Thursday, December 30, 2021

Neiman Taber 2021 Promotions



As Neiman Taber Architects continues to grow and evolve, we are excited to provide pathways for professional advancement and announce a number of promotions. 

NTA has promoted Liz Pisciotta to partner and Anton Dekom to senior associate. Additionally, several design staff have been promoted to associate: Sari Ellis, Kyle Francis, Kyle Jenkins, Sharon Rubin and Patrick Taylor. 

Liz Pisciotta has worked with NTA for 9 years and has led firm efforts in interior design, company culture and project management. She has experience in multifamily residential, hospitality and institutional design. She is currently working on the Littlefield Apartments annex
project and recently designed the interiors and branding of the Freya and Karsti Apartments. Pisciotta is a member of the AIA Seattle Housing Task Force. 

Anton Dekom has experience with a variety of project types including multifamily residential, commercial office, and sustainable infrastructure. He is a former member of AIA Seattle's Public Policy Board and a former co-chair of the Committee on Homelessness. He also co-led the effort to design and build the Mighty House, a prototype transitional shelter for people experiencing homelessness. He is currently project manager on a new mixed-use development in the Chinatown-International District and the Washington Irving Apartments Annex.

Sari Ellis has experience in hospitality design, educational renovations and multifamily developments. At NTA, she specializes in multifamily unit design and is our in-house accessibility expert. She is currently project architect on a new mixed-use development in the Chinatown-International District, as well as the Washington Irving Apartments Annex. 

Kyle Francis has experience in high-end single family housing and commercial work. He is finishing the construction phase on a mixed-use development at 500 Broadway in Capitol Hill, neighboring an adaptive re-use of 510 Broadway, for which he was also the project architect. He is currently project architect on a new transit-oriented development near Cal Anderson Park. 

Kyle Jenkins specializes in design culture at NTA and also organizes professional development education. He serves on the advisory panel for the North Highline Urban Design Standards and volunteers design services for community organizations. Jenkins is currently project manager on a 191-unit mixed-use apartment building near Othello Station. 

Sharon Rubin was co-project lead for a joint partnership between Architects Without Borders and the BLOCK Project, from 2018 to 2021. She also leads website development at NTA. Rubin is currently project architect on a 271-unit mixed-use development near Othello Station.

Patrick Taylor is deeply involved in public policy around issues of land use, transportation, and housing. He is the education and programming director for The Urbanist as well as a member of their governing board. He is also co-chair for both the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board and the AIA Seattle Housing Task Force. Taylor is currently project manager on a 271-unit mixed-use development near Othello Station.


Friday, February 5, 2021

When Are We Going to Fix Microhousing?




Sightline just published a follow-up to the articles I wrote back in 2016-2017 on how Seattle Killed Microhousing. Back then, we were looking at emerging trends based on a couple years of permit applications from the SDCI permit data. In this article, we have the benefit of several more years of data collection from multiple sources that allows us to fill out the picture with more precision.

The article confirms the trend that we pointed to back in 2016, namely that Seattle killed off congregate housing (the smallest and most affordable form of microhousing) and replaced it with larger and more expensive Small Efficiency Dwelling Units (SEDUs). The article also points to some new problems: The code changes that we pointed to in 2017, in combination with further actions taken by policymakers since that time have significantly impacted the housing economy and have driven all forms of microhousing (congregate and SEDU alike) into decline.

Read the whole article here