Thesis Case Study

By: Patrick Szczecina

            The topic chosen for this week is to build off the thesis abstract that was written before, in this case I will be writing development of my site and what my project is turning into. The thesis that I have chosen is that of transformative architecture, which utilizes building movement (walls, rooms) to create new spaces. As my site has been chosen (Seattle Pier 91), I found the need of further developing the area around. This idea came from the aspect that my site is very large, and that site I am on is owned by the city. The city also owns the northern plot of land which is half the size of the piers that was the original idea.

            The idea of developing the northern section and connecting it with the piers comes from the idea that the site is located between two neighborhoods and is in a valley. The original idea was of building an apartment complex, but now the idea is to include an urban space. The urban space will stretch 2900 ft and then another 2500 ft (Pier), which will allow for a stretch of space that interacts with the neighborhoods and the sites. The upper stretch is 400 ft similar to peers, which will allow for green space, and buildings that could act as retail. The reason for retail is for the fact that the neighborhoods don’t have anywhere but the downtown area to go for shopping. The idea for the site is to put pedestrian bridges with greenery on the edges of the site while the central piece would contain buildings. The reason for this is to mimic the bridge next to the site along with an axis to connect the neighborhoods. Next to the northern site is a railyard, which is a bonus to the site. It will allow for the addition of train station that connects this area with the downtown area. The building portions will incorporate multi story stores, and possibly residential, which would also allow for the pedestrian bridges to be a multi-story structure as well. The idea fits since Seattle is one of the wetter cities in the United States, therefore the upper levels could be used for warmer weather while on rainy days the ground level or middle bridge.

            In the end the addition of the northern section allows for a further push of urban planning with new technologies. The difficulty will come with the size of the site, and the programming that will be asked for. However the addition to the northern section and creation of an urban retail community will benefit the surrounding areas.