Summer is in full swing here at b9 architects, which means we are getting ready to host our second Pioneer Square First Thursday Artwalk this summer! We are excited to welcome local artist Jacy Stewart to display his abstract artwork in our storefront space for an exhibition entitled Autotelic.

Please join us for the opening show of Autotelic at b9 architects on Thursday, August 2nd from 5:30-7:30 PM. Light refreshments and bites will be provided. We hope to see you there!

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Jacy Stewart uses water as a base wherein traditional fabric dyeing materials interact. Spontaneous in nature, each work is a unique reaction of color, texture, and form. Part chemistry, the reactions presented are found throughexperimentation, trial and error. Working in multiples Jacy seeks well balanced compositions, interactive colors, and variable dimensions. Pushing the boundries of 2-D art his work transforms paper into petri dish, visual portals through which new abstracted worlds may form. Jacy correlates his work to jazz music, viewing the materials and colors as instruments engaged in conversation with one another. Every piece then holds its own improvisational tone, finding specific rhythms, waves, and patterns. Strong lines and clear negative space are a natural byproduct of drawing with water giving his pieces a Rorschach quality through abstraction.

Summer is right around the corner here in Seattle! For b9, that means (among many things) we are hosting our first Pioneer Square First Thursday artwalk show of the year! 

This coming June, we are excited to host PNW local artist, Chris Kelleher: 

Creating mostly through improvisation, I set out to build a relationship between marks focusing on movement, form and light. Though predominately abstract, the landscape of the Pacific Northwest has had a profound influence on my work. Whether I am painting at a live music performance or I am in my studio, music is an important part of the process.  I allow music to directly translate into my work by accessing its poetry, melody, and above all else, rhythm. I try to allow each piece to flow from the brush with the same dynamic tendencies as water itself. I consider my work to be both spiritual and playful.

Please join us for the opening show on Thursday, June 7th from 5:30-7:30pm. Light refreshments will be provided. We hope to see you!

Click HERE or on the image below to go to the facebook event page.

As a part of this year's Seattle Design Festival, framed spaces is an exhibit in both our storefront and office space that celebrates the power of creating community spaces, and how these spaces serve their communities at various scales. 

Please join us for our exhibit opening as we kick start this year's Seattle Design Festival! 

Friday, Sept. 8th
5:30 - 7:30pm

b9 architects
610 2nd Ave, 98104

Wine and cheese will be bountiful! Hope to see you there! 

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We will explore two unique examples of community space in Seattle: the Olympic Sculpture Park and the Beacon Food Forest through the lens of both aerial and ground perspectives, as a way of framing how design, nature, and communities are interconnected.

The exhibit compares an intentionally designed space created for the community, with a space the community actively created for itself. While the sizes of the Olympic Sculpture Park and Beacon Food Forest are significantly different, there is power in how each interact with the community. One provides a unique way to experience art outdoors and much needed green space in Downtown, while the other provides public access to organic produce and education on permaculture and stewardship.

We encourage you, as the viewer, to explore these aerial photos and search for similarities and differences at each scale. 

How are the spaces designed for the community? 
What can each learn from the other about empowering the community?

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JUNE 1ST : 
FIRST THURSDAY ART WALK WITH ORLANDO OROZCO

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Due to popular demand and the unfortunate weather conditions during our last First Thursday in May, we are having an encore show of "Landscape Obscura: Landscape Paintings by Orlando Orozco" as part of Pioneer Square's First Thursday Art Walk!

Join us for fantastic art that celebrates the PNW, light snacks and drinks, and good company June 1st from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. All are welcome - friends, family, gallery hoppers and the like. We hope to see you there!

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Landscape Obscura features atmospheric landscape paintings by Orlando Orozco who obsesses over the tree-lines and mountain ridges of our coveted region, as they contrast with the constantly changing skies and inescapable darkness from shadow. Through the exploration of this darkness and ample nebulae, his pieces seek to appreciate these less than idyllic conditions that provide the necessary precipitation for our specific flora to thrive.

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Link to the Facebook event

Update**

Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion! The event was engaging, insightful, and relevant for both the public and the design community. A special thanks to David Neiman for moderating and our stellar panel - Josh Bower, David Cutler, Gabriel Grant, Cary Moon, and Nick Welch.

**All images courtesy of William Wright

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Is Seattle's current zoning code preventing or encouraging positive growth in Seattle?

What actions can developers, architects, planners, politicians, taxpayers do to create positive change in Seattle's growth - urbanistically, demographically, culturally, and spatially?

Where are there areas of potential innovative ways of growth and change, pertaining to housing and zoning?

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In participation of this year's Seattle Design Festival and Design in Public’s year’s theme of “Design Change,” b9 architects is excited to host a panel discussion on the relation between housing and zoning in terms of Seattle’s current growth.

Through both a moderated conversation with our esteemed panel and the opportunity for an open dialogue about Seattle's rapidly changing urban fabric, we will delve into issues of zoning, density, value, and change. We invite you to join the conversation about how to create positive change and growth in Seattle! 

Where: b9 architects
When: Friday, Sept. 16, 6-8 PM

Our panel:

David Neiman (moderator)
Neiman Taber Architects

Josh Brower
Veris Law Group

David Cutler
Principal, Office for the City

Gabriel Grant
Principal, Spectrum Development Solutions 

Cary Moon
Urban Planner/Activist

Nick Welch
Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development

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