SCIDpda (Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation & Development Authority)

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IDEA Space

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An inviting neighborhood resource center created on a shoestring budget out of a disused basement in Seattle’s International District.
Project
IDEA Space
Location
Seattle, Washington
Year
2011
Team
Principal: Kristine Matthews
Project Lead: Cassie Klingler
Partners
Structural Designer: Motomi Kudo-King
Photography
Cassie Klingler, Doug Manelski
Categories
Exhibition, Installation

The SCIDpda (Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority — there’s a mouthful) provides support to local business owners, developers and residents of Seattle’s International District. They commissioned us to create a local resource center to help these communities. This was one of the studio’s very first projects, with a tiny budget. But we jumped at the opportunity to create a beautiful, functional space out of a dim basement crammed with old boxes. Starting with that raw basement shell, we stretched the shoestring budget to create a bright, inviting space. To keep the center flexible for a mix of functions, we put all of the furniture on wheels and included an easily changeable display system. We developed content including neighborhood maps, photo panoramas and posters, along with collected ‘Ideas for the ID’ to give a flavor of a neighborhood that has become one of Seattle’s top destinations.

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Idea Space
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