by Marga Rose Hancock, Hon. AIA
AIA Seattle Executive Vice President

AIA President-elect-elect RK Stewart, FAIA, joined the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable and co-hosts as part of a festive crowd on the eighth annual Summer Solstice Procession, a “Natural and Community Wonders Tour” of the historic, diverse, and proud South Park neighborhood at Seattle’s edge. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and others in the procession, the event delivered benefit to the AIA Seattle Fund for Diversity at UW College of Architecture & Urban Planning, supporting students from under-represented ethnic minority and disadvantaged backgrounds.

This year’s procession began with a luncheon June 23 at which, as Diversity Roundtable cofounder, I was privileged to offer remarks. The following evening, Stewart joined a distinguished group of AIA Seattle past and future presidents for a “TGIF” in Seattle’s Belltown, helping to inaugurate planning toward a local observance of “AIA-150,” the national celebration that will mark the 150th anniversary of the AIA in 2007.

On the road and down on the farm
On the morning of June 24, an adventuresome group received a warm welcome from Diversity Roundtable Chair Clarence Kwan, AIA, a briefing on South Park sites by M. Mario Campos, AIA, and orienting remarks by Nancy Callery, AIA, of the AIA Seattle Board of Directors. The group continued by caravan to a strategically located espresso stand in downtown South Park, where Environmental Coalition of South Seattle Executive Director Charlie Cunniff gave a briefing on the history and future of South Park, a diverse business and residential community adjacent to the huge Boeing operation and on the Seattle-King County boundary.

At the next step, the Duwamish Watershed Restoration urban nature walk/bird-watching tour, the group heard from John Beal of I’m a Pal Foundation, whose remarkable and wide-ranging efforts over the past 29 years have restored life to Hamm Creek. In the company of Denis DeSilvis, of Seattle Audubon Master Birders, and other stewards and activists, procession participants observed nesting ospreys, a willow flycatcher (which DeSilvis noted as the first sighting of the species in this area), a mallard with five ducklings, savannah sparrows, and other birds and wildlife along the creek.

Then, in a drive-by mode, attendees noted South Park community features and prospects, including the site of the South Park Library, by Johnston Architects, slated to begin construction later this year. At Cesar Chavez Park, Mark Johnson of Jones + Jones noted some of the park’s features and described the active role of the community in bringing the park to life. The tour concluded at Marra Farm, the site of a garden shed design/build project undertaken by 2005 Denice Hunt K-12 Intern Greg Squires and his project partner Mark Haizlip, along with neighbors of all generations, including youth from nearby Concord Elementary School. In closing, the procession formed a bridge of hands and together sang a chorus of that famous design/build song, “If I Had a Hammer.”

Crowned with a glorious gala
On Saturday evening at the AIA Seattle Honors Gala, the celebration of diverse professional achievements included the AIA Seattle 2005 Community Service Award to Dr. Sharon E. Sutton, FAIA, a roundtable veteran/heroine, among other honorees. At the gala, where AIA Seattle President Peter David Greaves AIA, served as master of ceremonies, Stewart spoke of the qualities and actions that materialize the profession’s ideals and joined colleagues, family, and friends in congratulating two AIA Seattle nominees advanced to the AIA College of Fellows this year: the late Rick Buckley, FAIA, and Henry Hardnett, FAIA. Accepting AIA Seattle’s highest honor to an architect, the AIA Seattle Medal, David Hewitt, FAIA, spoke of the early days and later culminations of his civic activism and work in urban design.

Again, this year, procession proceeds benefited the Diversity Roundtable’s program to support students from diverse backgrounds at the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The roundtable is targeting advanced-level endowment of a second student scholarship. (In 1998, the roundtable endowed the Denice Hunt K–12 Internship, joining her family in honoring Diversity Roundtable founding member Denice Johnson Hunt, AIA, the first woman of African-American heritage to serve as president of an AIA component.)

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