Whitney M. Young’s keynote speech at the 1968 AIA convention called architects to action:
IMAGE CREDIT: AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
Environmental Works board and staff, in a year-long collaborative and iterative design process, thoughtfully weighed in on the message they wanted represented in the logo. We feel this new design illustrates strength in collaboration and the community design process. Visualized in the new design is a public plaza, or city center - a place where all gather together, new ideas grow, and everyone thrives. The connecting lines represent strength in collaboration: Environmental Works cannot be complete without our nonprofit partners. The logo also echoes the design of a decorative garden wall, representing a marriage between physical space and green earth. Larry Goetz, one of the founding members of Environmental Works and current board member, notes that the new design also evokes the daffodils that students handed out to commemorate the opening of Seattle’s new community design center on the first Earth Day in 1970.
Check out past logos that Environmental Works has used over the years
MORE VIDEOS COMING SOON!
Former Environmental Works staff Brad Collins describes the first days at Fire Station 7
Former Executive Director Steve Johnson, now Principal at Johnson Oakliff Architecture & Planning, describes the role the staff of Environmental Works had in the creation of one of Seattle’s most beloved interactive sculptures:
Richard Beyer | Waiting for the Interurban, 1978 | Fremont, Seattle
Jan Gleason, who saw herself as a “social worker in three dimensions,” served as Environmental Works’s executive director from 1997 to 2008. She designed more than 50 child care centers, as well as affordable housing, medical clinics, and community centers. Jan co-authored a manual on child care design which has been distributed nationally. Only the 64th female licensed architect in Washington, she was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2006.
Jan would regularly voice and act on her belief that affordable housing and child care centers “should be more than just a roof over somebody’s head. Dismal, dreary spaces are oppressive. Light and connections with the outside make us feel better. We believe everybody deserves them.” Her manner manifested this dedication: she always greeted people with a genuine "How are you?" and cared deeply about everyone in her broadly-defined community. Her commitment to collaborate with and raise the voices of all communities continues to drive EW’s work today.
Since 1970, Environmental Works has been honored to work with and empower Washington’s underserved communities. Because your collaboration has made our work possible, we would love to publish your EW memories, stories, and photos to celebrate 50 years of great community design.
We'll be sharing your stories on this page and social media through our anniversary year, as well as featuring them at our 50th anniversary celebration in 2020.
Do you have an Environmental Works story to tell, or memories to share? We want to hear from you! Send us stories and images through the form below, email them to us at contactus@eworks.org, or share them on our Vitual 50th Anniversary Celebration Facebook Page. And follow the EW journey and share it with others using #eworksseattle50!
