Firm Profile

SAGE Architectural Alliance is a group of design professions formed in 2009 to focus on design for aging and community building. We are passionate about the future of Senior Living and Aging in Full-Life Communities. Structured for efficient attention to their clients, SAGE professionals include Architects and Interior Designers who work well as a team to produce best results for our clients. We listen to our clients and have the experience to watch budget and schedule constraints.

With SAGE, clients receive personal involvement and attention by our highly experienced principals—an important asset we can offer as a small firm. We know how to listen. We know how to guide you through the process to best achieve your goals in quality and budget. Each of the SAGE principals has from 30 to 35 years of experience in their design field. We are invested in building relationships and dedicated to high quality results and the satisfaction of our clients... always.

Our goal is to serve and be among those creating a vision for tomorrow’s lifestyles. As your partner, SAGE has the expertise to initiate solutions and creativity to set the trends for the future of Senior Living.

Design Process

Creating Vibrant Communities is an inclusive design process informed by years of design experience, evidence-based findings, and grounded in participatory involvement. Sage invites stakeholders and users to become involved in early participatory workshops and visioning sessions.

SAGE has sponsored numerous post-occupancy evaluations of senior communities and studies of best practice. Our studies have shown that popular social spaces have many specific features that we can help you create.

Sustainability

All of the SAGE Architectural Alliance Architects are LEED Accredited Professionals and together with our in-house sustainability specialist, can work with you to achieve the financial and operational benefits of Sustainable Design.

 

With life-cycle cost analysis we can help you consider long term costs versus simply up-front capital costs.

We have worked with the following software:
eQuest
Energy Plus
Ecotect
Climate Consultant
RET Screen
IES VMware

Qualifications & Certifications
  • WBE/ DBE #D2F9621472
    Certified woman-owned business for Federal and State work
  • Small Contractor & Supplier (SCS) #1238
    for King County and Port of Seattle work
  • NAICS Codes
    541310 Architectural Services
    541410 Interior Design
  • Architectural Licenses
    Washington
    Oregon
    California

Firm Services
  • Full Architectural Design Services: We provide a full range of architectural services from early design sketches thru construction administration, including sustainability/LEED design elements, and local and state approval processes.
  • Architectural Feasibility Studies: We evaluate a site or building and test it’s potential uses and value to the client.
  • Sustainability/LEED Coordination
  • Master Planning: With an existing facility or new site, we work with the client to establish goals, examine alternatives, and develop a plan that will guide the client in making efficient viable decisions.
  • Community Building and Visioning
  • Renovation and Remodeling Expertise: This would include an evaluation of existing facility, determination of clients goals and resources, establishing a phased sequence of work and providing coordinated Architectural and Interior Design services to complete the work.
  • Interior Space Planning and Design: Besides space planning, materials selection, lighting, color, furniture selection and purchasing, this could include evaluation of existing facilities and phased upgrade to fit budget and schedule.
  • Construction Administration

People

Valerie Thiel, AIA LEED AP BD+C, managing principal, is an expert in design for aging and has over 30 years of architectural experience. Valerie has extensive senior living and project management expertise. As a project manager, Valerie has also coordinated the design and execution of a diverse range of communities from independent living to skilled nursing and hospital settings. She also has extensive institutional experience.

Don Doman, AIA, LEED AP, principal in charge of design is one of the region’s foremost design architects dedicated to senior living. His work with senior living and community design spans more than 35 years. Don has designed numerous facilities on the West Coast from Washington to California, working with a wide scale and range of projects from small renovations to master planning of new communities.

Melinda Sechrist, FASID, has been practicing Interior Design since 1980 when she founded Sechrist Design Associates. Widely recognized for her innovative and creative design solutions, her extensive background in multi-family, hospitality, and single family design created a natural segue to the specialty of design for senior living environments. Here she can combine the most beneficial characteristics from all of these specialties into projects that benefit seniors.

Visit Melinda’s website at http://sechristdesign.com.

Larry Sinnott, AIA LEED AP BD+C, principal architect and sustainability expert aids with the integration of sustainable design principles and product selection. Larry also coordinates the firm’s technology systems, CADD and BIM.

Valerie Thiel
Don Doman
Melinda Sechrist
Larry Sinnott

Current Clients
  • Columbia Lutheran Home
  • Crista Senior Living, Shoreline, WA
  • Elite Care Assisted Living (Portland, OR)
  • Norse Home
  • Northwest Care Management
  • Northwest Pacific Railroad Archive
  • SCIDpda (Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation & Development Authority)
  • Trevor Woodworking/ Pacific Regent, Bellevue
  • University of Washington Center for Livable Communities
  • Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs

Participation In Associations