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A Tale of Seven Murals
Seven hand-painted murals have turned the construction fence at our future Seattle headquarters at 500 Fifth Avenue North into public artwork. The murals tell a story—and have a story of their own we would like to share.
Supported by a foundation grant, a Seattle job-training program for teenagers called Urban Artworks created the series of murals. The murals give the public insight into the foundation's global work to help the world's poorest people—from a rural farmer in the field to a child receiving a vaccine.
Look closely at the painter on the ladder in the mural "Youth" (above). The life-like figure is a whimsical trick of the eye—and also an inspired way to connect our local roots and global mission. The waves connect the Seattle painter's hand to lively faces of young people over the seas.
The story behind the murals
Art is a means to an end at Urban Artworks. Teens come to perform 12 weeks of court-ordered community service, and they leave with skills they will need to hold down a job. Working on teams led by a professional artist, they learn timeliness, cooperation, reliability, perseverance, and respect for peers and mentors.
"The teenagers we work with have had minor brushes with the law," says program coordinator Kathleen Warren. "It's such an important time to turn kids in another direction."
The combination of making art and strengthening job skills works well. Only 6 percent of Urban Artworks teens turn up again in King County's juvenile court.
To see other projects teens have done around Seattle, please visit Urban Artworks. http://www.urbanartworks.org.
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What Is a "Sustainable" Campus?
| Here is one picture of sustainability: a 900,000-gallon water tank for the campus cooling system.
Water will be air-chilled at night—when outside temperatures significantly improve the energy efficiency of the equipment—and then recirculated during the day for air conditioning in buildings.
Using air-cooled rather than water-cooled equipment will also save millions of gallons of potable water each year.
This system is one of the ways our new home will be highly energy-efficient and conserve resources. Using less and conserving more
Our architects, engineers, and contractors have helped find hundreds of other sustainable solutions and materials for the buildings and ecosystem we will inhabit next year. |
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 | For example, we will harvest rainwater to flush toilets (see our Spring 2009 issue [PDF, 319KB, 4 pages] to learn more). We will recover heat given off by electronics and lighting to warm water for space heating. And we will use living roofs not only to moderate the heat-island effect of urban buildings, but also to control stormwater runoff and provide a natural habitat for insects and birds.
It can take years to recoup large investments in sustainable design. We made them knowing we'll be in our new campus for the life of the foundation—a century or more—and because we believe sustainability is about more than cost savings. Good stewardship for the long term
The benefits of sustainable design and operations are many—in the present and for the future. For example, the water tank for our cooling system will help:
- lower our operating costs (which leaves more money for grants)
- use Seattle's power and water supply more efficiently
- decrease our overall carbon footprint
Sustainability is a way of thinking and making choices—a commitment to act as good stewards of all resources. It promotes health and productivity in our own community and worldwide, for generations to come. A work in progress
The challenge of good stewardship won't end when we occupy the campus in spring 2011.
We will continually assess use of resources and adjust our systems for effectiveness, economy, and resource stewardship. |
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Giving Kids a Good Start in School
 We work with many partners dedicated to helping Pacific Northwest children and families.
In March, the Educare Early Learning Center opened—in the South King County neighborhood of White Center—to provide high-quality early learning programs for low-income children from birth to age five.
Educare combines the best of Head Start, child care, and preschool to help at-risk children grow up eager to learn and ready for school. The community hub also coordinates home visits for new parents and training for local child-care providers.
We are proud to fund this demonstration project, along with Thrive By Five Washington and other local and national partners. Go online to learn more
To check out the new White Center facility, watch a KING-5 News video report on the Educare Center.
To learn why early learning is the first step in education reform, watch a brief video narrated by Bill Gates Sr., "Early Learning in Washington State."
To see other ways we work in our home state, view the photo gallery, "Our Work in Washington state." | |
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| Keeping Up with Construction
Interested in more details about upcoming construction work? To stay up to speed and receive updates, visit the web site of Sellen, the project's general contractor.
Sellen's weekly bulletins help our future neighbors know what to expect and when to plan for changes around the project site, including street closures. |
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