Lofty Lines at Seattle Design Festival 2024

Design poses the opportunity to create something from nothing. By asking ourselves “what if…?”, we open up to the limitless possibilities of what we can do. This year’s Seattle Design Festival theme encouraged designers to ask this very question. Teaming up with Mahlum and Aldrich + Associates, we asked, “What if… we stopped relying on machines and the use of valuable energy resources for drying our clothes?”

Titled Lofty Lines: Nature Powered Laundry, the pavilion provoked visitors to borrow from the past in order to reduce energy use and aim for a healthier future. Although the construction and design industry has taken steps towards sustainable practices, Lofty Lines reminds us that we can make more environmentally friendly choices in our own lives.

The installation was comprised of rows of clotheslines and fabric, gently billowing in the Lake Union Park wind. It challenged the notion that boundaries are rigid and always separate individuals. In this case, these ethereal partitions drew people together. As multiple visitors walked through, they were pleasantly surprised to find each other exploring the same space.

“This is my second year working with Mahlum for [the Seattle Design Festival],” said Structural Project Manager Christen Sanders. “I enjoy working on these installations. It’s fun to see Mahlum’s creativity in action during the weeks leading up to the event. For the designs, you still have to apply real world engineering concepts to something meant to be unique and fun. Every concept ultimately requires engineering proof, and applying to something freeform is unique and a nice change of application.”

New to the festival this year, teams were required to help reduce waste by either donating all or part of their installation after the festival or reusing the materials in a future project. Mahlum plans to donate wood from the pavilion to Aldrich + Associates, our contracting partner on the project, so the materials can be reused and repurposed. The clothes will be donated to Goodwill.

In addition to Lofty Lines, Coughlin Porter Lundeen teamed up with LMN Architects in 2022 on the Equipoise Pavilion, which was repurposed this year to act as the main stage for talks, performances, and demonstrations.