Taking design influences from coal mine buildings that established the towns of Cle Elum and Ronald, Washington, this retreat takes in views of Lake Cle Elum to the West and Red Mountain to the North.

Besides the mine influence and taking in the views, the environment was a major driver in the design. Cold winter with heavy snow loads and drifting, intense summer sun with little tree shading, and the site is exposed to winds that run the valley between the I90 pass and Ellensburg which are some of the fiercest in the region.

Seattle, WA (completed 2017)

a&bé bridal shop is a bridal boutique located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, where brides can find emerging wedding dress designers and unique and fresh bridal styles.

We turned an existing furniture store with an unorganized layout into a space that supports their mission - a desire to support a creative vibe and the community of brides who are looking for a wedding dresses that are anything but ordinary.

We created a space that was easy to navigate for both clients with appointments as well as for the casual window shopper. The goal was to provide semi-private "living rooms" to view and try on different gowns, each with their own private dressing room. Mirrored sliding dressing room doors allow views from all angles and a space for friends to gather and the bride to be the center of attention.

Seattle, WA (in progress)

Seattle, WA (currently in construction)

Turning a tiny 1930's bungalow into a gracious living space to take advantage of sweeping views of the Sound and Olympic Mountains.  The project added a second story and remodeled the existing floor.  The main floor houses the bedrooms while the new upper floor is one grand space for living, dining, and kitchen.  A grand stair connects the two floors and whisks visitors from the entry to the "public" upper level of the house.  The house is like a bird nest perched over their yard where kids play with the panoramic view beyond.

Seattle, WA (completed 2014)

As a space for two architects in a historic building the design strips away as much as possible to reveal the historic and industrial character of the past.  Furniture, art, lighting were part of the project.  

Index, WA (in progress)

Seattle, WA (in progress)

Seattle, WA (currently under construction)

Seattle, WA (completed 2018)

Seattle, WA (in progress)

Tacoma, WA (in progress)

Des Moines, WA (in progress)

Seattle, WA (in progress)

Mercer Island, WA (in progress)

Seattle, WA (in progress)

Bellingham, WA (2016)

The City of Bellingham had a call to artists to save a relic, known as the 'acid ball', from their demolished paper mill as an artifact in their Waterfront Revitalization Project.

We proposed inhabiting the unique spherical shape so that the ball could be a more engaging element than something you walk past.  We created a node that welcomed visitors to the park, offered a stage for curated or busking events, and apertures that frame views of the sky, sea and mountains to call attention to the natural beauty that surround the City.  These events would happen while surrounded by interior materials that would tell the story of the prior life of the ball; turning paper into pulp for the paper mill.  

Collaboration between Yousman Okano and Jon Gentry (2010)

PROJECT TITLE:  155 SOUTH MAIN STREET:  AN ADDRESS FOR HOMELESSNESS

In 1907, Seattle's James E. Casey established what has become the largest shipping company in the world - the United Parcel Service. As a company that owes its very existence to addresses, it is ironic that its birthplace (memorialized by Pioneer Square's Waterfall Garden Park) is now at the very epicenter of Seattle's homeless and "address-less" population. This entry attempts to memorialize not only those that have dies homeless in Seattle, but also acknowledge the plight of the city's current destitute population. It strives to prevent their ostracism by symbolically providing something most of society takes for granted - an address. This is not a s address in the traditional sense, but instead a collection of small steel boxes of varying lengths representing each of Seattle's 4,400 homeless residents and their respective time spent homeless. Viewed collectively, the boxes unavoidably present the extent of homelessness in Seattle.

It is with the visitor's decent into the memorial and the "uncovering" of the scale of homelessness in Seattle as a backdrop that those who have dies are memorialized. Opposite the wall of boxes, the name of each indigent that has passed away is raised off a wall with water cascading behind. By using water from Waterfall Garden Park, a link is made between main stream society and those that are still living "address-less" and finally to those that have dies "address-less."

This monument strives to assure the destitute will not be forgotten either in passing or in life.