An exciting component of the Next 50 celebration is Urban Invention, The Howard S. Wright design ideas competition for public space. Urban Invention invited designers to conceive a fresh vision of environmental, social and economic opportunities on and beyond a 9-acre site at the heart of the Seattle Center.

On May 14, 2012 A jury of internationally recognized design professionals and Seattle civic leaders declared a winner for this international design competition. The winner is ABF, of Paris, France, for its design, In-Closure, which envisions an interactive wall around a forested landscape that is both flexible and dynamic, embracing social life in the city at multiple scales.

About In-Closure, the six-member jury said: “50 years ago, the spirit of Seattle Center was about the future. A common assumption was that the future, and all advancement, is positive. Today, we challenge that assumption. The only guarantee of the future is change. In-Closure addressed the state of constant change by proposing a replicable and organic system that can grow and evolve, that doesn’t equate innovation with solely technology, and recognizes that ecological resilience at its heart comes from the community itself. ”

The ABF team consists of Etienne Feher, architect; Paul Azzopardi, urban engineer; and Noé Basch, climate engineer.  For information/images of the winning team, visit urbanintervention.aiaseattle.org/node/548.

The creation of the this year’s Medallion was a very interesting process for us. We first came up with the idea of the Medallion’s material and concept after reading article in The Seattle Times in which they referenced a souvenir you could buy at the 1962 World’s Fair made of “durable ZAMAK metal.” This gave us the idea that it was implied at the time to be a new “space-aged” material.

In truth, ZAMAK had been developed as early as 1929 by a factory in New Jersey, and it was used (and is still used today) as an excellent alloy for die cast products, including toys, hardware, and other more mundane purposes. But the term and story behind the souvenir carried with it the appropriate charm we were after.

So, our quest was to find a local foundry that could actually work with ZAMAK to produce a Medallion for us. After a couple of dead-ends we discovered the folks at Morel Industries. As their web banner says, they have been around since the 1890s, so it was clear from the get-go that they were steeped in Seattle’s history. What we didn’t know is what we would find when we met owners Mark and Steve Morel. First of all, they are very friendly and approachable, and it was clear they were passionate about what they do. You get a real “down to earth” feeling while talking with them that is quite unexpected when you consider the massive industrial space they work in, full of smells and sounds of metal being poured, formed, ground, and polished into almost any imaginable shape or size.

Morel Industries was previously known as Ballard Brass & Aluminum, and the family’s connections to metal casting go all the way back to Rudier Foundry in Paris, where the sculptor Rodin cast all his bronzes in France in the late 1800s. Mark and Steve Morel’s grandfather Leon Morel, Sr, who had trained at Rudier, started two foundry’s in Seattle around 1917. One of Leon’s best known works is the bronze bust of Chief Seattle which still stands in Pioneer Square to this day.

The biggest surprise however was that Steve and Mark’s grandfather Leon had also cast several large bronze pieces for the 1962 World’s Fair! Notably, one of the sculptures is the fountain in front of the Intiman Theatre*, by sculptor James FitzGerald. Without realizing the connection, we had used FitzGerald’s work as one of the stops on the opening day Emerald City Search: Scramble Edition. Because of this family connection with the World’s Fair, and out of support for the event, Morel Foundry decided to donate the majority of their services in the creation of the Medallion. In honor of this we would like to informally call the Medallion the “Leon Morel, Sr. Emerald City Search Medallion” in honor of their grandfather.

*Originally the Little Theatre Playhouse — #39 on the map.

In addition to Steve Morel’s casting of the Medallion, Bellingham artist Jim Dixon from American Automata did the original Medallion design. Jim had previously designed the 2010 umbrella-shaped Medallion with a real ruby on top! This year he was asked to work with the space-aged material ZAMAK, and expertly created a design that could be realized in cast-metal. Jim also designed the secret Key that was discovered with the Medallion, and the Art Box that will be opened when the winner of the October Search partners with the April winner to open the box and discover what is inside!

The steps were surprisingly complex: First camera-ready art with clean crisp lines had to be created. Then an engraver had to cut the art into master blanks that were specially machined for the job. Those engraved masters were then used to create the reversed molds which fit together like a clamshell configuration. Several of these sand molds were made, and then molten metal (the raw ZAMAK) was poured into the molds. Finally, the trimming and polishing process involved cutting off the excess metal around the edges, grinding off some of the rough surface that resulted from the sand mold, and then using ceramic beads in a large polishing machine to smooth down the Medallions into their final, polished finish.

We really have appreciated the people who have given their time and skills to bring the Medallion into existence. No-one (except maybe us) knows what the NEXT Medallion-creation adventure will be, but suffice it to say that this one was a fun one!

- Clue Meister

Locating the Emerald City Search medallion is no easy task, even for the most experienced treasure hunter. Finding the medallion on day six of the search is even more impressive and for Emerald City Search winner Greg Barnes it came down to preparation, teamwork, persistance and maybe a little bit of old fashioned luck.

The first step for Greg was to get connected, following EmeraldSearch and @ClueMeister on Twitter, and Liking the Emerald City Search Facebook page. Next he read the book, The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy in order to soak up some knowledge related to the search theme. He then asked a number of friends to team up with him and in the end assembled a team of eight committed treasure seekers to assist in the hunt. Greg, along with Elizabeth Walkup, Paula Johnson, Bill Turner, Patrick Nuss and three others (who wish to remain anonymous) utilized Facebook & Google groups to communicate each day about the clues and the whereabouts of the medallion.

In the end it was a combination of all of these things along with his own personal knowledge of the fallout shelter that led Greg to the medallion. In fact, Greg was at the exact site where the medallion was placed the night before he found it, but was looking in the wrong place. In the end the treasure was divided amongst the group of eight, allowing for the entire team to reap the rewards. If you want more information about how Greg and his team located the coveted medallion check out his recent blog post where he reveals more details about his process and finding the medallion.

As a two-time winner, we had to ask Greg if he would be competing again in October. He replied with a slight smile that he would not be out searching but would consider being part of a team. You may want to start recruiting him now!

At approximately 7 a.m. this morning the Emerald City Search medallion was found by Wedgwood resident Greg Barnes. The medallion was located on the entry gate of a long forgotten fallout shelter located in the Greenlake neighborhood near Interstate 5. Constructed in 1962 in conjunction with the Seattle Freeway project (now Interstate 5) the fallout shelter ties to themes explored within the “World of Tomorrow” exhibit at the 1962 World’s Fair.

Greg, an ardent fan of Emerald City Search, has played every year since the Search’s inception and actually won the search in 2007. “Greg has established himself as the one to beat when it comes to the search. He is clearly very smart and determined to win,” said game co-creator Clue-Meister this morning on notification that the medallion had been found.

Greg is excited to share his prize package worth almost $9,000 with family and friends. “There was a team of people who helped,” he said this morning, “I’m excited for the Bumbershoot Passes; I go every year.” The rest of the prizes he will likely share with the team who helped him locate the medallion.

In addition to the medallion, Greg also discovered a mysterious key placed inside with the following note:

A full clue analysis revealing the meaning behind each daily clue is soon to come, as well as more information on the mysterious art box referenced above.  In the meantime, mark your calendars for Sunday, October 21, when the second Emerald City Search of 2012 begins!

CONGRATULATIONS, GREG!!!

Need a little more help with your sleuthing? Clue Meister talked to Scott Carty on KVI “The Buzz” yesterday to give his Top Ten Search Tips. Listen here and maybe some of his clues will help you get a lead on your search!