Earth Day 2022 Newsletter

52 years ago today, a group a group of University of Washington students, launched a scrappy grassroots organization to provide “accessible, respectful planning and design services to underserved communities.” They were marking the very first celebration of Earth Day and putting a uniquely local spin on the issues of the time. In the years leading up to that first Earth Day, our country was becoming aware of the harms and dramatic changes caused by leaded gas, inefficient automobiles, and industrial air and water pollution. Organizers of that first Earth Day were inspired by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring, which raised public awareness of the inextricable links between pollution and public health.

 
The founders of Environmental Works were similarly compelled into action to address the problems of environmental degradation, but they also saw connections to the student anti-war movement, and to the civil rights movement that was taking shape in U.S. cities. One of the founding members of EW, Dale Miller, recalls their frustration that “Seattle was still a quietly racist city with a redlined system for home loans.”
 
The founders of Environmental Works were also heeding the call of Whitney Young, Jr., who in 1968 addressed the national convention of the American Institute of Architects and said “You are not a profession that has distinguished itself by your social and civic contributions to the cause of civil rights . . . You are most distinguished by your thunderous silence.”
 
Similarly, in 2022 we at EW are always looking at new ways to deepen our impact and make connections where design can be a part of bold, intersectional solutions to the most pressing problems facing our city, our state, our country, and our planet. As Colette Pichon Battle, Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy said at the Green New Deal Summit earlier this month in DC, “when you are baptized by waters and policies that flood your state, you learn who is valued, who is important, who will be scapegoated, and who will be forgotten.”  We remain deeply committed to our local community, because we believe that engaging those who will be most directly impacted by a design is the best way to connect people, communities, and the environment and uplift human dignity. But we also don’t bury our heads in the sand to be unaware of the impacts our society is having on the broader planet. We debate in the office if it’s worth specifying a material that makes a housing unit in Seattle a few dollars cheaper if the manufacture of that material threatens the health of families in the Gulf Coast. We follow and regularly discuss local, national, and international dialogues about how design does (or doesn’t) meet Whitney Young’s aspirations today, more than 50 years later.
 
So, today, on the 52nd Earth Day, and on the 52nd birthday of EW, I invite you to join us to examine how we can center environmental and climate justice in our world. Bringing a human-centered approach to policies around natural resources, energy, decarbonization, emissions and pollution reductions, and electrification is not only the right thing to do, but a necessity for our planet. Let us all identify and confront environmental racism in all its forms and prioritize the immediate needs of people most impacted in development and redevelopment work. EW holds the conviction that high quality design can positively impact environmental, social, and economic sustainability by centering voices of under-resourced communities in the design process, and this conviction is my Earth Day wish to you.
 
Yours,


Earth Day Inspiration from Our Team!

To celebrate Earth Day, we sat down to learn more about a variety of sustainably-minded passion projects from EW staff. From concrete & historic preservation to palm trees & healthier building materials, read on to discover their exciting work in advocacy, education, and sustainability!

1. The Brutalist Bugle with Michael Carrizosa

What are some aspects about the Brutalism architectural style & advocacy that drew your interest?

"The Brutalist Bugle started as a final project for my film photography class at the University of Washington. It was originally inspired by the striking aesthetic of concrete captured in black and white film. Upon further research on the style, I became passionate about preserving the historical legacy of the style, and the idea of reusing buildings in order to reduce concrete waste. Another aspect that fascinated me was the relationship between housing and brutalism. Many successful brutalist social housing projects from Europe or Latin America can teach us lessons about how to design with the idea of community and equity as a goal."

Did any project or building stick out as particularly memorable to you or your readers?

"I recently had the opportunity to visit Paris. During this visit I made my way to Creteil, a suburb of Paris, to photograph the housing project known as Les Choux de Creteil which translates to the cabbages of Creteil, due to their organic shape. Les Choux de Cretail consists of ten cylindrical towers that house students, low income residents, and market-rate residents. The project includes daycare facilities, a shopping center, and green areas that are safe and well maintained. This project features one of the most iconic uses of concrete that sets it apart from other residential projects; using organic concrete shapes that soften its presence in the urban and natural landscape."

Where can we see more of your work?

"You can follow The Brutalist Bugle on Instagram at @thebrutalistbugle - There you can find petitions to save buildings from demolition, articles, photographs, and videos of brutes I encounter while traveling or just walking around Seattle."


2. Healthy Materials Class at Parsons School of Design with Laura Gardner

Tell us about your experience with Parsons School of Design.

"Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building was a 4 month online class which featured a huge variety of speakers. Topics ranged from Materials Exposure and Health, Building Product Chemistry, Healthier Materials Design / Specification, and Project Execution with these goals. Presenters' expertise included air quality scientists, toxicologists, “green” chemists , materials life cycle experts and sustainability leaders in the building industry."

Timeline of building materials shared in the class

What knowledge from this experience are you most excited about bringing to your work?

"It reminded me about the goal, “First, do no harm.” I am excited about designing healthy spaces for clients. Striving to protect user health outcomes and the larger community / environment is so important in what we do. In addition, communicating to manufacturers about specific environmental concerns from their products (i.e. ingredients, manufacturing practices, waste disposal, labor practices) can move the market to phase out the bad and bring in the good."

What are some resources you can share to learn more about the importance of healthy building materials?

"My favorite is buildinggreen.com. They have free webinars, product selection guidance and reports. Product research can be very time consuming. It is key to utilize green databases where possible (ex: Mindful Materials, Healthy Building Network).

  • Look for product “ingredient” labels / impacts - ex: Health Product Declarations ( HPDs), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

  • Look for product certifications - ex: Greenguard, Green Label, FloorScore, Declare Labels (declare.living-future.org), etc.

  • Utilize building product reps that sell building products in a wide category (flooring, exterior cladding).

  • Ask about sustainable products they sell (PVC Free Flooring? Recyclable Building Cladding?). Questions are advocacy and can move the marketplace."


3. Looking to the Palm Tree as a Sustainable Building Material with Nasreen Al-Tamimi

Can you give us an overview into your research into the utilization of all parts of the palm tree?

"Date Palm trees (Phoenix Dactylifera) abundantly planted in desert areas such as the United Arab Emirates have provided people with dates (a healthy source of nutrition), palm fronds used to create shelters, furniture, baskets, leaves weaved into everyday items such as mats and the base of the frond that has buoyancy properties were used in fishing boats to keep them afloat. The focus of the research was palm fronds and the reciprocal frame structure system that allows spanning of large spaces using small members. Reciprocal frames work by members mutually supporting each other and the whole structure and palm fronds were an ideal material to use due to their abundance as they either fall/are pruned off the trees."

Photo from Tim Severin's book The Sindbad Voyage

What excites you most about your research?

"Learning from indigenous architecture about a material that was historically successfully used, locally sourced and responded to the local environment is at the heart of the research. Making use of a material that is still available but its historical uses have been replaced and finding new ways of using it with advanced technology such as digital fabrication and creating hybrid materials is what is the most exciting part of the research, specifically if these new materials become an affordable construction solution."



EW August 2021 Newsletter

Join Environmental Works this weekend for our installation at the 2021 Seattle Design Festival at Lake Union Park, August 21 and 22, 10 am - 7 pm! This year's theme is EMERGE. Participants are invited to explore opportunities for adaptation and change, grounded in collective lessons learned over the past 18 months.

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EW's installation invites all to 'Move Forward/Look Back!' Travel through a covered gallery/pathway of multi-colored & patterned blocks, where you can share your thoughts about relationships and uses of space (as shaped by the intensity of the past 18 months).

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Our office has had a blast with the build - generating ideas together, dumpster diving for an insane amount of cardboard, bandaging paper cuts, taking breaks to celebrate birthdays, and seeing everything come together!

We'll be at Lake Union Park this Saturday and Sunday, August 21 and 22, 10 am to 7 pm. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Full festival details and program here.

EW July 2021 Newsletter

We hope you're enjoying a happy and healthy summer! Community House Mental Health Agency's Executive Director, Chris Szala, tells us about their innovative development at 23rd and Jackson in Seattle. And read on for ways to learn more about local trees, apply for a free tree to plant in your neighborhood, and volunteer for urban forests!

Chris Szala joined Community House Mental House Agency in 1990, seeking to do meaningful work that would benefit society. At that time, Community House had one permanent supportive housing project in process – the 9-unit George B. Today, Community House owns more than 300 units in several locations in the City of Seattle, and serves a wide range of housing and behavioral health needs. Chris spoke with us about the evolution of Community House’s work, and how its innovative development at 23rd and Jackson (designed by EW) supports the whole community’s well-being.

How has Community House evolved during your 31 years with the organization?
Community House began operating informally in 1969, when church volunteers came together to help people experiencing homelessness and mental health issues. It launched as a nonprofit in 1976, and became a licensed mental health provider in 1986.

Years ago, several of us who had been in Seattle for a while came to recognize that housing was the major thing that made a difference in the lives of the people we served. To work on critical issues such as recovery, people need a place to put their head at night and not worry. We started a big push to obtain more stable housing for people in need in ’95, when we started purchasing and leasing group homes from the private sector as the profit margin was becoming too low for them, but fit the nonprofit mode. Over time, we developed new projects on these old sites. At all times, we would keep some properties free and clear, so we could leverage our equity to buy other property and develop housing on it. Today, we have around 320 units at 12 different sites.

How did Community House’s development at 23rd and Jackson come into being?
We purchased our first property at this corner when the market dropped after the 2008 Great Recession, with this project in mind (though we weren’t 100% sure what would transpire). We held onto the property – which had an old coal chute easement over the vacant lots behind it – until we could purchase the adjacent lots as well, in order to maximize the number of units we could build.

The Board and I talked a lot about how to develop this. We wanted to create a permanent home for our offices and mental health services, and more housing for people experiencing homelessness. We could have built more housing units for homeless people on this property. However, to best serve our clients and the greater community, we prefer smaller buildings. Gigantic projects like Cabrini Green in Chicago decades ago ended up isolating their residents, to everyone’s detriment.

A more integrated community supports healthy neighborhoods, and creates a more tolerant community and attitudes about people with behavioral health issues. So we decided to build Patricia K., with 53 supportive housing units and offices; and Jackson Heights, 74 units of affordable workforce housing for households earning 60% of AMI or below. The need for affordable housing for middle-class people in our city drove us to develop Jackson Heights. Our two buildings are across the street from the Vulcan development, which is mainly 500 units of market-rate housing. We think our project adds to the whole neighborhood in a positive way.

Tell us about Community House’s innovations in recruiting residential and commercial tenants for Jackson Heights.
The Community House mission is one of social justice in broadest sense for the clients we serve. Jackson Heights provided us with an opportunity to further put some real money into social justice and equity in new ways. We developed open lines of communication with several community partners, including Africatown and the Central Area Collaborative, for recruiting and outreach to local people for tenancy and commercial ventures. We set aside about half the units in Jackson Heights for people with a historical connection to the Central District – the first time this has been done in Seattle. Africatown was instrumental in getting the word out to people who had deep historical connections to the neighborhood, but had been forced out by gentrification.

For the commercial spaces, we really wanted to lease to legacy businesses from the Central District. I recruited Catfish Corner, which had been in the neighborhood since 1985; and the Central Area Collaborative recommended A4 Apple Learning Center [a childcare program], which had also been operating in the neighborhood for years. Community House invested a large part of our development fee in tenant improvements for both: about $300,000 for the day care, and $475,000 for the restaurant. The tenants’ leases are 15 years, and we will not raise their base rent – we’re just looking to cover the mortgage cost of their space. They have an option to renew for 5-year leases after that term. They will be very secure. We believe this is how you build wealth in the Black community, or any minority community.

There was no model of this kind of collaboration anywhere else. But it could be replicated anywhere that city- or county-funded projects are developed – the International District, Beacon Hill, etc. Engage the local community, and good things can happen.

What advice do you have for organizations that want to take a similar approach with facilities they’re developing?
Organizations should think about the scope of their commitment to this kind of work, and if they have the capacity to use some of their development fee for it. It’s important to have these conversations with your board. The overall health of the community matters most, though this work definitely takes extra effort.

We are always willing to sit down and talk with people about our experiences – what worked, what didn’t, and the pitfalls in the process.

How can our readers help Community House?
We’re always interested in potential board members. And of course, though we strive for a model that doesn’t depend on fundraising for continuing operations, money always helps.

Trees Keep Cities Healthier
The West’s extreme heat has got us thinking about the importance of trees, and how the simple act of planting a tree can make our neighborhoods healthier (and cooler). Below we share resources about local trees, including the City of Seattle’s Trees for Neighborhoods Program (apply by August 9 for a free tree to plant in your neighborhood)!

  • Seattle’s Trees for Neighborhoods Program provides up to 4 free trees per household, plus a watering bag and mulch, training, and support to residents seeking to plant trees in their yards or along their streets. The application is open now through August 9.

  • This map shows where past Trees for Neighborhoods trees have been planted (click on the Stewardship tab) – more than 11,300 trees since 2009!

  • The Seattle Office of Sustainability and the Environment’s site compiles thought-provoking information on the City’s tree canopy cover, tree planting, forested parklands, and park and nature access; and goals for improving each of those. Neighborhoods with more lower-income residents and residents of color tend to have lower amounts of tree canopy.

  • The SDOT Urban Forestry section is working to complete a 100% inventory of all street trees by the end of 2024. Click on the Urban Forestry tab to learn more.

  • The Tree Equity Score website combines measures of tree canopy cover need and priority for trees in urban neighborhoods.

  • Nearly 90 years after the federal government created maps that redlined neighborhoods, refusing to insure mortgages in and near African-American neighborhoods, those same neighborhoods today are hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods by an average of almost 5 degrees, according to a 2020 study of 108 urban areas in the United States. Almost all formerly redlined urban areas studied experienced higher land surface temperatures than non-redlined areas, due to reduced tree cover and increased asphalt or concrete surfaces. Discrepancies as high as 12.6°F have been measured between some neighborhoods. Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color will be harder hit by impacts of climate change, such as future heat waves.

  • Want to volunteer to restore Seattle’s urban forests? Check out the Green Seattle Partnership!

EW June 2021 Newsletter

Happy Summer Solstice! Read on for an interview with Alisa Chatinsky of The Sophia Way, which serves women coming out of homelessness; and highlights from our recent social media.

The Sophia Way (TSW) provides emergency shelter, longer-term programmatic shelter, case management, and supportive services to support women on their journey from homelessness to safe and stable living. TSW, with Environmental Works, Catholic Housing Services/Catholic Community Services, and a host of other partners, recently brought to fruition the Kirkland Place for Families & Women (completed in August 2020). TSW CEO Alisa Chatinsky spoke with EW about the unique circumstances of women experiencing homelessness, how TSW helps, and what we can do to learn more and support their work.

What unique circumstances contribute to women’s homelessness?
A substantial number of the women we serve have suffered domestic violence at some point in their lives. Many have survived trafficking or sexual assault. We also serve many women, especially older women, who devoted tremendous time and resources over the years to being a caregiver for a partner. Their partners’ illness and attendant medical bills, or death, led to the women’s loss of stable housing.

Tell us about The Sophia Way’s work.
The Sophia Way offers services at Helen’s Place [at the Kirkland Place for Families & Women]; and Sophia’s Place. Helen’s Place is an emergency shelter serving 40 women, providing 24/7 shelter, showers, laundry facilities, nutritious meals, access to computers, and case management. Sophia’s Place is an extended-stay shelter serving 21 women for up to 6 months. Residents work intensively with case managers to develop client-driven plans to connect them to the resources they need to succeed and emerge from homelessness.

Our whole team is trained in trauma-informed best practices that promote women’s healing and empowerment. Core to our work is building supportive relationships that continue to sustain our clients. Even after women are settled into long-term housing, they are welcome to return to the day center to do laundry, or have lunch. We’ll give them food for their pantry when they’re running low. They can rely on their case managers as long as they need to.

The women also support each another. We had a resident with dementia who other women would assist with getting ready for the day - from dressing to eating. When a woman without a car needs to get to a doctor’s appointment, someone with a car will give her a ride. I am so proud of our community of staff and residents who care for one another!

What brought you to The Sophia Way?
I was living in Arizona, and was interested in doing some short-term consulting in the Seattle area. TSW had an urgent need for an interim executive director. I came on in March of 2019. I led a full organizational assessment, and worked with the board on a hiring process for a permanent executive director. We couldn’t find the ideal candidate. At the same time, I had fallen in love with the organization and we had a good thing going. So I agreed to stay on to continue growing TSW and work on a succession plan.

I love The Sophia Way, and I love the Eastside! Coming from Arizona, I find it very refreshing to be living in a region with such a strong focus on helping others. And TSW has undergone a phenomenal evolution since its founding in 2008. At its start, it was all-volunteer. Now we have a professional staff with an amazing leadership team, and a highly strategic governing board.

How can we learn more? How can we help The Sophia Way?
TSW shares stories about clients and programs on our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). The new King County Regional Homelessness Authority's website gathers a lot of information on homelessness in our region, and plans for the future.

Advocating with local governments is critical. It’s also critical to acknowledge and listen to people experiencing housing instability as fellow human beings.

TSW welcomes donations of time and money. All of our meals – more than 50,000 in 2020 – are donated. Groups of coworkers, congregants, and friends can sign up to make meals and bring them to our shelters. You are also welcome to attend our annual fundraiser, or schedule a tour at one or both of the shelters.

EW May 2021 Newsletter

As spring marches on, the pace picks up on Washington farms. Wendy López of Washington Growers' League Mattawa Slope Seasonal Farmworker Housing describes her work providing seasonal farmworkers and their families a safe, comfortable home away from home. Plus, check out recent highlights from EW social media!

Dozens of orchards tended by seasonal farmworkers ring the city of Mattawa in eastern Washington’s Grant County. In 2018, Washington Growers League opened Mattawa Slope Seasonal Farmworker Housing, designed by Environmental Works, to provide housing for 336 of those seasonal farmworkers and their families.

Wendy López, Resident Manager at Mattawa Slope, has lived in Mattawa since she was 7. She has served the local community in many roles, from working for the school district, a clinic, and an orchard, to serving on the Mattawa City Council. Wendy began working at Mattawa Slope in 2018. She spoke with EW in late March, as she was leading a team preparing for the spring season.

How is the facility working out?
Overall, I like Mattawa Slope’s design. The buildings and colors are nice. The wind is brutal around here, though, so some trees have died and we’ve had to modify some of the landscaping.

How has Covid affected Mattawa Slope?
We’ve made a lot of public health modifications: in 2020, we put barriers between the stoves and sinks, and housed 2-3 people in most rooms rather than 4. We usually host 336 farmworkers and family members. Last year, to comply with Covid occupancy limits, we only had about 160-190 residents, which put a big ding in our income for the year.

We’ve also had to place restrictions on residents’ behavior that aren’t always popular, such as requiring them to only play baseball or soccer with people from their floor and to wear masks.

A lot of H-2A workers who arrived earlier last spring did not have face masks. So I started partnering up with local clinics to make goody bags with face masks and hand sanitizer, which I give everyone on arrival. Once a month, I hand out new ones.

Tell us about your work.
I live in an apartment onsite, upstairs from the office and registration. My work includes supervising a staff of 5 (in non-pandemic times – 2 during 2020); assigning single men, couples, and families to units where they will feel safe and comfortable; maintaining a safe and healthy environment at Mattawa Slope; coordinating with the local community so that relations are positive and our residents receive needed services; and overseeing finances, cleaning (sanitizing and deep-cleaning during Covid), and maintenance.

I also organize clinics and other outreach events. I bring in the local medical clinic to check residents’ vision and blood pressure, and do other screenings. And I’ve brought in a volunteer dental team from Seattle to clean residents’ teeth and provide other care.

At first, the community had a negative impression of Mattawa Slope. I work with our residents to help them be good neighbors, while also educating the locals. For example, the locals blamed our residents for trash along the highway. To change that reputation, I made sure everyone picked up their garbage. I also pointed out to the neighbors that trash accumulated along the highway even during the winter, when no one was here. As another example, some H-2A workers aren’t familiar with crosswalks or what to do with grocery carts after shopping. We partner with the city of Mattawa to educate them on how to properly use crosswalks and grocery carts.

Most of the men here come from Mexico, and aren’t used to women telling them what to do. I have the advantage of being a little bossy, though they don’t always want to listen. Even so, I like working here: I like interacting with people, and the job is a great learning experience.

We work as a team to maintain positivity and network with everyone, with support from the WGL main office, other WGL housing facilities, Mattawa Slope staff, and the various agencies and entities we partner with. We look forward to continuing to provide our residents with safe living conditions: a home away from home.