Seattle Public Library -Libraries for All, 4th Round Branch Projects, Architect Information Conference, 2/26/02

Libraries for All Index Library Home Page
Capital Project Information New Central Library Neighborhood Branches Information for Architects, Consultants, Contractors & Bidders Oversight & Citizen Review Financial Summaries Archive Libraries for All Capital Program Office: capital.program@spl.org 1000 Fourth Ave. Seattle, WA 98104 206-386-4624		Architect Information Conference 4th Round Branch Library Projects Seattle Public Library Temporary Central Library 2nd floor Board Room 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002 Sign-In Sheet (PDF, requires Acrobat Reader) I. INTRODUCTIONS Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris made introductory comments, and introduced the following Library staff members: Justine Kim, capital projects manager Frank Coulter, capital projects manager Ray Serebrin, director of neighborhood libraries *Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris discussed the following:* There will be a lot of community and staff involvement; the community is represented and involved during the architect selection and design processes. This is the fourth round of branch library architect selections, and includes four branch libraries: Montlake, South Park, Southwest and Fremont. *Capital Projects Manager Justine Kim discussed the following:* Architect Selection Process Submittals must be received by 2 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2002, in the Temporary Central Library, 2nd floor capital program office. Mail to: Alexandra Harris, capital program director, Seattle Public Library, 800 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98101. Library staff will do initial qualification screening. Architect selection advisory panel screening (the advisory panel generally is comprised of capital program office staff, community and Seattle Design Commission representatives, and staff from neighborhood libraries). The Library will run selections subsequently, not concurrently. You are not excluded from being selected for more than one project, although, all things being equal, the Library Board will make every effort to spread work among firms. Interviews: Past advisory panels have interviewed three to five firms. Library Board makes selections in public session, usually at its regular monthly board meetings. The architect selection process will begin in April with the Montlake branch. *Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris discussed:* Specific Project Information Montlake Replacement: from approximately 1,500 square feet to approximately 5,000 square feet Maximum allowable contract cost (MACC): $1.27 million (2004) South Park New: approximately 5,000 square feet MACC: $1.15 million (2005) Southwest Addition: from approximately 7,500 square feet to 15,000 square feet MACC: $2.6 million (2004) Fremont Renovation: from approx. 6,000 square feet to 6,800 square feet MACC: $337,000 (2004) *Frank Coulter and Justine Kim reviewed commonly asked questions from the first three branch information conferences:* Q. How important is library experience? It is preferred, but not required. Experience working on public projects is preferred. Q. What about the submittal format? 10 unattached letters of interest per project that are specific to each project for which you would like to be considered. 15 submittals for one project, 30 submittals for two or more projects. The submittals should be identical; the cover letters per project should detail your interest in a specific project. Q. Where to find additional information: The Library's Web site: www.spl.org, select "Libraries for All." II. QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION Q. Given that South Park and Montlake are the same size libraries, why are their MACCs different? A. The budget figures reflect estimated differences in development costs due to site constraints. MACCs will be revised once building sites are selected and preliminary architectural work is conducted. Q. What is the site for the South Park Library or will one be selected before the architect is hired? Have geotechnical studies been done on any of the sites under consideration? A. The Library Board is considering two sites for the South Park Library. One is at South Cloverdale and Eighth Avenue South on the southeast corner, with the addition of an adjacent 3,000-square-foot vacant lot, and the other is at South Cloverdale Street and Eighth Avenue South on the southwest corner. Typically the library would coordinate a geotechnical survey after the design team is hired. Q. Regarding the Montlake project, how will parking be addressed? A. At this time, we're assuming the project will have structured parking. Q. What are the parking requirements for the Southwest Library? A. We are working within the constraints of the current site to double the size of the current branch, with a goal to maximizing available parking within those constraints. We'll work with the Department of Design, Construction and Land Use to go through the appropriate land use processes when necessary to work with city parking requirements. Q. Do the MACC figures include furnishings? A. No. Q. Do the 254/255 forms count toward the 30-page maximum in the submittals? A. Yes. Q. Do 254/255 forms need to be included for all subs? A. No, only if you feel that sub is particularly pertinent to your selection. Our selections tend to focus on design quality. Q. How are artists incorporated into the design team, and what is the artist selection process? A. Artists are always hired subsequent to the design team, and the design team has a voice in that selection, as well as in the development of the art for the branch. The Seattle Arts Commission (SAC) has a project manager on staff specifically assigned to the Library's capital program. A roster was created from a Call for Artists interested in library work (a new Call for Artists is underway to replenish and freshen that roster, which was depleted by prior branch library artist selections). Advisory panels comprised of a Library Board member, design team, staff, SAC and others generally shortlist and interview the artists, but the final selection rests with the Library Board. Q. Please clarify how many firms will be shortlisted. A. After the submittals are received on March 8, library staff will read through them to remove any that fail to meet basic criteria. In the past, the shortlist has yielded a list of eight to ten firms. The architect selection advisory panels for each branch then work with that list to select firms for interviews. We try to conduct interviews in one day, which generally means three to five firms interviewed per project. Q. How important is sustainable design? A. It is certainly something we value. The library had originally hoped to achieve the Silver LEEDS standard on new branch projects, however the bond doesn't contain sufficient funding to do so (the city adopted the Silver standard after passage of the Libraries for All bond). We try to focus on sustainability that has positive impacts to future library operating costs, and we will certainly go as far as project budgets allow. Q. How are selection committees comprised? A. The architect selection advisory panels (ASAP) are usually comprised of one design commissioner, three LFA staff, branch library staff, two community members, and the Library Board steward for the branch. While we don't expect the community members to be design experts, we find their contribution in understanding the nature of their communities very helpful. The panels will make a recommendation to the Library Board, which ultimately makes the final selection. Q. What are some adjectives the Library might use in terms of what it looks for in design? A. Lasting, durable, functional. We want these building to be an important presence in their communities. We want the Seattle Design Commission, as well as library staff and users to feel we have done a good job. We don't tell the architects what we want the building to look like; rather we provide the design team with our comprehensive Universal Branch Program and design goals (both are available on our Web site at www.spl.org) Q. What format does the library use to involve the community in design? A. We use different processes in different neighborhoods, but generally we conduct a pre-design Hopes and Dreams community meeting to get feedback from the community prior to starting the design process, and distribute comment forms in existing branches and on our Web site. We go back to the community to report design progress at the end of schematic design and design development. We welcome community comment early in the design process, and explain to the community that incorporating input is harder as project design advances. Ultimately the Library is your client. Q. Who manages the community involvement processes? A. It's really a team effort among the Communications, Neighborhood Libraries and the Capital Program offices. We expect the capital project managers to know the voices in their communities. III. CONCLUSION Capital Project Managers Justine Kim and Frank Coulter concluded the meeting shortly after 2 p.m., and said the sign-up sheet information and the Q&A would be posted to the Library Web site and emailed to attendees within the next few days. Content modified:4 March 2002 12/30/2005 © 1999-2006 - The Seattle Public Library

Architect Information Conference
4th Round Branch Library Projects

Seattle Public Library
Temporary Central Library
2nd floor Board Room
1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002

Sign-In Sheet (PDF, requires Acrobat Reader)

I. INTRODUCTIONS
Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris made introductory comments, and introduced the following Library staff members:

Justine Kim, capital projects manager
Frank Coulter, capital projects manager
Ray Serebrin, director of neighborhood libraries

Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris discussed the following:

There will be a lot of community and staff involvement; the community is represented and involved during the architect selection and design processes.
This is the fourth round of branch library architect selections, and includes four branch libraries: Montlake, South Park, Southwest and Fremont.

Capital Projects Manager Justine Kim discussed the following:

Architect Selection Process

Submittals must be received by 2 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2002, in the Temporary Central Library, 2nd floor capital program office. Mail to: Alexandra Harris, capital program director, Seattle Public Library, 800 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98101.
Library staff will do initial qualification screening.
Architect selection advisory panel screening (the advisory panel generally is comprised of capital program office staff, community and Seattle Design Commission representatives, and staff from neighborhood libraries). The Library will run selections subsequently, not concurrently.
You are not excluded from being selected for more than one project, although, all things being equal, the Library Board will make every effort to spread work among firms.
Interviews: Past advisory panels have interviewed three to five firms.
Library Board makes selections in public session, usually at its regular monthly board meetings.
The architect selection process will begin in April with the Montlake branch.

Capital Program Director Alexandra Harris discussed:

Specific Project Information

Montlake
Replacement: from approximately 1,500 square feet to approximately 5,000 square feet
Maximum allowable contract cost (MACC): $1.27 million (2004)
South Park
New: approximately 5,000 square feet
MACC: $1.15 million (2005)
Southwest
Addition: from approximately 7,500 square feet to 15,000 square feet
MACC: $2.6 million (2004)
Fremont
Renovation: from approx. 6,000 square feet to 6,800 square feet
MACC: $337,000 (2004)

Frank Coulter and Justine Kim reviewed commonly asked questions from the first three branch information conferences:

Q. How important is library experience?

It is preferred, but not required.

Experience working on public projects is preferred.

Q. What about the submittal format?

10 unattached letters of interest per project that are specific to each project for which you would like to be considered.

15 submittals for one project, 30 submittals for two or more projects. The submittals should be identical; the cover letters per project should detail your interest in a specific project.

Q. Where to find additional information:

The Library's Web site: www.spl.org, select "Libraries for All."

II. QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q. Given that South Park and Montlake are the same size libraries, why are their MACCs different?
A. The budget figures reflect estimated differences in development costs due to site constraints. MACCs will be revised once building sites are selected and preliminary architectural work is conducted.

Q. What is the site for the South Park Library or will one be selected before the architect is hired? Have geotechnical studies been done on any of the sites under consideration?
A. The Library Board is considering two sites for the South Park Library. One is at South Cloverdale and Eighth Avenue South on the southeast corner, with the addition of an adjacent 3,000-square-foot vacant lot, and the other is at South Cloverdale Street and Eighth Avenue South on the southwest corner. Typically the library would coordinate a geotechnical survey after the design team is hired.

Q. Regarding the Montlake project, how will parking be addressed?
A. At this time, we're assuming the project will have structured parking.

Q. What are the parking requirements for the Southwest Library?
A. We are working within the constraints of the current site to double the size of the current branch, with a goal to maximizing available parking within those constraints. We'll work with the Department of Design, Construction and Land Use to go through the appropriate land use processes when necessary to work with city parking requirements.

Q. Do the MACC figures include furnishings?
A. No.

Q. Do the 254/255 forms count toward the 30-page maximum in the submittals?
A. Yes.

Q. Do 254/255 forms need to be included for all subs?
A. No, only if you feel that sub is particularly pertinent to your selection. Our selections tend to focus on design quality.

Q. How are artists incorporated into the design team, and what is the artist selection process?
A. Artists are always hired subsequent to the design team, and the design team has a voice in that selection, as well as in the development of the art for the branch. The Seattle Arts Commission (SAC) has a project manager on staff specifically assigned to the Library's capital program. A roster was created from a Call for Artists interested in library work (a new Call for Artists is underway to replenish and freshen that roster, which was depleted by prior branch library artist selections). Advisory panels comprised of a Library Board member, design team, staff, SAC and others generally shortlist and interview the artists, but the final selection rests with the Library Board.

Q. Please clarify how many firms will be shortlisted.
A. After the submittals are received on March 8, library staff will read through them to remove any that fail to meet basic criteria. In the past, the shortlist has yielded a list of eight to ten firms. The architect selection advisory panels for each branch then work with that list to select firms for interviews. We try to conduct interviews in one day, which generally means three to five firms interviewed per project.

Q. How important is sustainable design?
A. It is certainly something we value. The library had originally hoped to achieve the Silver LEEDS standard on new branch projects, however the bond doesn't contain sufficient funding to do so (the city adopted the Silver standard after passage of the Libraries for All bond). We try to focus on sustainability that has positive impacts to future library operating costs, and we will certainly go as far as project budgets allow.

Q. How are selection committees comprised?
A. The architect selection advisory panels (ASAP) are usually comprised of one design commissioner, three LFA staff, branch library staff, two community members, and the Library Board steward for the branch. While we don't expect the community members to be design experts, we find their contribution in understanding the nature of their communities very helpful. The panels will make a recommendation to the Library Board, which ultimately makes the final selection.

Q. What are some adjectives the Library might use in terms of what it looks for in design?
A. Lasting, durable, functional. We want these building to be an important presence in their communities. We want the Seattle Design Commission, as well as library staff and users to feel we have done a good job. We don't tell the architects what we want the building to look like; rather we provide the design team with our comprehensive Universal Branch Program and design goals (both are available on our Web site at www.spl.org)

Q. What format does the library use to involve the community in design?
A. We use different processes in different neighborhoods, but generally we conduct a pre-design Hopes and Dreams community meeting to get feedback from the community prior to starting the design process, and distribute comment forms in existing branches and on our Web site. We go back to the community to report design progress at the end of schematic design and design development. We welcome community comment early in the design process, and explain to the community that incorporating input is harder as project design advances. Ultimately the Library is your client.

Q. Who manages the community involvement processes?
A. It's really a team effort among the Communications, Neighborhood Libraries and the Capital Program offices. We expect the capital project managers to know the voices in their communities.

III. CONCLUSION
Capital Project Managers Justine Kim and Frank Coulter concluded the meeting shortly after 2 p.m., and said the sign-up sheet information and the Q&A would be posted to the Library Web site and emailed to attendees within the next few days.

Content modified:4 March 2002

12/30/2005

Architect Information Conference 4th Round Branch Library Projects

Architect Information Conference
4th Round Branch Library Projects