The Miller Hayashi team has been volunteering for the Seattle Architecture Foundation’s After School Program at Hamilton Middle School. Through a combination of drawing and model building, youth are introduced to the world of architecture. Topics include architectural history, public space, equitable design, the life of an architect, and presentation skills.

The students are always full of energy, excitement, and creative ideas.  This year, instead of group projects, we are working alongside individual students to create solutions for an addition to the Wallingford area. The youth are being asked, “What does fun mean to you?” and “Why is it important to have places to play and recreate in a neighborhood?”  

We started off by leading them on a tour of Miller Hayashi’s renovation of the Seattle Public Library branch in Wallingford. To begin, we walked them through our process and then challenged them to figure out what we changed and how it improved the space. Afterwards, we had a small charrette for an addition to the Wallingford neighborhood.  Ideas included an outdoor market, a restaurant in a renovated fire station, a videogame-hotel, a museum and a bookstore. The final product will be a presentation and a model of each design.