On Sunday afternoon May 15, friends and fans of "experiential residential design" can visit an architect-designed open house in the greater Seattle area - thanks to a new partnership of AIA Seattle and Northwest Home + Garden magazine. CoChairs Christopher Bull and Laura Kraft AIA spearheaded negotiations to develop a new program serving and advancing the enthusiasm of the Seattle public for visiting architect-designed homes, including both magazine publication and an open house element. Functioning as AIA Seattle's "Experiential Residential Design Task Force," Laura and Chris (also an advisory member of the AIA Seattle Board of Directors), investigated alternatives for sustaining the area's long tradition of showcasing residential design.

"We are pleased to begin a partnership with NWH+G, and we look forward to collaborating to bring the 'residential design adventure' to the public. Our new partnership aims to present projects that illustrate some of the special problems and solutions that architects and owners find together," notes Laura Kraft. "Once again, we will turn to AIA Seattle Members to help identify projects for this exciting new feature." NWH+G Editor Shannon O'Leary and others at the magazine will take an active role in selecting and presenting the selected homes and in hosting the Open House events.

In future rounds of the program, homes selected by the AIA Seattle Open House Committee will appear in bi-monthly editions of Northwest Home + Garden magazine, with an open house scheduled for the 3rd Sunday afternoon of the months of May, July, September, and November 2005.

Please contact AIA Seattle Program Director Peter Sackett, (206) 448-4938 x105 for application information, and/or watch for further details.