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September 17, 2010

Locals react to waterfront presentations

By KATIE ZEMTSEFF
Journal Staff Reporter

Photo by Sky-Pix, www.sky-pix.com [enlarge]
The estimated budget for planning and design of the entire waterfront project is between $50 million and $70 million. Construction of all the public open spaces, viaduct demolition, new streets, bridges, drainage and utilities is estimated to cost $569 million.

About 1,200 people were at Benaroya Hall Wednesday night to hear presentations by the four teams competing to be lead designer on the central waterfront project.

Here is our story about the event and here are a few reactions:

Marshall Foster
Seattle Planning Director

“We were very happy with the wonderful turnout. We felt we had an electricity in the room. There were people from the design community and public citizens. It increased interest and energy, and that's what we wanted to see happen. It exceeded our expectations dramatically.”

Roger Nyhus
Nyhus

“I think Seattle is in very good hands. We saw four amazing design teams, any one of which would do a stellar job and I think now it's a matter of continuing to ask a lot of questions and determine the best fit for the city, because what works in Germany or New York or Sweden may not work in Seattle. What I did find interesting is there was really only one team, GGN, that proactively mentioned our Native American history and I think that was a missed opportunity for the three other teams.

The last two teams were particularly compelling: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and GGN. One thing I did hear from the MVVA firm that really resonated was elegant frugality, which I think in this economic climate might resonate with people. (It) also was the only team that talked about operating costs... If there's no money to maintain them, it really calls into question creating these vibrant places that we can't maintain.”

Cameron Hall
Stave

“I've been really impressed by the way the whole process has been managed by the waterfront team. It reminds me of the (public) interview process for the Seattle Public Library (and the) interview process for the Seattle City Hall, which I attended.... I think it was the most dignified and really most civic event out of any of them.

Obviously, every team is very high caliber but for me, friends and what I saw on Twitter, it came down to GGN and James Corner Field Operations. It's a comparison perhaps between a transformational opportunity with an obviously exceptional designer in James Corner and his team, versus GGN, which is such an amazing firm and all the resources that they brought together with a deep knowledge of the city.

For me, I feel like this is a real opportunity for Seattle to be bold. I felt like Seattle really stood up strongly for the Seattle Public Library... it's not a perfect building but it also elevated the level of design in the whole city.

It's a hard call because there is a benefit to having such a local team on the project but personally, viscerally, I felt like James Corner was a real exciting opportunity for the city.”

Susan Jones
AtelierJones

“I brought my kids, who are 9 and 11 years old. They were grumbling but when they got there... they really understood the importance of what a front porch to our city means. I think all the teams were really balanced in terms of their ability to promote design vision and to implement in a very strong way both on the national team level and on the local team level. I was thrilled to know the decision was being made quickly and moving forward and not being subsumed in Seattle's process.


Want more on the
waterfront teams?
Here's a closer look at the teams competing for the project:
https://www.djc.com/special/NewWaterfront/

I was really captivated by teams two and four and I felt these are the two extreme teams. One, GGN, is intrinsically rooted in every aspect of our place... and had probably the strongest insights and first-hand knowledge. I loved their performative aspects. The relationships seemed vivid and real and authentic, which I was really happy to see. It validated their strategy. I was worried they would bring Foster+Partners in more as a title and I didn't sense that at all.

At the same time I was really captivated by the team that I think was on the other end of that extreme: James Corner Field Operations. I felt Corner's sense of vibrant powerful energy that he brought to the presentation and his insights into how their team would approach the design. They were powerful and exciting and strong. I appreciated his approach, his generosity, in giving up two minutes of his small 20-minute presentation to our own Seattle voices and including that in a video.

I thought his early wins in designing something immediately that would be built was exciting and it made me think this project is going to be moving faster than we may have thought. Being such a New York-centric team, I think Corner completely put my concerns at ease as to whether he would be hands-on and driving the process, and he convinced me of that.”

Peg Staeheli
SvR Design

“I thought this (event) was handled very well. The interesting thing in our office discussion — I won't tell you our vote but we do have an office pool going — is the people who were present in the auditorium had a different view than the people who watched it on their computer because the camera would focus in whereas we were seeing the full stage at the same time. Over two thirds of our staff were there and more watched it online.

Just in general when you do that kind of thing, I would never use that venue to actually select a team. It might have been more appropriate to have the same questions asked (of each team). The questions were so different, I'm not sure that helped the awareness of the audience in general. That's probably one thing I would change.”

Karen Daubert
Seattle Parks Foundation

“It was fabulous! I thought it was so exciting to see that kind of creativity and the excitement was contagious. It's going to be a really difficult decision for the selection committee to come up with the one finalist. All four groups did a good job. The material they presented was excellent. I thought the moderator was good and attendance was terrific... that really demonstrates how important this whole project is to the city and our region.”

Brice Maryman
SvR Design, Great City

“I'm really happy that's not the only (discussion) the selection panel will have for each of the team members. Each team brought up compelling inquiries (but in that format they) were not fully played out and unraveled... Each of those firms has fascinating experiences and lessons they can share with us that weren't able to be explored. As designers and engineers, we respond to some of the behind-the-scenes strategic discussions, but the general public might be responding to different aspects.”

D. Craig Norberg
Norberry Tile

“I went in there and tried to have an open mind. I've worked with GGN before as I'm in the tile industry so it was a favorite. But then, I came away really thinking it was GGN. Of every presenter there, I thought they had energy whereas some of the other ones didn't even have people standing up or talking at all.

I was really blown away when James Corner Field Operations came up. I thought he was going to probably walk away with it. They had specialists in seawalls, sustainability, etc. I loved the project they did in China with rivers that will clean the water before they hit the sea, but I realized those are types of things that aren't going to be able to work on this smaller scale urban park. I've followed other projects in Seattle and we find we get a big project with a big name in front of it and those big names disappear as soon as they receive the award. That's sort of a turnoff just knowing that.

Wallace Roberts & Todd, I think they had a neat project. It seemed like they were really trying to develop some excitement and looked like they were ready to celebrate the water but not build anything permanent. They were looking for an ever-changing (open space). With MVVA, I thought their projects were more similar to Seattle than anything else, but I'm looking for something unique and fabulous and maybe sexy. I didn't see anything sexy in those photos and I was a little turned off by the cost of maintenance.”

Tina Hoggatt
artist and writer

“Every single architect and every artist I know was there. I wasn't able to see the last one. I saw the first three and was wowed by each. With Corner and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, I know and have experienced both New York projects they were highlighting. Each team was asking the right questions. But the New Yorkers were bringing these fairly slick national and international projects in somewhat canned presentations. They were incredibly impressive but they offered up a singular viewpoint.

I liked the idea of beginning now to activate the community through the arts and that they had designated artists who were going to hit the ground running on that one. It felt to me a little more practically interactive. Corner's video said we're listening to the people and that was a very powerful message. But Wallace Roberts & Todd was saying here are our ideas about activation and we've dedicated staff already to make that happen. The idea for me that was the most powerful perhaps in that first presentation was the idea that when it rains, this should be a reason to go to the waterfront, which implies that we're going to make phenomenal things happen.”


 


Katie Zemtseff can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.




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