SZ: On the Boards | SPRING 2022

Episode 1: Excavation & Groundwork

As a Design | Build team, SZ Build offers the unique advantage of leading projects from inception to completion. We thought it would be fun to share in this gratifying process, as we launch our SZ Build Video Series. Through these construction vignettes, we’ll give you a sneak peak into the sequencing and technical prowess of our rockstar subcontractors, as our designs come to life!

Our first episode features the groundbreaking of a new Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) on Mercer Island. You’ll see our team move dirt to allow for on-site stormwater detention, retain the sloped site and prepare wet soils for new concrete footings and foundation walls. We build for the beauty, durability and longevity of our homes.

DESIGN

Do you DADU?

Accessory Dwelling Unit, or ADU for short, can be a great addition to your single-family property. There are two variations: attached (ADU or AADU) and detached (DADU) and both offer many benefits to the owner. To inspire your own DADU, check out this fab 750 SF Guest House / Casita / Cabin being featured in the new SZ Build Series.

ADUs are a good response to urban sprawl. They relieve pressures on housing density, allowing affordable rentals in high priced markets for people that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them.

ADUs allow for multi-generational living. More families look to have their aging parents live close, especially after this global pandemic. Young adults striving for independence can live affordably, but separately, from their parents, before they leave the nest. In many cultures, families choose to live close, or even under the same roof.

ADUs can also provide you with some extra income; pay down your mortgage or cover other expenses by leveraging travel platforms such as AirBnB, VRBO, or Trip Advisor. If you are considering an ADU, make sure you understand what your local jurisdiction allows.

BOARD MEMBER

FACTOR OF 50!

Today is Suzanne’s 50th Birthday - Woohoo! She plans on celebrating this milestone occasion with her friends & family, near and far. As a passionate supporter of everything math, and as a Founding Board Member of SUMM, Suzanne asks that you please consider contributing a FACTOR OF 50!

SUMM believes in the wonder and beauty of math. Math achievement impacts the trajectory of young lives. SUMM seeks to inspire each and every learner and collaborate with community partners to help drive equity-based, culturally relevant math education opportunities.

Seattle Universal Math Museum (SUMM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that sparks each and every person to love math. SUMM will build a dynamic museum to house engaging math exhibits, hands-on experiences, programs, and play areas to stimulate inquiry, ignite creativity and curiosity, and reveal the wonders of mathematics through play and exploration.

FEATURED ART

Milky Way I by Nabil El Makhloufi

Nabil El Makhloufi melds his Moroccan background with his experiences living and working in Europe, providing a glimpse into the life of those in permanent states of cultural in-betweeness. El Makhloufi combines planes of colors with airy brushwork, giving his paintings a strikingly dream-like property. He captures deeply meditative moments of seen and lived realities with the use of the figure as a representation of quiet alienation and nostalgia.

El Makhloufi’s works question the place of the individual in society. The characters seem, in fact, often alone, even when they are in the middle of a crowd. They always impose their presence. A quiet, serene presence that does not try to shout that it is here to win.

El Makhloufi attended the Art School of Rabat, and after he studied at the School of Visual Arts of Leipzig. His works have been featured in solo and group exhibitions in Frankfurt, Casablanca, London, Dakar and Beirut. He is also the recipient of the 2014 Cité des Arts award, Paris.