Scott Crawford is a designer at LMN Architects in Seattle and a founding member of LMNts, the integrated and interdisciplinary research and development group within LMN. Scott continues to pursue research he started as a student at the University of Washington related to parametric modeling and digital fabrication with a focus on integrating these design tools into the practice of LMN. He is intent on using computational design tools to explore design opportunities that are highly customized to the context of the project and streamline the process of project delivery. Scott also teaches courses on Integrated Building Systems and Parametric Modeling at the University of Washington. In 2017, he was one of three recipients of the UW Department of Architecture Graduate of the Last Decade Alumni Award. He recently finished up work on a new experimental performance space, Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center, for the Seattle Symphony and is currently working on the new Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion.
Q: What does BALANCE mean to you when you think about design?
Scott Crawford: Balance in design comes from discovering and understanding the multitude of forces that a design must respond to and then iteratively working to bring them into a symbiotic alignment.
Q: What design/social trends (past or present) inspire your practice?
SC: The Master Builder. The Renaissance Person. The Designer as Maker.
Q: Tell us about a project that you worked on that you are most proud of.
SC: Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center for the Seattle Symphony. This was a unique project where my experience as part of LMN’s integrated Research & Development group, LMNts, was able to help inform the creation of essentially an R&D space for the Symphony. There is a lot of technology in this space, and the challenge was to balance the functional requirements of the technology with the desire to create a space that had its own architectural character beyond just the presence of all this technology. In addition to leading the design work on the project, I was also responsible for fabricating the architectural/acoustic ceiling for the space and a set of cladding panels for the front door. This experience has sparked conversations within LMN Architects around what role fabrication plays within our practice and what fabrication role we could potentially serve on future projects.
Q: If you could sum up your outlook on life in a bumper sticker, what would it say?
SC: I’ll figure something out…
Q: Why do you do what you do? What do you want to leave behind for future generations?
SC: I seek to inspire awe. I think this comes from challenging assumptions and thinking outside the box to provide new approaches for how we respond to the world around us. I like to think that I’m inspiring future generations of instigators to go beyond what is currently known.
Q: What is your super power?
SC: I’m a super recognizer (it’s a real thing). I can see a face one time and remember it without trying. Unfortunately, names aren’t quite as easy.
Learn more about Scotts’s work:
Website – www.lmnarchitects.com/tech-studio
Instagram – @LMNts_
Twitter – @LMNts_
Email – scrawford@lmnarchitects.com