Problem

The TAF Community Learning Space was completed in 2012. It is home to a Seattle-area nonprofit organization called the Technology Access Foundation (TAF), whose mission is to address the lack of quality education and access to technology for minority and disadvantaged youth in the Seattle (King County). Through its programs, TAF provides technical and computer skills training to this population, instilling them with the critical thinking and technology skills that they will need to thrive in today's world. With this new center, TAF is able to expand its programs and its reach.

The building also addresses another problem, prevalent in many communities: the lack of access to adequate community resources. Through a unique public-private partnership between King County and TAF, the facility will not only serve as the headquarters for TAF but as a public community center. The local--and currently underserved--White Center community will have access to a technologically-advanced facility, unlike any other in the county.

Response

When the project was initiated, Public Architecture was recruited by King County, who had seen ScrapHouse. We assisted TAF with identifying and selecting The Miller Hull Partnership as the project architect. Consistent with its 1% pledge, Miller Hull donated a percentage of its time throughout the pre-design phase of the project. Working as a consultant, Public Architecture contributed its material reuse expertise.

Inspired in part by ScrapHouse, Public Architecture assisted Miller Hull in identifying the ways in which material reuse could be woven into the building. The results are visible everywhere, from decommissioned Seattle road signs as exterior cladding to an entry bridge made of wood beams salvaged from locally deconstructed housing. The reclaimed materials contributed to the beauty, character, and environmental sustainability of the project. These reclaimed materials –as well as other "green" aspects of the building – are also incorporated into TAF's science education programs, so the building itself is used as a teaching tool. Additionally, reclaimed materials contributed to the social sustainability of the project: by sourcing reclaimed materials from locally demolished buildings, the physical fabric of the community was incorporated into the building. 

TAF Community Learning Space was undertaken as a fee for service project by Public Architecture.