Join us in this episode for a conversation with Christopher Patano, AIA, founder and studio director of Patano Studio.

Chris’s diverse architectural/landscape architectural portfolio includes parks, aviation facilities, schools, factories, corporate headquarters, transportation facilities, and private residences. His architectural journey began in his native Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and remains informed by Northwest materials and idioms, although it has taken him to such far-off places as Salerno, Italy.  

Among Chris’s most remarkable projects is the award-winning, all-electric, curvilinear observatory at Goldendale Observatory Park in southwestern Washington, close to Portland and an easy drive from Seattle, which was published in Architectural Record in 2021. Inspired by astral bodies in orbit, the Goldendale Observatory boasts an unusually large public telescope and innovative late-night public programming. Patano Studio has risen to the challenge of carbon neutrality by 2030. 

Prepare to be dazzled by Chris’s insights into sustainable design and construction – for instance, his preference for CLT (cross-laminated timber) over steel, as the wood product is much more fire-retardant and has a smaller carbon footprint.

Have you ever wondered how the names of Seattle’s neighborhoods evolved over time? The University District, for instance, was once called Brooklyn. 

Join us in this episode with architectural historian Adam Alsobrook, AIA, who expertly reads old buildings, vintage neon signs, industrial history, archaic electrical systems, postcard collecting, masonic architecture, and the history of demolition. Adam suggests that historical preservation is often informed by race and class and calls for continued emphasis on the preservation of the histories of the working class and people of color.

Join us in this episode for a conversation with leading broker Bob Bennion of Compass Real Estate.

Over the course of his 30-year career, Bob has rubbed shoulders with some of the region’s titans of industry, as well as leaders in the arts, science, and medicine. With an infectious and classically casual PNW demeanor and tone, Bob identifies changes and trends in the real estate market over the years, including, most recently, a decreasing appetite for square footage and a turning away from tech-heavy residences.

Join us in this episode where we will hear from prolific Seattle architect team Ray and Mary Johnston of Johnston Architects (founded 1990).

Mary and Ray have designed many civic and residential buildings all over the city and state, including The Maple Valley Library, South Park Library, Casa Latina Headquarters, The Seattle Humane Society Building, and the Seattle Public Utilities Ship Canal Water Quality Project in Ballard. Inspired by the waters and woodlands of the Pacific Norwest, their work interweaves organic materials and strong modernist forms.

Join us in this episode for a conversation with archaeologist Paula Johnson as she puts together puzzle pieces from the past. 

A shoe with cleats. A perfume bottle from Detroit. These historical artifacts were found when geothermal wells, intended to supply King Street Station with clean energy, revealed the remains of the Hammond Packing Company, a nineteenth century pork processing plant. Paula works with transit companies and brings her 27 years of archaeological experience to bear on reconstructions of the past from fragments and shards. These discoveries animate and transform our ideas of our municipal history.

Sometimes the key to success is being in the right place at the right time with the right attitude. Tune in to a lively and wide-ranging discussion with Paul Suzman, nephew of South African anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman and founder of OfficeLease, the West Coast’s first commercial tenant/buyer representative (founded 1981). Paul recounts his experiences in the Seattle area handling office leasing during the meteoric rise of tech titan Microsoft. His distinguished clients have included Nordstrom, Laird Norton Wealth Management, and Russell Investments, among many others. R. 

Benefit from Paul’s decades-long observation and understanding of Seattle’s power structures and the relation between public and private sectors.

Join us in this episode as we talk shop with the executive director of Seattle Architecture Foundation Stacy Segal.

Stacy’s optimistic yet pragmatic perspective on Seattle’s built environment will inspire you to take one of the many tours offered by SAF that introduce tourists and locals alike to the layered history of the city.

Join us in this episode with Jim Goldberg and Allison Jeffries of Red Propeller as they trace their path into real estate marketing and branding – a journey that contributed to and paralleled Seattle’s emergence from regional to national and global prominence. 

Prophetic storytellers skilled at channeling the spirit of a place, Jim and Allison have shaped our lived experience of Seattle. In her formative work in residential marketing for Paul Allen’s real estate company Vulcan, Allison and her team breathed life into the nascent South Lake Union neighborhood. After founding Red Propeller with Jim, she told the stories of such Seattle landmark developments as Stratus & Cirrus, The Danforth, Seabrook, Luma, Amli Arc, Pike Motorworks, Via6, Capitol Hill Station and Panorama. 

Learn about current and future transformations of Seattle from this talented team and hear Allison’s insightful reminiscences of Paul Allen and his love for Seattle.

Join us in this episode for a conversation spanning Realpolitik, capitalism and moral philosophy with affordable housing activist Roger Valdez, founder of Seattle for Growth. 

As the chief lobbyist behind Washington State’s 2005 cigarette ban, Roger understands that social and policy change is incremental and often glacial. Washington’s legislation came a full 40 years after the Surgeon General’s warning – a lesson that advocacy requires stoicism and perseverance. Hear Roger’s prescient economic analysis, influenced by Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek, of Seattle’s housing crisis and his arguments in favor of further development. Propelled by his Christian faith, Roger embraces urban density as an opportunity for neighborly love and community.

Working with local investors who seek positive returns while remaining sensitive to neighborhood needs, Scott has preserved bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and retail spaces that anchor the Pacific Northwest’s music, dining, and shopping scene and built 300 units of micro-housing, as well as a hostel in the International District. His projects include The Lodges on Vashon, Harvard Exit, Queen Anne Beerhall, American Hotel, Melrose Market, Spinnaker Building, Lynnwood Bowl & Skate, Cha Cha Lounge, Chop Suey, and The Crocodile.

Tune in to hear about Scott’s adventures in development and placemaking and hear how he overcame the many challenges he has faced along the way to creating memorable places across the Pacific Northwest.