walk through sky to water exploring the ephemeral qualities of the cheshiahud lake union loop
MERCATOR PROJECTION
FULLER PROJECTION
Legend Lake Union Loop CSO Outfall Public Art P-Patch #
Play Area
E
Landmarks
"
Public Boat Ramp Paved Edge (streets)
Contour elevation 0 - 110 111 - 220 221 - 330 331 - 440 441 - 555
AZIMUTHAL EQUIDISTANT
CYLINDRICAL EQUAL AREA
Buildings Park Waterbody
SINUSOIDAL PROJECTION
WORLD CUBE PROJECTION
PROJECT CONTEXT MAP
PATH = 6 MILES
This project on the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop is an investigation of the ephemeral qualities that make traveling along a path intriguing, and how mapping and landscape art interventions can create new or enhance existing environmental qualities. Moving through space and time along the pathways that make up the loop; observing sky, water, shadows, wildlife, city life; and creating or participating in events that happen at the edge of the lake allow visitors to become part of a dynamic performance.
QUALITIES OF LIGHT, SHADOW AND WATER FOUND ALONG THE CHESHIAHUD LAKE UNION LOOP
MATERIAL QUALITIES FOUND ALONG THE CHESHIAHUD LAKE UNION LOOP
18 16
70
14
60
12
50
10
40
8
30
6
20
4
10 0
2 Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Relative Humidity (%) Wet Days (>0.004 in) Average Wind Speed
Nov
Dec
0
kayak/canoe/etc. seaplane
winter
autumn
Average Temp (F) Precipitation (in) Average Sunlight Hours/Day
Jun
motor boat
spring
80
summer
20 Precipitation/Wet Days/Sunlight/Wind Speed/Frost
Temperatures/Relative Humidity
Seattle, WA
90
pacific flyway bird migration routes
water level fluctuates about 2 feet per year when it is lowered in the rainy season to prevent flooding.
PLOT DIAGRAM SHOWING SIGNIFICANT ISSUES AND EXISTING CONDITIONS
EVENT DIAGRAMS AND TRAJECTORIES MAP
MAPPING DYNAMIC EPHEMERAL PROCESSES
SKY AND SHADOW [FLOWS] everchanging sky and shadows are mapped at a point in time emphasizing overhead shadows (crossing under or over) and places where sky is most present around the lakeshore places of sky places of overhead shadow places of shadow over water places of combined sewer overflow places to launch a boat
MAPPING DYNAMIC EPHEMERAL PROCESSES
WATER PLACES [NETWORK] places of interaction: viewing water, touching water, places for getting onto water... places of sky places of overhead shadow places of shadow over water places of combined sewer overflow places to launch a boat places of interaction with lake places of intervention places of interest (initial)
places of cso outfalls: places where combined storm and sewage water seeps into lake union places of boat launch: small craft access to lake
PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS OF THE LOOP
The Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop designates a path around Lake Union, a physical and social center of Seattle. Over the loop’s six miles one can find a highly varied built environment that can be enhanced by landscape interventions. In addition to the built fabric of industrial and commercial businesses, single- and multi-family homes, houseboats, parks, boat launches, shipyards, marinas, fishing piers, infrastructure, art, and potential interventions, there is an incredible theatre of weather, water, people and animals. The following series of maps begins to guide visitors toward a dynamic engagement with the myriad of experiences offered by the lake and the loop.These maps are meant to evolve over time as other people map their own experiences,through both analog and digital forums.
HOT SUNNY DAY ROUTE
4 MILES: 1 1/2 hours walking 1/2 hour biking 6+ hours exploring
SNOWY WINTER DAY ROUTE
1.75 MILES: 3/4 hour walking 1/4 hour biking 2+ hours exploring
RAINY DAY ROUTE
1.75 MILES: 3/4 hour walking 1/4 hour biking 1 1/2+ hours exploring
HURRY ROUTE
3.25 MILES: 1/4 hour walking + 1/2 hour boating 1+ hours exploring
WANDER ROUTE
2.25 MILES: 3/4 hour walking 1/4 hour biking 4+ hours exploring
BOAT PARADE ROUTE
2.5 MILES: 3/4 hour walking 1/4 hour biking 3+ hours exploring
PEAK MIGRATION ROUTE
2.75 MILES: 1 hour walking 1/4 hour biking 4+ hours exploring
SUMMER SOLSTICE ROUTE
1/2 MILE: 1/4 hour walking park your bike 6+ hours participating
SPRING EQUINOX ROUTE
1.75 MILES: 3/4 hour walking 1/4 hour biking 4+ hours exploring
MASTER PLAN: PLACES FOR INTERVENTION
INTERVENTION PLACES places of sky places of overhead shadow places of shadow over water places of combined sewer overflow places to launch a boat places of interaction with lake places of intervention places of interest (initial)
[NETWORK] places of intervention take into account initial interest points, mapped places of sky, water, and shadow, and exploratory route paths. this network of places is intended to be added to over time by the community, through social networking (both analog and digital), and provides a framework for landscape architecture and environmental art interventions over time.
INTERVENTIONS
The Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop is a patchwork of pathways recently named and mapped by the City of Seattle Parks and Recreation Department and the Seattle Parks Foundation, a project that is intended to “invite community use and enjoyment of Lake Union; (by) providing a loop that connects people to open space – connecting us to new and existing lakefront parks, celebrating the lake’s historic working waterfront, and revealing the unique character and quality of the lake itself.” (City of Seattle)
In this project, small-scale, artistic landscape interventions are phased into the loop, adding to the dynamic and diverse public and private landscape currently surrounding Lake Union. The following interventions phase into the master plan, and represent initial ideas for projects that emphasize the ephemeral qualities inherent in the world around us. In addition, a series of phenomenological maps provide users with a system of wayfinding that emphasizes the “finding”.
PLACES OF SKY + GROUND
intervention: chaises at spring equinox on a sunny day
PLACES OF WATER + CSO
intervention: pool at south lake union park on a hot sunny day
PLACES OF WATER + GROUND
intervention: stepping stones and chimes at waterway 19 on a rainy day
PLACES OF SKY + WATER
intervention: observation tower at good turn park at peak migration
PLACES OF LIGHT + SHADOW
intervention: lighting and mirrors at south passage park on a winter day
explore. interact. perform. observe. exchange. discover. move. experience. on the cheshiahud lake union loop