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November 10, 1999

Jeff Clark, Architectural Werks

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By ANNU MANGAT
Journal Staff reporter

Jeff Clark
Jeff Clark

Jeff Clark

Firm: Architectural Werks
Office: 11335 N.W. 122nd Way, Suite 140, Kirkland, WA 98034
Year founded: 1957
Staff size: 7
Recent local project: Pioneer Veterinary Clinic, Moses Lake

Q. Based on current election results, you appear to have lost your bid for City Council in Kirkland. Yet you seem to have a very cheerful outlook.

A: It's not everything. The bottom line is I spent nine years in public life, on the Planning Commission, Growth Management Commission, low-income housing, all sorts of things that I think are important we participate in. It's not my entire life; it's something you do to add to what you feel is important.

Q: How did you get involved in politics?

A: I think that architects have a duty somewhat because we can make the biggest impact on people in our own community. The structures we put up are what people complain about (laugh).

I grew up in Kirkland and back then, there wasn't a whole lot of park land, but there was open space. The open space now has buildings on it. My interest was to save the open space. If we're going to go forward, we need people like architects and planners who are involved professionally with this to step forward and take a look at the big issues. And the big issues now are starting to be land use, transportation and affordable housing.

Q: About 40 percent of your firm's practice is devoted to veterinary facilities. How did you get involved in that?

Alderwood Animal Hospital
The recently completed Alderwood Animal Hospital in Lynnwood.
A: My dad and brother are both veterinarians, so I wanted to jump into it. We found that there's only a handful of architects in the nation who specialize in this. I worked in a veterinary clinic from the time I was 12 on, so we had an upper hand on not just designing but knowing what the key elements to a veterinary hospital were from the veterinarian's standpoint.

It's at the point now where we are starting to see corporate entities. It used to be all mom-and-pops, but with the introduction of corporate veterinary practices our range of services has greatly increased. We do work throughout the United States for a corporate veterinary chain called Pet's Choice Inc. For us, it's been a great vehicle to expand our services.

Q: Are there any challenges associated with being a smaller practice. Are there markets that you're locked out of?

Pioneer Veterinary Clinic
Pioneer Veterinary Clinic, Moses Lake, a 4,622-square-foot, $430,000 facility now under construction.
A: I don't know if you're locked out. I think good firms will find markets. I think years ago no one specialized or not many of them specialized. I think the firms that are successful are starting to find niche markets.

We spend more time on our client relationships, and those types of things can take time away from the practice. We work with a lot of veterinary facilities that can be mom-and-pop. Mom-and-pops don't know much from the standpoint of construction, what the process is. It takes a lot of hand holding to complete these projects, so we've got to be willing to dedicate nights and weekends to the veterinary side of our practice.

Q: Assuming you won't return to City Council, what role will you play in the public sphere?

A: I haven't decided. I'm not going to rule out a second run at this. We shape the environment by our participation at any level. And that doesn't stop just because you're not on council or you're no longer a politician. It starts because you're a citizen. Participate in the process. If there's something that really bothers you, don't sit back and read the newspaper and say it's a bad thing. Go down and tell `em how you would fix it. Citizens generally don't try to shape a project; they just try to stop it. They only come in at the end of a project. Shape the future. Don't wait for it to come up on you.

Q: Are there markets that your firm is shifting away from?

Everett Clinic reception area
Reception area of the Everett Clinic, which houses medical offices.
A: The office market somewhat because I think everybody does general office. We are going after multifamily stuff more than we have in the past mainly because affordability is getting to be an issue with everybody. We can't afford to have everybody living on the Plateau and driving across the Plateau because we can't get there in the first place. Mixed-use is making big strides as well - the ability to live, work, shop and play all in the same area. It is acceptable in the bigger cities, but you find more resistance to this idea the farther you get away from the city core. However, I think everyone is beginning to realize it's not just an urban problem any more. The suburbs will face the same things that Seattle's faced for years.

Q: Your firm has an unusual name. What is its significance?

A: Our firm had for many years been identified by the names of the partners Martenson Clark & Associates and was commonly referred to as MCA. Unfortunately, as partners retired or joined the firm, we always had to explain who we used to be as well as who we were. And in the age of "alphabet soup" firm identification, having the firm name shortened to MCA was not setting us apart from any other firm. The switch to Architectural Werks represents our belief that it is the people in the firm, the "werks," that make us different, not just the "work" we do.



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