Conceptual

MARK HORIUCHI back to Horiuchi Studio Art

Conceptual Demolition Excavation Foundations Drainage / Plumbing Concrete Slabs

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

October 16, 2006 marked the “symbolic” start to construction of our Townhouse Project. It was just after 8:00 a.m. when a giant excavator demolished our single family home in the Magnolia area of Seattle. In less than an hour the house was flattened into splitters, shards, and debris. We had lived in the 1927 built “Bungalow” style home for over 20 years. The ground floor of the dwelling was used as both Kassie’s and my artist studio during that time. We also raised our eleven year old daughter in the home. Because the house was built so long ago I had an endless list of “home repair” tasks…it was a great learning experience.

The population and character of Seattle continues to grow and change. The increase in density, employment, and culture within Downtown Seattle has made nearby neighborhoods extremely desirable. Our property is zoned multi-family and therefore has been very attractive to developers. Each year we would receive increasingly numerous offers to buy our land. But we love our proximity to the Downtown area and the “family friendly” community of Magnolia and Queen Anne. So we decided to celebrate the shift towards urbanization and density in our area. We wanted to build town homes which display unique character, high quality, and fine craftsmanship.

One of our daughters good friends father is an architect, Matthew Stannard of Stannard Architects. When I discovered he had designed a building that I really appreciated I knew we had a match. That building was very contemporary, urban, and had a strong use of material. Matthew did an amazing job designing our project and responding to our creative directions. Resolving the numerous challenges inherent in creating multifamily housing requires a great deal of thought and time.

The chance to explore a new direction utilizing my creativity is very exciting. I have acted as the Project Manager and Developer since inception. On the surface this might seem different than the work of a visual artist…but in fact they are quite similar. Art and architectural construction reflect a process of collecting information, distilling concepts to their essence, making decisions, and ending with a tangible visual record.