The room used to be covered in dark wooden panels, which made the space "dark and depressing," noted Stephen Marshall-Ward from Stephen Marshall Design. "So they wanted a light, bright space that was more inspiring," he said of a design committee that included some of the 210 residents.
And that's what the non-profit retirement community got, according to Brad Harter from T&G Construction, which did the work. "We took it all the way down to the concrete," he said.
Walls to the adjoining Kinnear Room were also removed and replaced with sliding doors, and work in that room included an audio and video setup for a future projection television, along with wireless technology, Harter said.
"Bayview has been planning for this for a number of years," said Rev. Jan Anderson, a United Methodist who led services for an in-house grand opening at the end of February. "I love it." A grand opening for the community at large will be held later, she said.
Still to come, besides the projection TV, is a new altar made out of a single tree knocked down during a wind storm in West Seattle, Hughes said.
And another major component in the redesign is still to come: a gigantic, five-panel glass art piece designed by Japanese artist Keiko Miura from Kobe, Seattle's sister city, he said. Local glass artists will be tapped between June and December to help make the separate squares in the panels, Hughes added.
Financed by Bayview's capital budget and donations from residents, the project so far has cost just below $250,000, said designer Marshall-Ward, who added that there are another $200,000 worth of gifting opportunities.
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