ASLA Student Report : Under the viaduct

UNDER THE VIADUCT A Guidebook of Strategies for Returning Spaces to People

UNDER THE VIADUCT: Space of Potentials Viaduct improve lives. The structure connects areas that were once separated, and provides the public with unparalleled scenery against an urban or natural background.

Viaducts also improve transportation efficiency, playing a key role in the promotion of urban growth. At their best, viaducts can create exciting new connections between urban landscapes and fostering human relationships.

But, there’s a disconnect. Despite the connective proporties of viaducts, the looming giants often produce an unintended and counterproductive effect. Many viaducts create barriers in the environment, blocking sunlight, partitioning space inefficiently, and isolating those below from those above. The spaces found beneath viaducts are often abandoned, and become unwelcoming due to a lack of proper management. These spaces, which have such huge potential, are often relegated to serving as impromptu camps for the homeless, parking lots, or freight storage.

The current state of viaduct space is a shame, becase there is so much more potential than what can be seen today. In this book, we demonstrate some of the possibilites to be leveraged Under the Viaduct.

1. Space under I-5, GreenLake , Seattle, WA 2. Space under I-5. Capitall Hill, Seattle, WA

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CONTENTS Here are some ways of returning the spaces under the viaduct to people.

tional Recrea ical Ecolog l Cultrua

rcial Comme

1. Introduction

p.1

2. Project Structure

p.6

3. Strategy Templates and Applications - Space Types: sloped, flat and mixed - Sloped - Flat

p.8 p.9 p.17

4. Responsive Website - Application Database - Communication Circulation

p.25 p.27 p.28

5. Visions in Seattle - Site1: Northgate - Site2: Greenlake - Site3: Seattle Downtown - Site4: International District (Chinatown)

p.29 p.31 p.33 p.35 p.37

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WE FACE SPACES UNDER VIADUCTS IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS. BUT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THEY ARE UNMANAGED, DISCONNECTED, ABANDONED, AND OCCUPIED BY UNWELCOME SIGHTS. IN THIS BOOK, WE WANT TO SHOW THE SPACES HAVE MANY POTENTIALS AND POSSIBILITIES.

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Viaduct Contexts Depending on location, environment, and local infrastructure, the conditions of a space under a viaduct can vary greatly. Professor Chunxia Zeng simplified the matter by categorizing viaduct spaces into six categories.

Who is this book for?

This book is a roadmap for planners, students, governments and individuals who have an interest in developing viaduct spaces for the revitalization of their communities.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

STUDENTS GOVERMENTS

DESIGNERS&PLANNERS 4

HOW CAN WE MAKE THE SPACE SEAMLESS AND COMMUNICATIVE WITH PEOPLE? HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO ENGAGE WITH THE SPACE?

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PROJECT STRUCTURE Three Basic Types sloped

flat

mixed

Strategy Templates The Slope Itself

Application Tookits Visions in Seattle

1

2

3

Adding Structures

4

5

6

stairization

7

8

Adding Architecture

9

1

2

3

Temporary programming

4

5

6

Partial Installation

7

8

9

Responsive Website

Starting with three types of viaduct space, this book introduces users to methods of alteration and divergence. Various applications are suggested as a toolkit for change. To answer the common question of “What are the best solutions for my site?� we propose a website that can answer that question with suitable applications.

Further, the following four visions in Seattle show how these applications can be applied to existing sites.

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TYPE1: SLOPED 7

TYPE2: FLAT

TYPE3: MIXED

SPACE TYPE These space types are categorized by appearance, but also by function. Each space type have different potentials. Sloped spaces are often formed by adjacent roadways and bodies of water, flat spaces are often used as parking lot, freight storage or remain abandoned, and mixed spaces contain elements of both sloped and flat spaces. The new ways each space is used will depend heavily on the type of space being considered.

SLOPED

FLAT

MIXED CAFE & BISTRO

PLAZA

ECO-SPACE

PERFORMANCE 8

SLOPED

SLOPE ALTERATION TEMPLATE 1 Without building new structures or altering the landscape in any dramatic way, integrating design with slope itself is an economical and organic way to develop a viaduct space. Slopes can be used as ornamental or ecological surfaces and can bring new activities to the public not available on flat surfaces. In this chapter, we introduced three representative ways to use sloped spaces without building new structures.

The Slope Itself

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APPLICATIONS FOR THE SLOPE ITSELF

Green Wall

Growing plants on the slope can add both ecological function and aesthetic enjoyment to this space.

Slope Art

Murals, paintings and sculptures on the slope that focus on certain topics could active and vitalize the space.

Slope Playground

The slope can be utilized as a playground which include simple facilities such as slides and climbing wall for children to play.

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SLOPED

SLOPE ALTERATION TEMPLATE 2 Adding structures to a sloped space creates many new opportunities and potential for the space to be used in new ways. The atmosphere and utilization of a space can be completely changed depending on the motivations of the designers and developers. Construction can be expensive, but if the budget is available, this is often the most effective approach to converting the space into the intended one.

Adding Structures

11

APPLICATIONS FOR ADDING STRUCTURES

Floating Layer

Rain Garden

Floating layer on a relatively higher space can be built as a cafe, gallery or other public structure in order to provide more creative and attractive activities.

Adding green stormwater infrastructure such as cisterns, bioswales are not only for collecting and filtering stormwater, but also for building ecological habitats for wildlife.

Floating Path

The floating path provides novel walking experience for people, and it can be connected with pedestrain road on the viaduct.

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SLOPED

SLOPE ALTERATION TEMPLATE 3 The stairization approach originates from the idea of creating minimal change to the environment while allowing people a more convenient use of the space. Several flat surfaces are created out of the slope, providing visitors with a place to play, rest and commune.

Stairization

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APPLICATIONS FOR STAIRIZATION

Slope Cinema

Slope cinema offers an enjoyable and leisurely activities for local people. This outdoor slope theater will change people’s recognition for the traditional space under the viaduct.

Urban Farming

The special micro-climate space can be used as an ideal place for urban farming, it can support growth for the species that prefer shade and a moist environment.

Shelter Seating

The stairs can provide a nice sheltered space for people to gather and rest, especially during summer.

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APPLICATION TOOLKITS FOR SLOPE ALTERATION The leftover and often disused spaces under the viaduct can at first appear impossible to use effectively, but the unique features of each space act as opportunities for transformation. Here are 12 applications that others can use as toolkits as they consider the challenges and opportunities of their own spaces.

The Slope Itself

Adding Structures

Stairization

15

“It was with the Freeway, cutting through the very heart of the city, that Seattle began taking one of its wrong turns and started to lose its identity as a city.�

------Paul Thiry

16

FLAT

FLAT ALTERATION TEMPLATE 1 ‘Adding Architecture’ suggests many potentials. This can be regarded as the easiest approach, but when considering the contexts that the space is facing, it can be the most convincing way to satisfy what the space needs. In this book, we introduce three representative applications for socializing.

Adding Architecture

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APPLICATIONS FOR ADDING ARCHITECTURE

Retail Shop

The retail shop under the viaduct could creatively provides space for microbuisness.

Outdoor Cafe

The cafe created under the viaduct provides space for people to gather and relax.

Art Gallery

The outdoor art gallery could inspire people to appreciate beauty in our daily lives and provide opportunity for people to gather.

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FLAT

FLAT ALTERATION TEMPLATE 2 ‘Temporary Programming’ would be proper to the space where the needs are changing or are not converged. The applications, we suggest, can be installed for temporary events and also be practiced for a long term usage. It would be an efficient way without much cost and construction.

Temporary Programming

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APPLICATIONS FOR TEMPORARY PROGRAMMING

Drive-in Cinema

The drive in cinema could be a great temporary activity for those parking lots under the viaduct.

Performance Stage

In most of the flat spaces under the viaduct, temporary stages could be set up for mini concerts and performances.

Flea Market

The flea market could be held under the viaduct to vitalize the local community and the lifeless space under the viaduct.

20

FLAT

FLAT ALTERATION TEMPLATE 3 We hope to introduce ways that the atmosphere of the space is changed with partial installation. The installation can be intended for decoration, activities or ecology. This is not for temporary purposes but for designating the new characters on the space with new ways.

Partial Installation

21

APPLICATIONS FOR PARTIAL INSTALLATION

Vertical Greenery

Skateboard Playground

The vertcial greenery under the viaduct increases both the ecological function and the opportunity for people to appreciate the beauty of the nature.

The skateboard playground provides a playful space for people to enjoy and play in it.

Interactive Pillar

The interactive pillar under the viaduct provides space for the community around to express their diverse ideas.

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APPLICATION TOOLKITS FOR FLAT ALTERATION Adding Architecture How the shaded, flat, large space can be transformed into interacting space? As aforementioned in the introduction, this space is usually occupied by homeless, used for parking lots, remaining vacant.

We propose possibilities for the flat space under viaduct and hope the space to be used for an interconnection with these nine applications suggested.

Temporary Programming

Partial Installation

23

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RESPONSIVE WEBSITE Every site is different. Since we can’t know each user’s site conditions, it is difficult to provide tailored guidance. So we propose a website as a communicative system that provides feedback based on the user’s specified site conditions. We organized influential conditions that users can navigate to determine their own custom conditions and then receive a suitable application.

The website proposes the best applications for each user’s space by consulting the database we created (page 27).

The standard of each category is referred by Height: common standard for one floor Steepness: Kodak’s ergonomic design for people at work. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2004. p.244 Noise: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)w

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Based on the database we organized, the website automatically proposes the most suitable applications as toolkits for the users. The applications are ranked as ‘highly recommended’, ‘recommended,’ and ‘possible’ by the number of matched conditions the user selected. In the proposed toolkits, the user is able to follow the recommended applications as well as other possible applications, or can combine different applications which he/she want.

versatile media

link to a short video to show how the website works 26

RESPONSIVE WEBSITE

A.

APPLICATION DATABASE We organized two database for each type: ‘slope’ and ‘flat.’ For making the criteria for each application, we consider ideal conditions rather than possible conditions.

‘Height’, ‘Steepness’, ‘Noise’, ‘Darkness’ , ‘ ‘Area ’ would be the most influential and decisive features to determine the character of the space under viaduct. Also, ‘Cost’ and ‘Objective’ would be the most significant conditions which users want to consider when choosing the applications.

A. Selections for Sloped Space B. Selections for Flat Space 27

B.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SPACE, USERS, AND SYSTEM introduce the potentials of the space

GUIDEBOOK

communicate users by suggesting the suitable applications based on the users’ selections

WEBSITE

provide feedback, update database and suggest applications

USERS

UNWELCOMING SPACE

NEW POTENTIAL SPACE

So far, in addition to the guidebook, we proposed the website as a responsive system. The purpose of the book is to guide the users into potential solutions of the space, and the website is to communicate to the users with proposing applications and receiving feedback. The database is able to be updated with the users’ suggestions of new categories as well as other applications.

28

VISIONS IN SEATTLE This chapter, ‘Visions in Seattle’, is to show how the templates and applications can be applied in the existing site around. We selected four sites as representatives for Seattle.

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image resource: http://st.gdefon.com/wallpapers_original/559566_vashington_seattle_zakat_5777x2923_www.Gde-Fon.com.jpg

1

2

3

Map of Seattle

1. Northgate

3. Downtown

2. Greenlake

4. Chinatown

4

Interstate 5 Sites

Interstate 5 in Washington (I-5) is a 276.62 mile highway in the U.S. state of Washington that extends from Oregon to Canada. It is the only north-south primary interstate highway in Washington. Though it is the busiest road in the state, it is also commonly recognized that its construction demolish developed areas and cut off walking commutes to downtown for many residents. So how to stitch back the disrupted pedestrian routes and to revitalize the leftover space for the surrounding communities is an important issue we try to address.

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SITE 1 NORTHGATE This site is located at the northgate, it is surrounded by huge shopping mall and local residential area. Besides, it is closely connected to an empty green space. Our design try to focus on the existing slope area in the site, and transform it to slope art and green wall, to reconnect the ecological function in this place, and to bring enjoyment to the people who live around.

site

31

Suggestion of Applications Green Wall Slope Art Rain Garden

Greenwall and Rain garden on the sloped space

current space

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SITE 2 GREEN LAKE This site is located at the greenlake, it has huge empty space which people now use as parking lot, and its under viaduct space is consisted of both sloped and flat areas.

We try to cover both of the features, and utilize some design applications like rain garden, floating path, playground and vertical greenery, to regenerate this space and to provide more attractive and creative activities for people to enjoy.

Suggestion of Applications site

33

Art Gallery Drive-in Cinema Performance Stage

Flea Market Skateboard Playground Vertical Greenery

Vertical Greenery on the flat space

current space

34

SITE 3 DOWNTOWN This site is located at Seattle downtown, it has large empty space which is now utilized as parking lot, and it is closely connected to the central area of Seattle. We try to design some performance stage, interactive pillar and cafe in this area, to provide space for people to gather and relax, play and communicate under the viaduct.

Suggestion of Applications Art Gallery Outdoor Cafe Retail Shop

site

35

Drive-in Cinema Performance Stage Interactive Pillar

Performance Stage and Interactive Pillar on the flat space

current space

36

SITE 4 CHINA TOWN This site is located at the international district of Seattle, it has a strong atmosphere of local community, while because of the I-5, it is less accessible and convenience for community members to gather and have fun. So we try to place some programming like drive in cinema, flea market and urban farming in this area. We hope to energize the original lifeless space into a fun and interesting place where people like to stay and play.

Suggestion of Applications Art Gallery Drive-in Cinema Performance Stage

site

37

Flea market Interactive Pillar

Flea Market on the flat space

current space

38