I will be speaking at the Seattle AIA!

Please join me as I host the Seattle AIA Job Seekers meeting this Friday from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.  I will be leading a discussion on resumes, portfolios, interviewing, networking and the “strategic job market”. The Seattle AIA office is located at 1911 1st Ave in Seattle and the cost is free. You can learn […]

Robbing Peter…

Architect Magazine released their 2010 salary survey last week and as you can imagine 2009 was not a good year for the architecture industry. Firms of all sizes were in survival mode, doing what ever they could to stay afloat. No surprising, the most widely used tool was the lay-off. In fact, the Architect Magazine […]

Forbes List of the Fastest Growing Retailers.

Forbes has released its top ten list of fastest growing retailers for 2010.  I always find this list interesting and a great snapshot of the buying habits of Americans.  I also think it will be a great indicator of what aspects of retail will lead the retail design recovery. Leading the pack in 2010 is […]

Charlotte: “growing, growing, gone”

Because I love Charlotte, North Carolina (my favorite person is from there) I wanted to share this fun clip about the growth and death of the city.  The clip is fun.  Unfortunately I see things too deeply and I cannot help but enjoy the irony of Charlotte, a banking center, ending up buried in the […]

Do we need architecture?

As we sit here at what hopefully will be the end of the great recession I thought I would post about the necessity of architecture.  After all, buildings can get built without architects.  Spaces can be filled without interior designers.  Will there be a place for the design talents in the post-recession economy? To all […]

Massive oasis fed by a river of money.

In China they are a Renminbi a dozen. America has a few, Rockefeller Center being the most famous. Now there is a new player in the mixed-use super project space, City Center, Las Vegas. This project is massive.  Built on 67 acres this city-within-a-city boasts entertainment, dining, nightlife, retail, residential and hotel spaces.  It is […]

What if Amsterdam was located in Napa?

You would get modern California warmth. Merus Wines, located in the Napa Valley, approached UXUS Design, based in Amsterdam, to create a space that would enhance the vintners high end brand and stand out among the many tasting rooms in the Valley. What UXUS has created is a perfect balance between warmth and modern sophistication. […]

Agnes Lofts, Seattle.

One of my favorite new buildings here in Seattle is the Agnes Lofts.  With double height windows on all sides of the building, the occupant is as much a part of the neighborhood inside as they are outside.  Rising out of its gritty past on Capital Hill, Agnes stays connected to the street while looking […]

More Starbucks.

Sorry for another posting about Starbucks but I find this developing story very interesting. You can read the entire article here. In a stoke of marketing genius or stupidity, Starbucks is opening stores that are not Starbucks stores as we know them. The stores are being designed to integrate totally with the neighborhoods they are […]

Starbucks: The Next Generation?

I have a unique interest in Starbucks.  It’s not the company, the music, the coffee or that it is headquartered here in Seattle that holds my attention.  No, Starbucks interest me as a design firm.  Maybe because I worked there for so long supporting the talented designers who created all those store across the globe. […]