Description:

This project was a design charette, which lasted 2 days on site, and another 2 weeks after. During our short visit at Belltown Seattle, we conducted several interviews with the locals to ask them a little about the history of this area, and why sites like ours have been left undeveloped. After a few interviews we noticed a consistent theme that there is disconnect between the waterfront and the community. Thus with our project we seek ways to bring the water back to the community by connecting the waterfront to our urban space.

Site:

Our site is located underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Western Avenue, between Lenora and Bell Street.

Program:

To revitalize this area we wanted to create a community inspired by the Borneo Sporenburg development. We where intrigued by how the density of the development created this close sense of community, which we felt was lacking on our site. To revitalize this derelict site we wanted to test the amalgamation of commercial, residential, work and green spaces. Hoping that the convenience of proximity will stitch together work and personal life, fostering a stronger sense of community.

Process:

The viaduct currently provides a sheltered public space underneath it. When we chose to fill in the viaduct we wanted to connect the waterfront back to our development by using the underutilized roof scape as accessible shared public space.

Credits:

Alex Salaveria, Cheryl Yu, Jillian Chan, Kevin Ho, Sarah Menard, and Valtcho Kayriamov