Seattle Viaduct - Part 1 - Defining the Problem

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    UrbanismSeattlePublic Space &Repairing the Urban Fabric

    Paul Brokenshire, April Pierce, Jody Dickerson, Kitty Leung, Ross Papa

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    Like many modern North American cities, change and redevelopment is occurring at a rapid pace in Seattle

    as the citys core becomes post-industrial. The downtown core is resurrecting itself and with thatresurrection has come a steady increase in high-density urban residential growth.

    But as this growth and redevelopment continues, the citys long focus on vehicular infrastructure

    become a problem and the same freeways that contributed to the cores collapse in the past are visible holes in the development that surrounds them.

    In the case of the Alaskan highway this hole cuts across the citys waterfront and separates the g

    neighbourhood of Belltown from the urban energy surrounding Pike Place. This proposal intends

    in some initial possibilities for stitching this fabric back together through the conversion of a sect

    Alaskan highway into a pedestrian focused public zone.

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    Site Propos

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    A

    B

    C

    Currently this area is surrounded by roads and a highway. There

    is a slope that begins on 1st Ave. which meets the adjacent

    street Western Road. The slope also follows the curve along the

    Alaskan highway infrastructure which also ends at 1st Ave.. In

    the surrounding area, there are businesses, apartments and a

    Latino Day Worker establishment.

    Following the highway infrastructure, there is a

    slight downward slope towards Pike Market. This

    area is currently used as a parking lot and is

    accompanied by the back of a hotel and

    surrounding industrial buildings.

    The highway infrastructure now intersects with

    Elliot Ave. where it leads to Pike Market. The road

    is filled with businesses and people as Pike market

    is the main goal attractor in this area. Beyond the

    road, the highway continues above another parking

    lot.

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    Questions Q1How can the emerging residential neighbourhood in Belltown be stitched

    into the surrounding urban space and neighboring communities?

    Belltown

    Pike PlaceMarket

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    Should people be meant to stay or move?

    Should movement be left unprogrammed?

    How can we make use of the topography of the site and use the verti-

    cal dimension as an opportunity rather than an obstacle?

    How can we break the cultural tendency to view lingering in a space as loitering or

    put another way, how can we scaffold interactions with the site that will encourage

    people to stay as well as to travel and move?

    Q3Q2

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    How do we deal with the Day Workers center currently occupying

    the site in a sensitive and appropriate manner?

    How can the site be made a 24 hour zone?

    How can we increase the sense of safety and actual security of the area

    at night without closing or restricting use?

    Q5Q4

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    Idea

    Public Space and Neighbourhood Identity through

    quality pedestrian links instantiated by elementsnative to the Pacific Northwest and

    opportunities of interpersonal interaction.

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    Considerations

    Day Workers

    The day workers facility that currently exists on site is an unattractive cluster of temporary build-

    ings but the purpose of the facility is a legitimate activity and a resource that is needed by many

    of the remaining population that has existed prior to Belltowns aggressive gentrification. To

    simply eliminate the facility would be one more step in th is gentrification in a manner that does

    nothing to solve the problem or needs of the individuals who use it.

    It is thus our belief that, while the facility must be moved from its present location , it should not

    be moved completely off site.

    The space beneath the highway deck and extending to the right into the now obsolete tunnel

    onramp is proposed as the site of a new facility that while still serving as a day-work location also

    acts as a local employment center for all of the residents of the surrounding region.

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    Thinning Streets and a Place to Watch The Sides of Buildings

    "No one stops in front of banks and prestigious showrooms. Quite a few people stop to look at

    children's toys, photos, and other items related more directly to life and other p eople. By far the

    greatest number of people stop to watch other people and events."

    -Ghel, Jan(Life Between Buildings)

    An interesting aspect of the hill dropping down to the waterfront is that the buildings in the a

    tend to only open on the side facing the hill. The walls running along the slope are often left

    blank, both unadorned and unused. This has an effect on the energy of the area as well as t

    occuring upon the streets, with streets such as 1st Avenue being lively and lined with small

    and cafes while the streets that cross it are lifeless and generally devoid of pedestrian traffic

    It is for this reason that creating a space for people to b e and see others within Belltown's urban

    neighbourhood is one of the primary g oals and themes of the project. The link with Pike Place

    provides a place for people to head to, a reason for being outside. The attractive and picturesquepedestrian focused corridor we are designing will encourage them to head for this goal on foot

    instead of trying to drive but the core goal remains the creation of places and opportunities for

    people to stop, rest, meet and watch other people, ideally mostly the other people who make up

    the residential and working population of the area.

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    Water

    Despite, or perhaps because of the Pacific Northwests inherent wetness the existence of urban

    water in the form of streams and fountains is actually quite rare. The rare instance that streams

    do cut through an urban area in Seattle or Vancouver usually occurs in a slice of parkland.

    The integration of this element must be one of the key aspects in our considerations so to not

    only tie the site contextually with (quite literally) the atmosphere of Seattle but to also bring in the

    juxtaposition of the organic form of water against the rigidity of the infrastructure.

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    ProcessProccessing with the preceding questions in mind led to the devethe plan for the changes to the site.

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    Vehicular Trafc

    Pedestrian Travel

    Pedestrian Lingering

    Current UseAs is often the case in modern North American cities the current

    pedestrian options in the core are rather limited. Restricted to mid

    sized sidewalks paralleling the trafc grid.

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    Vehicular Trafc

    Pedestrian Travel

    Pedestrian Lingering

    Projected Use

    The redevelopment of the Viaduct path for pedestrian use

    causes a profound shift in the focus of the space. In our

    proposal the pedestrianisation of the area is continued by

    cutting some of the street grid and creating pedestrian streets

    along a segment of Battery St. and Elliot Ave. This makes

    driving through the remaining region less efcient which is in

    fact part of our goal. By discourageing car use crossing the

    site we hope to imrpove the conditions and general safety for

    pedestrians and residents.

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    Vehicular Trafc

    Pedestrian Travel

    Pedestrian Lingering

    Projected Use Pattern

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    For Site A this will take the form of an informal public square

    that will serve as an active meeting space for the people of

    the homes and businesses of the surrounding area as well

    as serve as the gateway to the pedestrian walk that takes up

    much of site B.

    Site Apublic square

    Parks: passive

    peaceful

    introverted

    Squares: active

    extroverted

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    A river/stream will be used as a pathway and a provoker of

    movement and activity. When the stream of water reaches

    the end of the highway, it collects into a pool like a reverse

    water fountain. The natural downhill motion of the site is not

    neglected but used to connect the water from the site to the

    water of the bay. That connection is still undefined. It may

    be a literal connection or a visual illusion.

    Site Atop view / fountain

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    Site Broad, water and lightas path

    Far wider than is necessary for pedestrians to travel along

    and featuring impressive views along much of its length.

    Our proposal is that the walking portion of the path is

    thinned down and visual interest and parkland elements are

    added to encourage both travel and rest. The stream is

    actually within the road deck and can be walked upon. This

    stream allows light to s hine through the deck down into the

    underside without the details being visible.

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    Site Bunderside;a play of water & light

    The understructure of the site is overshadowed and the

    highway structure quite heavy but the structure is visually

    interesting. The road deck can be cut away and altered to

    create a lighter space underneath and a visual interest

    such as that mentioned in the pattern Tapestry of Light and

    Dark.

    The fountains and water streams we propose to embed

    within the highway deck will act as focal points and path

    elements while also providing us with other opportunities

    including, allowing a translucent skylight for activities and

    facilities underneath the highway, an ever changing visual

    texture on the ground below, a sense of the sublime in the

    areas where the stream is embedded. Th ere would be

    parts of the stream where the water is open and accessible

    and other parts where it is between panes of glass so it can

    become part of the walking paths for those who travel and

    sit on the deck above.

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    Site Cnatural connections

    Site C is another opportunity for the derelict space

    to reconnect to the natural elements of the Pacific

    North West. This is done by the introduction of

    light, water and plant life. Stairs connect the side

    walks to the bridge deck on either side. This

    would create a dark and uninviting

    space underneath.

    To counteract this, a large hole is cut from the

    bridge deck. A grove of 3 or 5 tall evergreens

    (Cedar or Fir) would that will provide a tall, tower-

    like landmark for people to head towards either

    from Belltown or Pike Place Market as well as a

    visual connection between the upper and lower

    spaces. The choice of local evergreens is made

    partially due to the lack of this sort of tree in much

    of this part of Seattles core. The source of the

    artificial stream will also occur here as a

    tower/fountain hidden within the grove of trees.

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