Letter from the editors

It’s happening … cherry blossoms are beginning to adorn Seattle with their cotton candy white and pink pedals, the sun occasionally peaking out from behind gray-blue clouds, and a two-year mask mandate finally lifted – people are once again bopping around the city squares and neighborhoods bringing vibrancy back to the streets and into office buildings.

As JMA continues to follow government-issued COVID protocols, we are very excited to see more faces coming into our offices and look forward to in-person meetings with our clients and consultants. Our team has worked hard through the pandemic to stay connected with one another and maintain positive relationships with our clients as we continue to deliver unique design solutions to the changing skyline of our city. We wish you a very happy spring, and look forward to this next chapter in 2022.

Cheers!

featured

The Greatest Show in the Air and Over the Water

As 2021 came to a close, one of JMA’s most prized projects was featured in the Geo-Institute’s bi-monthly magazine, GEOSTRATA. Journalists from the organization worked with our team as well as engineers on the project to tell the tumultuous tale of how Pier 57 came to life. The article contains interesting facts about the history of the pier as well as hurdles that had to be crossed in order to complete the project.

Constructing an intricate attraction like a flying theater innately presents challenges. But building one in the center of a 100-year-old historic pier over 50 ft of water is something else entirely. ~ Excerpt from Wings Over Washington Flying Theater.

Click the button below to read the article.

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JMA Helps Manifest Hawaiian Mixed-Use Development

JMA is designing the master plan for a 28-acre property in South Kohala, Hawaii (Big Island) which currently includes 200 affordable housing units, indoor and outdoor retail space with drive throughs, an outdoor farmer’s market, a mini-golf course, 160,000 SF of multi and single-story self-storage, live-work and light industrial facilities, a church, and parking.

Currently named Waikoloa Village Center, the development would be 8 miles from Waikoloa Beach and a short distance from the Waikoloa Resort and Waikoloa Dry Forest nature preserve. Located on high land, the property offers a scenic view of Maui.

The first phase of development will include affordable units in seven, 3 and 2-story walk up buildings. The project will include sustainable features including photo voltaic panels on the buildings and carports, and environmental credits equivalent to LEED certified.

JMA brings modular to spokane

JMA recently partnered with Oldivai to develop multiple modular townhome prototypes and is currently designing for 3 properties in the Spokane market. The units will have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, living room, full kitchen and garden patio. There is also a scenario in the design that adds a single level first floor 1 bedroom to sites that can support a higher density.

Site 1

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Site 3

Oldivai Capital believes that to develop health in communities, those providing critical services need the opportunity to live in the community where they work. Their mission is to develop workforce housing that is both well located and affordable for working families. The Oldivai Workforce Housing Fund will provide 1,000 units of housing for this target population within the next 5 years.

Site 1

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Site 3

This strategy of “Build-to-Rent” multifamily in-fill redevelopment close to large employers, leverages modular construction and high efficiency templated design to operate at scale. JMA’s significant experience in modular design and delivery was a key factor in our selection to be a part of this exciting community building opportunity.

Last Thursday JMA held a design charette for staff to discuss and sketch potential designs for the prototypes.

In the Office

Team Spotlight

We are excited to announce three new additions to our growing team here at JMA:

When you aren’t working what do you do for fun?

Spending lots of time with my daughter and family. I love to keep active! When the weather is warm, I’m camping, biking, paddleboarding, hiking, etc. In the wintertime you will find me snowboarding or snowshoeing. I’ve also been learning to code and social dancing like Salsa and Swing.

Where are you from, and what drove you to move to Seattle? If you are from Seattle, what place would you like to live if you could?

I’m born and raised New York. I’m also first generation American as my parents are from Suriname, South America. The driving factor that brought me to Seattle was quality of life. While New York holds a place in my heart, it never felt like the right fit. After a few trips to PNW, Seattle called, and I answered.

Seattle

I lived my first five years in the United States in Seattle, and in my mind, it’s my new “home”. My most favorite thing about Seattle is its “Ecological Diversity.” Seattle has access to mountains, the ocean, a rainforest, a desert, a city, farmland, islands, and even a volcano. It’s well worth driving a few hours outside the city to explore the wilderness. Astounding natural beauty almost everywhere you look.

Fun

After work, the rest of my time belongs to my family. We enjoy spending time together and doing indoor and outdoor activities. We all enjoy watching movies in movie theaters and forget about the rest of the world for a couple of hours. Swimming in indoor pools, jumping and climbing in trampoline parks, and having in a favorite restaurant are the favorite indoor activities for my family. Pack a small meal and head out to the great outdoors and enjoy most of the pleasant weather while it lasts.

What inspired you to pursue a career in architecture?

Since a young age, I had an appreciation for the built environment and have consistently found joy in creating places. My favorite components of the profession are problem solving opportunities, blending of aesthetics with function, and most of all the tremendous variety found in our day-to-day work. I see architecture as a never-ending learning process and a unique opportunity to bring together an uncommonly wide range of knowledge and experience to inform design solutions that address dozens of competing considerations.

What is your favorite thing about Seattle?

Seattle and the Pacific Northwest in general is very appealing to me because of the continually changing natural beauty and variety, along with a full but mild range of seasons. Water is a key element of the appeal from white water river rafting, to sailing on the Sound, to simply appreciating the view of the many lakes throughout the region. The area also celebrates and offers top notch food, theater, music, and events. Seattle generally seems to be the right balance of urban vitality and opportunity with peaceful connection to the environment. It’s a great place to work as an architect and to live life outside the office as well.

Just for Fun

The world of architecture is a busy one, but thankfully some of us have furry office assistants to keep us focused on the tasks at hand. Now that the mask mandate has been lifted, our team enjoys sporting events, concerts and dinners to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Lara's pup

Abby's little cuddler

Dani's doodle

Meghan Sinoff's handsome fella

Robin getting some rays

Kraken take ice

Carry Beill at the Royal Room

JMA Interiors remodel

Pie in honor of Pi Day

Reflections, waterfront

Elle King performs at the Showbox

St. Paddy's lunch

Calendar

Not only will JMA have a booth at this year’s ISS World Expo, but Principal Robin Murphy will be giving his presentation on How to Plan a First-Class Facility. We’ll be sure to share his experience during and after the expo so keep an eye on our social media pages!

This year’s World of Modular Conference will take place in San Antonio, Texas. Principal (and modular pro), Matt Laase is giving his presentation on Modular Wood-frame for Multi-Family. This presentation puts focus on the design, details and delivery of modular projects, including important insights about the benefits of modular design.