Connections

AGousen
Cities are complex and fragmented places and it is important to strategically think about how we bind disparate elements together in order to maximize function for all users. I believe that the bike paths and the way the vacant spaces surrounding them have been activated serves to connect fragmented components of our city. I am using this final project to explore how Seattle benefits from the creative uses of the spaces directly adjacent to, surrounding and between bike paths in Seattle. I believe that these spaces along the bike trail represent an emerging mixed use structure of the land along bike paths. And just as mixed-use has been touted as a successful way to structure space and provide for needs on the street, I believe mixed use facilities will be equally as successful along the bike paths because they provide for needs and build community which in turn keeps the trails activated and safe.

Interchange as Interstitial

roen hohlfeld

Throughout this project I explore the typology of the urban freeway interchange as an interstitial site; a stage upon which ad-hoc urbanisms unfold. Interstitial spaces lie on the margins, at transitional points that are not clearly legible. As a result, these spaces are often marginalized and undervalued. Under closer scrutiny interstitial spaces are a critical and essential component of our cityscapes. My explorations are an attempt to better understand these sites, the values that they have, and the role they play in the larger urban landscape.

I focus specifically on the site beneath the interchange of Interstate 5 and the West Seattle Bridge. This is a space of the everyday. The landscape of the Interstate serves as a threshold for the humble routine of the daily commute; it is a repetitive and overlooked backdrop for this parody. This space acts as a retreat for urban wildlife and offers marginalized people a place as they attempt to simply live in ad-hoc shelters scattered around the site. The freeway itself, as well as the interstitial space created by the complex interchanges allow for a different experience of the city. This space is a critical and valuable part of our urban fabric.

Hints of Seattle's Adhoc Infrastructure

Nicole Simon

In exploring the adhoc sense of the everyday urban experience in Belltown, I took particular notice of sewer grates, hose spigots, electrical boxes, wires, tubes, and other features that mark the piecemeal form of the urban streetscape, but at times break the flow of what are seemingly designed buildings, sidewalks, and streets. With a growing population, infrastructure is vital to provide water, electricity, and transportation of waste for the health, comfort and safety of people within the urban environment and the quality of life we have come to expect. However, in providing these utilities, there are artifacts of pipes, tubes, grates, and covers, which allow for these utilities to be accessed, fixed, improved and otherwise maintained, that can detract from a pleasing streetscape. The location of these utilities, which are often placed for ease of access, are often placed with little regard for the design and experience of the sidewalk and streetscape. They are elements of function as opposed to visually aesthetic design. It can be argued that these elements either mar the experience of the streetscape or are an integral part of what a city streetscape should look like. In these cases, form follows what simple forms have always been there, rectilinear slabs of metal or grey utilitarian boxes. There is a lack of creativity and ingenuity in these objects, and there are also missed opportunities in better integrating these necessities for urban functioning into our sidewalk experience.

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