Historic first: A crowd of some 500 fans of architecture and "experiential residential design" toured the first AIA Seattle / Northwest Home + Garden Open House Sunday afternoon May 15 noon-3pm, at the Buck-Pelton residence in north Seattle.

Heavy foot traffic circulates comfortably through the living-dining area.

The Buck-Pelton residence, designed by architect William Zimmerman, appeared in the pages of NW Home + Garden (May/June 2005) as the magazine's first open house feature, giving readers the opportunity to talk with owner and architect and experience residential architecture first-hand. The homeowners and their architect were on hand to answer questions from the hundreds in attendance, with assistance from a staff of volunteers who helped maintain an even flow of guests through the house, throughout the afternoon.

Architect William Zimmerman

"I think this is a great program," said homeowner Susan Pelton, "It does so much for the architect."

Zimmerman stood in the dining area-- the center of the action-- for nearly the entire three hours of the event explaining the design process to the visitors surrounding him. Since the feature appeared, he noted, he's received several phone calls from new clients.

Homeowner Rich Buck thanks volunteer crowd-wranglers.

The next open house event will take place on Sunday, July 24, 2005 from noon to 3 pm. Pick up a copy of the July/August issue of Northwest Home + Garden magazine for complete coverage of the home beforehand and we'll see you there! For more information about the Open House program (and/or for application materials; architect-designed homes from throughout the Northwest Home + Garden readership area welcome), click here or contact AIA Seattle program director Peter Sackett at 206.448.4938.