersonpoolworks.com 103. Argent Fabrication Seattle argentfab.com 19. B & B Italia Seattle bebitalia.com divafurnitureseattle.com 107. Baylis Architects Bellevue, Seattle baylisarchitects.com 20. Bellevue Arts Museum Bellevue, WA bellevuearts.org 125. Ben Trogdon Architects Seattle bentrogdonarchitects.com 28. Best Plumbing Seattle bestplumbing.com 128. Beyond Beige North Vancouver beyondbeige.com 109. Big Leaf Manufacturing Seattle bigleafmfg.com 53. BLANCO blancocanada.com blancoamerica.com

126. The Burrard Vancouver theburrard.com 22. Chown Hardware Portland, Bellevue, WA chown.com 36. Civilization Seattle builtbycivilization.com 18. Cosentino cosentino.com dekton.com 13. Design Within Reach Seattle, Portland dwr.com 123. Dovetail General Contractors Seattle dovetailgc.com 123. EWF Modern Portland ewfmodern.com 147. The Fixture Gallery Multiple locations thefixturegallery.com 103. Fort George Brewery Astoria, OR fortgeorgebrewery.com 31. Hammer & Hand Seattle and Portland hammerandhand.com 4. Hive Portland hivemodern.com 91. Hotel Lucia Portland hotellucia.com 43. Interior Design Show Toronto interiordesignshow.com 119. Issaquah Cedar & Lumber Issaquah, WA cedarexperts.com 125. K & L Interiors Seattle kandlinteriors.com

107. Kraus Flooring krausflooring.com 12. Krekow Jennings Seattle krekowjennings.com 83. Loewen loewen.com Available through: Sound Glass Tacoma soundglass.com Windows Doors & More Seattle windowshowroom.com 125. Madera Furniture Company Tacoma, WA maderafurnitureco.com 21. Maison Inc. Portland maisoninc.com

41. Secret Location Vancouver secretlocation.ca 130. Semihandmade semihandmadedoors.com 27. Schuchart/Dow Seattle schuchartdow.com 8. The Shade Store Seattle, Portland theshadestore.com 47. SPARK Modern Fires sparkfires.com 135. Stoneboat Vineyards Oliver, B.C. stoneboatvineyards.com

60. OOLA Distillery Seattle ooladistillery.com

23. Sub-Zero, Wolf Available through: Albert Lee Appliance Seattle albertleeappliance.com Arnold’s Appliance Bellevue, WA arnoldsappliance.com Basco Appliances Portland bascoappliances.com

126. Paper Hammer Seattle paper-hammer.com

85. Tufenkian Portland tufenkianportland.com

132. Postmark Brewing Vancouver postmarkbrewing.com

33. Visual College of Art and Design of Vancouver Vancouver students.vcad.ca

17. The Modern Fan Co. modernfan.com 134. OPUS Hotel vancouver.opushotel.com

109. Ragen & Associates Seattle ragenassociates.com 119. Resource Furniture Vancouver resourcefurniture.com 6. Roche Bobois Seattle, Portland roche-bobois.com 148: Roll & Hill Brooklyn rollandhill.com 15. Room & Board Seattle roomandboard.com 89. Savvy Cabinetry

by Design Seattle savvycd.com

2. Volvo Cars of Canada Corp volvocars.ca 126. William Anthony wmanthony.com

| market | THE ULTIMATE BUYER’S GUIDE

Merkled Studio Merkled Studio is a design and manufacturing company that focuses on creating contemporary furniture, fixtures, and small-run products for both residential and commercial spaces.

Shown: Merkled Coat Hooks available in 8 modern colors and solid brass merkled.com @merkledstudio

Revolution Design House Located in industrial S.E. Portland, Revolution Design House has been hand-crafting home accessories and furniture since 2011. This holiday season we partnered with our neighbor Jacobsen Salt Co. to offer the perfect artisan gift set, the Walnut Wood Saltbox and Jacobson Flake Sea-Salt. Find both Saltbox sets, plus our full line of gifts at the Revolution Design House holiday pop-up shop located inside Rejuvenation in Portland (S.E .Grand) through 2015.

THE GLASS HOUSE DESIGN STORE For holiday shopping hours please visit our website or call (203) 594-9884

Visit our website for our full line of holiday gifts www.RevolutionDesignHouse.com (503) 348-9516

designstore.theglasshouse.org

ZINC Modern Art + Design MODERN SLIDING BARN DOOR HARDWARE Ragnar by Krownlab is the new industry standard in sliding door hardware.

Strikingly simple design. Completely field adjustable. Fast and easy to install.

ADA compliant. Industry leading 10-year warranty. Designed, engineered, and fabricated in Portland, Oregon. krownlab.com support@krownlab.com | (800) 356-8586

ZINC brings an eclectic mix of modern furniture, contemporary art and uncommon gifts to the quaint waterside community of Edmonds, just 15 mins. from Seattle. Here, you’ll find everything from soon-to-be design classics such as the Gracer Table by Modern Object (shown above), to stylish hostess gifts, to beautiful art pieces. ZINC has just the thing to make your world FUN to live in!

Now selling Design On Stock! Designed in Holland, made in Mukilteo 102 3rd Ave. S., Ste B, Edmonds, WA • (206) 467-1027 ZINCartdesign.com

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kate bingaman-burt

Illustrator and associate director, School of Art + Design at Portland State University

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ELEVATE YOUR BATH

STATELY & CLASSIC

A tribute to the art of decorative detail perfected by the skilled artisans and A tribute to the art of decorative detail perfected by the skilled artisans and craftsmen at the turn of the century. The St. George Collection is stately, sculptural, craftsmen at the turn of the century.

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Tigard Showroom Bendone Showroom Salem Showroom Eugene Showroom Come in today to speak with of our knowledgeable kitchen & bath consultants 7337 S.W. Kable Lane 503-620-7050

20625 Brinson Blvd.

541-382-1999

2710 S.E. Pringle Rd., #110 503-779-2882

110 N. Garfield 541-688-7621

Seattle Showroom Pacific Showroom 8221 Greenwood Ave. N. 703 Valentine Ave S.E. 206-632-4488 253-299-7156

See our new website THEFIXTUREGALLERY.COM

at Consolidated Supply Co.

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