The last day of February 2001 really shook up western Washington.

At 10:58am on 02/28, a 6.8 quake rocked neighborhoods and cities from Olympia to Lynnwood and east to Issaquah. Anyone who experienced the 40 seconds of motion can tell you about the experience - and probably has, since this topic dominated conversations for days following.

At AIA Seattle HQ, located in an older brick building at the edge of Seattle's Pike Place Market on First Avenue, staff members ducked under their desks or raced out the front door to huddle with neighbors as the earth continued to reel. When stillness again reigned, we gradually emboldened ourselves to go back inside the office, to reunite with our belongings. Plaster had rained down in several places, cracks marked most corners, and paper avalanches had spilled from desktops.

At that moment, no one knew the range of the quake. When the phone began to ring with calls from our families both near and far, we knew that this experience had affected more than our immediate neighborhood. When someone thought to turn on the radio, we began to piece together its extent.

As things began to calm down, we had a decision to make right away: should we go ahead with the seminar scheduled to begin minutes later at noon, "Awake for the Quake?" We could even laugh at the irony, at the same time grateful for the persistence of the AIA Seattle Disaster Preparedness & Response Team (DP&R), perennial promoters of this topic. DP&R also coordinates the ATC-20 Post-Earthquake Building Evaluation sessions offered regularly throughout the year; in fact, 65 attendees had received training at a session held just one week before.

Before noon, several registrants had arrived - including Jerry Lawrence FAIA, whom the quake had rattled as he drove up I-5 from Tacoma. "Sorry, we've cancelled for today," reported AIA Seattle Program Director Carolyn Forbes - already on the phone with KPFF and other presenters about rescheduling the session.

Within minutes, local and national media folks began to call, seeking architects' assessments of the nature of the damage and suggestions on how to advise folks tuning in for expert opinions on the safety of their homes and workplaces. We directed several of these calls to David A. Clark AIA, DP&R Chair. Around noontime, a phone call from AIA EVP/CEO Norman Koonce FAIA and others of the AIA national component senior management team added significantly to the resources available to us. After making sure we had intact systems and could function effectively here, AIA offered assistance with media relations and technical advice. These supported the efforts of David Clark and his DP&R colleagues as well as the ongoing activities of the AIA Seattle staff.

As the afternoon wore on, we on the AIA Seattle staff kept our guard up and our possessions easily accessible, so that we could grab and run if the quaking resumed. We became more assured as the hours passed, though wary. As we ventured out into the neighborhood for lunch breaks, on a mild and sunny day, we saw many architects from neighboring buildings going about their business, some sent home from offices closed in the more seriously threatened or damaged buildings in the Pioneer Square area. Others also made their ways home to join their families.

The evening news, both local and national, began to fill us all in on the nature and extent of the damage to our communities. Several programs featured architects, engineers, and building officials expressing their observations on the nature of the damage, particularly why so many buildings seemed to have escaped serious harm. The image of the crumbled Fenix Underground, at 2nd & King, appeared repeatedly as a symbol of destruction.

AIA Resident Fellow Richard W. Hobbs FAIA, who served AIA Seattle as President in 1984 before accepting a position on the AIA national component staff, sent this message which arrived Thursday morning: "Watching MSNBC last night the quake was the event of the day. The coverage of David Clark [Chair of the AIA Seattle Disaster Preparedness & Response Team] ... was superb. He was articulate, intelligent, and gave a super impression of AIA Seattle, please pass on my kudos. You made me proud. -Richard"

You might have heard or read David's and/or others' comments, in various media: Ben Emam AIA of the DP&RS, Vikram Prakash Assoc. AIA of the UW Department of Architecture faculty, Seattle City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck AIA spoke out, among others. By mid-morning Thursday, we had heard reports that our colleagues at AIA SW Washington in Tacoma and AIA Washington Council in Olympia had come through relatively unscathed. Damage reports and estimates began to appear, estimating the costs of needed repair to some major pieces of infrastructure and a few isolated buildings throughout western Washington, including the Capitol Dome and the Governor's Mansion, plus the Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct.

AIA Seattle Facility Chair Peter David Greaves AIA walked through the office with staff members to review damage and to give us some assurance that we could work in safety. By that time too, we had posted news bulletins and info on freshly-scheduled "EQ CE" on the AIA Seattle website, which received more than 7,500 hits on the day of the quake as well as the day following. That afternoon, Norman Koonce and his staff called once again to check on our situation here, and we reported gratefully and proudly what we had managed to do with the help provided by the AIA team. AIA Seattle operations focused on communication, relaying information among concerned parties. Messages poured in from near and far, by phone and e-mail, from our AIA colleagues around the country offering support, encouragement, and assistance. Others with experience of disaster of all kinds offered their sympathy and advice - San Francisco and Los Angeles with their recent quakes, Fort Worth remembering a destructive tornado, Midwestern communities with flood experience, etc. AIA President-elect Gordon Chong FAIA, on the road from his San Francisco office, called to express his concern.

By Friday, people still spoke of the quake at every gathering, remarking the amazingly good luck that the quake had given all of us such a serious warning, almost miraculously without loss of life, unlike the devastating Indian quake still fresh in our minds. Still, pedestrians seemed to prefer following paths that steer clear of overhangs and to avoid the proximity of brick buildings. Arne Carson of KPFF joined Peter Greaves in a more extensive review of the building, concurring in the opinion that we could conduct "business as usual" in the space pending repair of the superficial damage. AIA Seattle Program Director Peter Sackett met with Housing the Northwest Committee members Lisa Kennan-Meyer AIA and Caroline Kreiser Assoc. AIA; and Office Manager Douglas March processed reservations for "EQ CE" as well as orders for AIA contract documents, much as usual.

Monday morning's messages included a copy of this one from Norman Koonce to David Clark:
"David: "I want you to know how proud every AIA member is of you and the members of AIA Seattle. The professionalism and sincere caring you showed for your community, which was demonstrated by the timely and informed response of AIA Seattle immediately after the earthquake last week, were outstanding. You instinctively understood how to engage the media as you reached out to your neighbors to provide reliable information in the midst of confusion. We knew on this end when we shared your names with reporters that you and your colleagues could be counted on for excellent interviews.

Norman L. Koonce, FAIA Executive Vice President/CEO
The American Institute of Architects"

We all have much to feel grateful for, and much to learn from this experience. Let us hope it helps make not only our buildings but our community stronger, so that we have the knowledge, confidence, and mutual trust to deal with the next disaster with grace, courage, and effectiveness.