June 10, 2005

Jan Gehl says replace viaduct with open space

At the end of his four-day visit in Seattle, Danish architect Jan Gehl said Seattle should consider replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with nothing but open space.

"I don't know if that's possible, but I hope it would be," said Gehl, an internationally acclaimed expert on public spaces.

One thing he is certain of: Seattle should not build a new viaduct. "Forget that," he said in a speech at a dinner party in his honor. "You'll gain nothing for a lot of money."

Organizers of the party — held on South Occidental Street near Qwest Field — said to expect the unexpected. A fire-eater, vocalist and violin player performed before the dinner as 300 guests socialized in a misty rain that gave way to some sun.

"The idea was to take a space that was under utilized and turn it into a cafe," said Patricia Chase, a co-founder of International Sustainable Solutions. ISS has organized a series of trips to Europe for developers, architects, municipal officials and others. Participants study how cities reduced greenhouse gases through sustainable technologies and public policies, such as discouraging auto use.

Gehl called for the reunification of downtown and the waterfront, and said the quake-damaged viaduct presents Seattle with a "golden opportunity."

A $4 billion-plus tunnel is city officials' preferred alternative. But Gehl said the city should consider a radical solution: replace it with nothing.

He cited San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway, which was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The city thought about rebuilding it but decided to raze the freeway in 1991. "Before they built another one, they realized they didn't need it," Gehl said.

Gehl also urged Seattle to get rid of the acres of parking north of Qwest Field. He said it's "not acceptable and not necessary."

The dinner was an opportunity for other sustainability proponents to air their ideas. It was held in front of Gregory Broderick Smith Real Estate's Reedo Building. The company is spending $8 million to refurbish the brick building as the Puget Sound Sustainable Development Center. Greg Smith called it an "eco clubhouse."

Eight years in the making, the center is planned as a clearinghouse for architects, engineers, contractors, government officials and others to share information about green building.

It would be at the heart of Smith's plan to make south downtown an environmental showcase.

As part of that plan, International Sustainable Solutions wants to make the area what ISS co-founder Jayson Antonoff called "an energy-plus neighborhood," or one that consumes less energy than it produces.

This can be done by building energy-efficient buildings and using alternative energy, such as solar, wind and "maybe even tidal and wave power," Antonoff said.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's being done in places in Europe," he said.